- Jan 6–12 13–19 20–26 27–31
- Feb 1–2 3–9 10–16 17–23 24–29
- Mar 1 2–8 9–15 16–22 23–29 30–31
- Apr 1–5 6–12 13–19 20–26 27–30
- May 1–3 4–10 11–17 18–24 25–31
- Jun 1–7 8–14 15–21 22–28 29–30
- Jul 1–5 6–12 13–19 20–26 27–31
- Aug 1–2 3–9 10–16 17–23 24–30 31
- Sep 1–6 7–13 14–20 21–27 28–30
- Oct 1–4 5–11 12–18 19–25 26–31
- Nov 1 2–8 9–15 16–22 23–29 30
- Dec 1–6 7–13 14–20 21–27 28–31
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Tale of the Tape: Palin v. Obama
Posted by on 8.30.08 @ 9:54PM
My friend, and former AmSpec cover story writer, Jeff Emanuel has done a masterful job of compiling a tale of the tape between Sarah Palin and Barack Obama.
Greetings from the Twin Cities
Posted by on 8.30.08 @ 7:43PM
Phil Klein and I have arrived at the home of the Larry Craig Memorial Restroom to begin our coverage of the Republican National Convention. Whatever wide stances are taken by the GOP over the course of the next week will be noted here.
McGovern vs. Nixon Redux?
Posted by on 8.30.08 @ 5:25PM
This new ad from Team Obama argues that George W. Bush is John McCain's real running mate:
Hope for Homophobia?
Posted by on 8.30.08 @ 3:57PM
Little Green Footballs traces to the Obama campaign a Web site -- SarahPalinGayRights.com -- that tries to portray Sarah Palin's December 2006 veto of a ban on state benefits for same-sex couples as indicating her supposed support for gay rights.
The Obama-run site quotes the Anchorage Daily News story out of context, omitting this:
Palin said she rejected the bill despite her disagreement with a state Supreme Court order earlier this month that directed the state to offer benefits to same-sex partners of state employees.
Advice from her new attorney general said the bill passed by the Legislature was unconstitutional, she said. "Signing this bill would be in direct violation of my oath of office," Palin said in a prepared statement released by her administration Thursday night.
Palin asked the Alaska legislature to approve a ballot initiative for a constitutional amendment to ban such benefits, but the May 2007 vote in the legislature came up five votes short of the required two-thirds majority. (Want to guess how Democrats voted?)
The SarahPalinGayRights.com site is nothing but a dishonest attempt by Team Obama to distort Palin's record, a cynical smear that underestimates the intelligence of Christian conservatives and other opponents of the Democrats' own gay agenda.
(Cross-posted at The Other McCain.)
UPDATE: LFG corrects:There is apparently no connection between these attack sites and the official Obama campaign. . . . [T]he point still stands that it's more than a little slimy to be a supporter of the "progressive" campaign of Barack Obama, then turn around and use Sarah Palin's pro-gay rights positions against her in a creepy anonymous web site.So it's not Team Obama, officially, but rather one of their demented supporters who's doing this.
'Republican elites'
Posted by on 8.30.08 @ 2:54PM
Jonathan Martin on Sarah Palin:
[T]he response I've gotten from Republican activists coast-to-coast has been one of almost joy. My e-mail in-box is bursting with enthusiasm from loyal GOPers who've been either glum, skeptical or downright unhappy for the past two years. This zeal is emphatically not matched by some Republican elites, who are casting a more pragmatic eye on the potential pitfalls of McCain tapping a running mate that neither he nor many other political types know. (Emphasis added.)
The negativity coming from inside the GOP -- remember the "veteran communications operative" who said, "We're doomed"? -- has been one of the major obstacles for Team Maverick. It's not merely their disdain for John McCain that causes this reaction from Republicans inside the Beltway, it's also (a) the dim prospects for congressional Republicans, and (b) extreme Bush fatigue.
Martin says he's " never seen a crowd with the energy that I witnessed yesterday at the Erwin Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio." What he may not know -- I haven't seen it reported anywhere -- is that some people were turned away from Friday's event. My Ohio in-laws had tickets but were told that the crowd was big enough to cause a fire-code violation.
UPDATE: Peter Baker in the New York Times:
One former Bush aide who spends his days publicly bashing Barack Obama sat down for lunch with me recently and before the appetizers even arrived lamented that the Democrat will probably crush McCain.With friends like that, etc.
(Cross-posted at The Other McCain.)
Sarah Palin and All
Posted by on 8.30.08 @ 10:54AM
I weigh in on the Palin pick in the Guardian today, and also in Investor's Business Daily. (The latter is a Sean Higgins special.)
Re: Palin a Disaster
Posted by on 8.30.08 @ 10:32AM
Given Quin's recent prediction record, I'd say that's encouraging news...
Friday, August 29, 2008
Reversing the Ticket Order
Posted by on 8.29.08 @ 10:11PM
My friend Francis Cianfrocca (a fellow contributor at Redstate) had a nice insight in an email exchange about the experience issue with Palin:
"One thing I really like about this is that everyone is comparing their number one to our number two. It's as if Obama were actually trying to be elected VP. And I like making the point explicit by saying that if the Dems are so worried about youth and inexperience, maybe they should just reverse the order of their ticket."
Mark it Down
Posted by on 8.29.08 @ 9:06PM
Today is the most important day in the national abortion debate since the Roe v Wade decision was handed down.
By "voting with her foetus" Sarah Palin has changed the dynamic of the debate away from the perfectly polarized /it's legal/it's illegal/ standoff. Her appearance today with her beautiful son will change more hearts than 1000 clinic protests, and modify more behaviour more than any Supreme Court reversal.
Mark the day.
A Woman A Plan ...
Posted by on 8.29.08 @ 8:53PM
Is it too early to start consider changing the name of the Naval Observatory to the PalinDrome?
Buchanan '88?
Posted by on 8.29.08 @ 8:48PM
The Nation's Chris Hayes asks, "Remember when Pat Buchanan ran a number of hard-right, fringe campaigns for president in the late 1980s, 1990s and 2000?" Actually, I don't. I remember him running for the Republican nomination in 1992 and 1996, finishing second both times (obviously a more significant accomplishment in '96 than '92), and being the Reform Party nominee in 2000. That's it. Maybe Hayes is counting the 1988 campaign that was considered but never launched.
Best Short Reaction to The Speech
Posted by on 8.29.08 @ 8:17PM
Reason's Jesse Walker had this to say:
"Shorter Barack Obama: Government cannot solve all our problems. Just the ones involving energy, education, work, the weather, cities, the countryside, sick children, sick mothers, joblessness, hopelessness, and frightening foreigners who do not live in Iraq. Now if you'll all look under your seats, every one of you is going home with a new car!"
Palin a Disaster
Posted by on 8.29.08 @ 5:34PM
Just heard by phone from our friend and colleague Quin Hillyer. He's in between flights, and frankly he's not a happy flier. In his view, the Palin pick "will prove politically disastrous." Moreover, he adds, "I now predict an Obama landslide."
Hillary on Palin
Posted by on 8.29.08 @ 5:33PM
A statement from Sen. Hillary Clinton via e-mail:
"We should all be proud of Governor Sarah Palin's historic nomination, and I congratulate her and Senator McCain. While their policies would take America in the wrong direction, Governor Palin will add an important new voice to the debate."Is it me, or does Hillary seem to be doing the bare minimum on behalf of electing Obama?
Get Your Palin Prep Here!
Posted by on 8.29.08 @ 5:29PM
Beldar was pushing Palin back in June. His post from nearly three months ago has the background on the Alaska governor nicely packaged.
SAY, WHAT?
Posted by on 8.29.08 @ 4:00PM
A lot of eyeballs must have rolled back in a lot of heads when folks read or heard the last sentence of the second graf of this remarkable prayer. Was Pastor Hunt being ironical, provocative, hopeful, or just clueless when he asked of God to give a party that has made infanticide a sacrament "a reverence for life." Had a discerning audience heard this gold-medal example of cognitive dissonance there would have been an audible "SAY WHAT?" heard across the land. --L
2008 Democratic National Convention:
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Joel Hunter, Senior Pastor of Northland in Central Florida
Scheduled for delivery: August 28, 2008 - 10:00-11:00 pm ET, 9:00-10:00 pm CT, 8:00-9:00 pm MT
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE ON DELIVERY
Pastor Joel Hunter
Democratic National Convention
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
Please stand.
We are all here to devote ourselves to the improvement of this country we love.
In one of the best traditions of our country, would those of you who are people of faith join me in asking for God's help?
Almighty God, let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us a reverence for all life.
Give us a compassion for the most vulnerable among us - the babies, the children, the poor, the sick, the enslaved, the persecuted. For all of those who have been left out of the advantaged world.
Give us a zeal to clean the environment we have polluted while we create an economy where everyone who can work can have a job.
Help us to honor those who defend our country by working harder and smarter for peace.
Help us to counter those that incite fear and hatred by becoming people who are informed and respectful and are known for principles and projects that aim higher than our own group's benefit.
Guide Barack Obama and all of our leaders to be agents of your will and recipients of your wisdom. And grant that all of us citizens will continually do our part to contribute to the common good by loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.
Now, I interrupt this prayer for a closing instruction:
Because we are gathered in a country that continues to welcome people of all faiths, let us personalize this prayer by closing according to our own tradition.
On the count of three, end your prayer as you would usually do.
Amen!
Let's go out and change the world for good!
SOURCE 2008 Democratic National Convention Committee
CONTACT: Democratic National Convention Press Office, 720-362-2006
Daily Must-Reads
Posted by on 8.29.08 @ 11:48AM
Gramm vindicated somewhat by economy
Putin's ascendancy and the formation of Eastern Europe
The Volt might have competition from Mazda
South Ossetia, Abkhazia can't be compared to Kosovo
Sarah Palin
Posted by on 8.29.08 @ 11:17AM
Last night I wrote of John McCain, "A post-Reaganite 'Sam's club' running mate may not be enough to reassure skeptics on the right." But a reform-minded, pro-life, limited-government conservative governor might.
Palin
Posted by on 8.29.08 @ 11:17AM
Back in June, I wrote that "Palin may be McCain's best bet for VP."
This is a bold, risky pick.
The up sides are that she is likable, solidly conservative, a woman who can peel off female voters, and and will add excitement to the ticket. It's also a huge surprise that will crowd out the Obama speech coverage, and represents "change."
The downsides are whether she's ready, whether her relative inexperience will undermine McCain's case against Obama. Also, recently she's been embroiled in a controversy over whether she used her position as governor to fire a state trooper who was in a messy divorce with her sister.
Either way, this roll out was played brilliantly.
Dream Come True
Posted by on 8.29.08 @ 11:06AM
On this site back on February 26, Thomas Cheplick introduced Sarah Palin, "the beautiful conservative Republican governor of Alaska," as the "ideal" running mate for John McCain:
Mrs. Palin is one of conservatism's own, and would be the first female vice president. She's young being only 44 (two years behind Senator Obama), she is wildly known to despise government corruption. She defeated a horribly entrenched and corrupt Republican political machine in Alaska. She has a son in the U.S. military. She's strongly pro-life, belonging, in fact, to Feminists for Life.Gov. Palin could become the Republican Party's Segolene Royal, the French Socialist Party's glamorous leader known for her heels and political bite. She is the perfect antidote to Sen. Obama's cheap thrills, and would help rejuvenate conservatism..
Who says dreams don't come true?
Palin: Team Maverick's Tactical Brilliance
Posted by on 8.29.08 @ 11:04AM
Mark Levin likes the pick, and Big Tent Democrat says:
First and foremost, it would stop Obama's Media train in its tracks today. . . .Me? I figure it gives Crazy Cousin John a good excuse to endorse drilling ANWR. Screw the caribou!
Second, it revives the Hillary melodramas. And at this point, Obama does not need that.
GOP Source Confirms Palin?
Posted by on 8.29.08 @ 9:56AM
That's what the Chicago Tribune's DC politics blog is reporting.
The American Presidential Candidate
Posted by on 8.29.08 @ 8:48AM
In this bit for the Guardian, I ponder why the press was so taken with Obama's big speech. Short answer: "Because he put forward a liberalism that was patriotic yet pluralistic, tough yet compassionate, confrontational yet thoughtful, full yet empty. It was made-for-cable catnip." Somewhat longer answer...
Palin?
Posted by on 8.29.08 @ 8:34AM
The latest straw in the wind: A jet that was chartered last night heading from Anchorage to Southwestern Ohio, where McCain's running mate will be announced. Is it Governor Sarah Palin? Drudge seems to think so (he just posted "NO ROMNEY..." and what looks like a Xerox of a McCain-Palin button, but there's no explanation). I guess we'll know shortly.
Head-Faked
Posted by on 8.29.08 @ 8:13AM
There really was tons and tons of buzz in Republican circles around Tim Pawlenty yesterday. (Erick Erickson of RedState was hearing essentially what I was hearing.) But my prediction, it seems, was wrong:
Gov. Tim Pawlenty said this morning that he will he not be in Dayton, Ohio, this morning and strongly suggested that he won't be John McCain's running mate.I guess the report that he'd cleared his schedule was incorrect, maybe even disinformation."I'm going to be at the [Minnesota] state fair," Pawlenty said on WCCO just minutes ago.
"I will not be in Dayton, Ohio, so I think that's a fair assumption," he added in an interview with the Twin Cities radio station, when asked if this was an indication that he would not be chosen.
He added: "It was an honor to be considered."
Asked if he was relieved "that the whole thing was over," he joked: "I'm glad you guys will quit following me around so much."
Obama's Mixed Bag
Posted by on 8.29.08 @ 4:28AM
The whole first half of Obama's acceptance speech was standard stump fare, more suited to a town hall in Ohio than to a prime time stadium event. I'm not saying he shouldn't have criticized McCain, but it seemed strange that he'd devote so much time to his opponent in this context.
And given that Obama did decide to go on offense, it was really jarring when he tacked toward a call to post-partisanship. If he had said much earlier in the speech that he wouldn't "suggest that the Senator takes his positions for political purposes" and that politicians shouldn't be "challenging each other's character and patriotism," it would been an effective prelude to an attack. It would still be a bit disingenuous, of course, but the disingenuousness wouldn't have been quite so glaring. And if he held his fire a bit, it wouldn't have seemed disingenuous at all.
Pace the mysterious Mr. McWormwood, though, the speech did have its moments. If taken as a soundbite rather than as a part of an otherwise very partisan speech, the we're-all-patriots passage would qualify. But this, I think, was the most effective bit:
And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America's promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our "intellectual and moral strength." Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can't replace parents; that government can't turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need.That didn't come until about midway into the speech. I suspect that those most impressed with Obama were viewers who turned in late. Lucky for him, people who tune in specifically to catch a speech like this from the start are more likely to know how they're going to vote, so the intersection between undecided voters and people who missed the beginning of the speech is likely to be significant.Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility - that's the essence of America's promise.
We Are the Chumps We've Been Waiting For
Posted by on 8.29.08 @ 2:48AM
Turns out my old friend Thirsty McWormwood was not a fan of the Democrat's Denver acceptance speech. He writes:
Well, Mr. Purple America sure got blue.
Barack Obama became a superstar in 2004 because he gave the best, most memorable speech, hands down, of any Democrat at that year's national convention. It was better than the others because it was different from all of the others.
Most Democrats could barely contain their seething contempt for George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Several didn't try. Their speeches became mean-spirited, repetitive and, worst of all, boring. Even to Democrats.
Obama's was the only one that year that had any uplift. It was the only one that tried to see a way out of the partisan deadlock that the party had found itself in. The fact that he acknowledged he was cutting against the grain -- that's "the audacity of hope," folks -- made it even better.
He was an optimist, but not a fool. We could like this guy.
That was then. In accepting his nomination, Obama gave a tedious pile of liberal platitudes and talking points that were indistinguishable from any of the other speeches given by other Democrats during their Denver shindig. Cut out that biographical details and there was nothing in that speech that could not have come out of the mouth of Al Gore or John Kerry.
You have to expect this, to an extent. He is the nominee after
all and has to represent his party and its agenda. But the promise
of Barack Obama was always that he could transcend politics as
usual. Elect him and things will be different, we were lead to
believe.
There was no innovative thinking in last night's speech. All of the problems of American boiled down to the fact that the government just hasn't spent enough, regulated enough, or mandated enough. "Now it is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world class education." This means an "army of new teachers" with higher salaries and more support. Gee, why hasn't anyone thought of that before?
(As for higher standards and more accountability, well, he'll "ask" for them, which ought to be enough...)
This was mixed in with cheap shots at his opponent, Sen. John McCain: "John McCain likes to say he'll follow bin Laden to the Gates of Hell -- but he won't even go to the cave where he lives." Rhetoric like that can only be described as pathetic. It'll be a crime if the media lets Obama get away with it.
Or there was the twisting of Phil Gramm's "nation of whiners" comment about the economy -- for which he was summarily kicked out of the McCain campaign -- to imply that McCain had somehow dissed military families "who shoulder their burdens silently." Raw partisanship like that was certainly not something you'd find in his 2004 speech.
About the only thing that did carry over from 2004 was the airy talk of destiny and moments in time and such. Which all seem to center around... Barack Obama. "For 18 long months, you have stood up and said enough of the politics of the past... Change happens because the American people demand it... America, this is one of those moments."
Obama has forgotten that one of the things that was appealing about the guy who appeared in 2004 was that he was a scrappy underdog. A guy who was not yet even in the U.S. senate but had the "audacity" to dream big.
He's a different man now. He has gone from suggesting that yes, we can unite to solve our problems to saying that if only we all unite behind him, that will solve all of our problems. All people of sound mind and goodwill should find that attitude troubling.
Night at the Stadium
Posted by on 8.29.08 @ 12:35AM
I didn't lug my laptop to Invesco this evening, which is why I wasn't liveblogging. I was twittering a lot, though, so if you want to see what my instant reactions were go here. I'll have a more coherent and comprehensive assessment later.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Obama's Speech
Posted by on 8.28.08 @ 11:48PM
I don't think it was as impressive as his 2004 convention speech, but it was serviceable and tough. It's going to come down to what the threshold question of this election is: If it hinges on whether people want to definitively turn the page on the Bush years, Obama knows how to make that argument and it's one Republicans will lose. If the electorate expects something from the candidates' resume to prove they can deliver on the change they promise, the Democrats have shown they can't really make that case. That's the Republicans' one opening.
Quick Obama Take
Posted by on 8.28.08 @ 11:06PM
DENVER -- I'll have more, but have to deal with evacuating Invesco right now. As anybody would have expected, it was a strong speech -- an indictment of the Bush administration and John McCain's support for those policies, and a case for the need for change. A case for a modest liberalism where people work hard, but government just ensures that they get rewarded for their work and oppourtunities are open for all. But what stuck out at me was this line: "If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone who people should run from."
Obama just showed his hand. He has no record, and thus will hope
that running against Bush by linking him to McCain will be enough.
We shall see.
Debacle in Denver: Invesco Edition
Posted by on 8.28.08 @ 7:26PM
DENVER -- The decision by Barack Obama to relocate the Democratic National Convention into Invesco Field so he can deliver his acceptance speech before 80,000 people has resulted in massive confusion and long lines that have delegates steamed.
Just after 3 p.m. this afternoon (about five hours before Barack Obama took the stage), I boarded what I was told was a media bus that would take us to the designated media entrance at Invesco, but it turns out in addition to media, there were delegates to the convention on the bus. After about a ten minute drive, we ended up about a quarter mile away from the stadium, where a long line of thousands of people snaked around the sidewalks and pathways leading to the entrances.
"Do you want to get out here and walk to the end of the line or do you want to be dropped off at the end of the line?" a police officer who road with us on the bus asked.
That resulted in confusion, because both the media and delegates were informed that they would be allowed to enter separately. The people waiting in line had "community passes" given to Obama fans and members of the general public.
Several miffed delegates asked the officer if there were separate entrances. But he said he had no idea, that he was told there was only one line, and that we would have to wait with the tens of thousands of other people in the boiling heat. Then he let us off the bus and said, "Good luck."
Along with about a half dozen frustrated delegates, I decided to just keep walking toward Invesco, hoping to find the right entrance -- or at least somebody who knew something.
"This is totally disorganized," one Connecticut delegate fumed. "They wanted to fill a stadium, now a lot of people are going to say it's not worth it."
Another delegate snapped."They basically took a convention, and decided to throw an extra 60,000 people into it."
After about a five minute walk, we came to an intersection, and approached a cop car. One of the women asked an officer if he new anything about other entrances. But he and his partner just shook their heads. "I'm sorry, the information flow here is more of a trickle."
So we kept charging along, but eventually got to a place where we couldn't walk any further without running into a fence and another massive line. Trying to walk past it, we were harassed by angry people who had been waiting for hours. "Hey buddy, there's a line here!" one man barked at me.
What made the man from Connecticut particularly angry was that
they told everybody to arrive early. "I bet if we waited until the
last minute, we would have gotten in, no problem."
So, I started to make some phone calls, starting with a
superdelegate I know who is an elected Democratic politician. I
asked him what the deal was. "I have no idea," he told me. "They
just said to get there early."
Then I called the press office, which said there was, in fact, a press entrance, and they said I should just walk through the line, and tell a police officer. So I started to walk, before a guy in a green neon vest with "EVENT STAFF" printed on it stopped me and started yelling.
"If a police officer comes, he's going to escort you to the back of the line," he barked.
But I ploughed ahead, getting about 10 paces before I encountered a police officer. I explained my situation.
"There's no media entrance," he said. "I can't let you through this line. I'm under strict orders from the Secret Service."
After waiting about another 20 minutes, I finally came across a
police officer who knew about the media entrance and who pointed me
in the right direction -- where I got to wait in another line,
though a shorter one.
Re: I'm Betting It's Pawlenty
Posted by on 8.28.08 @ 6:08PM
John: That's the name I've been using on talk radio for the last few weeks. Boy would that make Nicole Russell happy. I'd like to take credit for the title "Good & Pawlenty." She can have the lefsa. I'll take the licorice.
Waiting for Obama
Posted by on 8.28.08 @ 4:03PM
I shot this about thirty minutes ago, where at 1 p.m. mountain time, or about seven hours before Barack Obama is scheduled to speak, people were already waiting in line to get to Invesco. The McCain campaign has done a great job mocking Obama's rock stay appeal, but elections are won and lost on enthusiasm and voter turnout, so you can't tell me this is meaningless, either.
I'm Betting It's Pawlenty
Posted by on 8.28.08 @ 3:15PM
Marc Ambinder reports that Tim Pawlenty has cleared his schedule for today and tomorrow. Maybe it's a head-fake. But taken together with the gossip I've been hearing and my reading of Pawlenty's body language, the evidence is piling up.
I'm going to go ahead and predict: Pawlenty will be McCain's running mate.
UPDATE: More evidence: A report of signs being printed that suggest an eight-letter name.
Obama Gets His Bounce, Now Up 6 Points
Posted by on 8.28.08 @ 2:03PM
Barack Obama has so far received anywhere from a 5 to 8 point bounce from the Democratic National Convention (depending on when it's measured from), and now leads John McCain 48 to 42 in the latest Gallup tracking poll.
Gallup notes:
The Rebounding Economy Throws Us a Curve
Posted by on 8.28.08 @ 1:47PM
With a higher-than-expected 3.3 percent growth rate in the second quarter, Phil Gramm seems to be vindicated that the recession is mental -- the economy is not contracting. One interesting thing to note is that a weaker dollar boosted exports, which helped spur growth. That's just basic classical economics.
Clearly, the economy isn't out of the woods yet, and this doesn't wipe away American's anxiety, particularly because we can't count on the media to report good news with the same ferocity with which they report bad news. But the harder it is for Democrats to make the argument that the economy is in shambles, the better the chances are for John McCain -- especially because Obama lags on the comander in chief question.
Is It Pawlenty?
Posted by on 8.28.08 @ 1:35PM
I just got back from a press conference featuring Tim Pawlenty, around whom VP buzz continues to swirl. Sen. Jon Kyl, U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin, and Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael L. Williams were also there (a white guy, a Hispanic woman, and a black guy -- sounds like the beginning of a joke). As the other McCain surrogates were talking, Pawlenty seemed a little nervous, gulping and fidgeting with his fingers. He visibly relaxed once he got past the inevitable running mate questions. He dodged when asked whether he's spoken to McCain today, and when asked about his travel plans he would only say that he's going back to Minnesota this afternoon and that he has a Minnesota State Fair appearance "scheduled."
My guess is that Pawlenty is the guy, and he knows it. But of course there are two other explanations for his demeanor: He isn't the guy, and he knows it, or he doesn't know one way or the other. Definitely one of the three...
On another note, Williams struck me as fairly impressive for a state cabinet member (despite the name, the Texas Railroad Commission is the equivalent of an energy department and has nothing to do with railroads). Keep an eye on him.
Hands Off My Fried S'Mores
Posted by on 8.28.08 @ 1:30PM
The Clinton Rehabilitation
Posted by on 8.28.08 @ 1:29PM
Surverying the liberal blogs this morning, not to witnessing the reaction within the Pepsi Center last night, Bill Clinton took a big step toward rehabilitating his image within the party with last night's speech. Over several months on the campaign trail, Clinton made a spectacle of himself and liberals were finally able to see his ugly side because his nonsense was directed at one of their own. But he gave easily to most effective speech on behalf of Obama last night, and reminded Democrats why he's been the only twice-elected president from their party since FDR.
It's too early to tell what how Obama will come out of this convention, but we can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that it could not have gone any better for the Clintons. From Bill and Hillary's speeches, to their calls for unity, to the theater of Hillary cutting off the roll call vote to make Obama the President by acclamation (only after enough states had announced their delegates to show she still had a loyal following) -- it was the perfect launching pad for her next presidential run.
Weather Underground, It's Not
Posted by on 8.28.08 @ 1:14PM
Dance Hee Haw Monkey, Dance!
Posted by on 8.28.08 @ 1:07PM
The spectacle of Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer's speech and the glee Democrats displayed over having a real, live over-the-top, walking (wildly inaccurate) stereotype of "regula Midwest folk" dance like a trick monkey for them was pa-the-tic. Sadly, for me, others have already put this into more eloquent context:
When Schweitzer claims "we must invest" in projects he likes, he means government will take it and invest it for you. You see, you must. Then Schweitzer claimed (in a half truth) that Republican nominee John McCain voted "against" solar energy, biofuels and wind energy. Which is weird, because I could swear my neighbor has solar panels, so they must be legal. I know I've seen windmills. So I suppose that Schweitzer meant that McCain voted against some federal boondoggle for wind and/or solar energy.
Let Me Get This Straight
Posted by on 8.28.08 @ 12:57PM
My head is still reeling from last night's speeches, so I want to see if I have this logic down right: Barack Obama is qualified to be commander-in-chief because his judgment on foreign policy has been right and John McCain's wrong. McCain's has been wrong because he has agreed with the Bush administration while Obama had the wisdom and foresight to disagree. How do we know that Obama's vision for foreign policy was right? Because some of his ideas are now being implemented by the Bush administration.
You don't have to be a fan of the Bush administration's foreign policy to recognize some twists and turns here.
The Sobbing Hillary Supporter
Posted by on 8.28.08 @ 10:59AM
Yesterday, virtually any of you who listened to talk radio at
all must have heard the CNN interview with a distressed Hillary
supporter after the primetime speech at the convention.
One thing that particularly struck me was the woman's insistence that Hillary was going to give us the jobs and the economy we deserve. Every time I get wobbly on the entitlement state (because I'm a bleeding heart conservative), something like this comes along to stiffen my spine.
When will people come to understand that a president is not like some wizard pulling levers and producing a great economy? I can recall President Clinton acting as if the Paula and Monica scandals were somehow preventing him from keeping the American economy on track. Folks, it ain't like that. The economy represents the creation of value and productivity of efforts by American citizens in a system of relatively free exchange. The government is not doing the work.
Can the government facilitate? Yes. Can it occasionally make a very good and well-supported public works investment? Clearly. But the influence the government has is all at the margins. Not at the core. If you want the jobs and the economy you deserve, then find the people who are innovating, find the people who are generating value. Join them and forget politics, which is all too often a parasitical activity in an era of big government.Daily Must-Reads
Posted by on 8.28.08 @ 10:38AM
The Democratic Congress will be a sitting duck after the conventions
Nader offers the non-corporate choice
Science v. Faith is a good thing
The Russians are secretly gleeful
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
But What's a Few Thousand Troops Among Friends?
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 11:53PM
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joe Biden confuses two brigades with two battalions.
A Much Better Night
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 11:08PM
The attacks on John McCain were much sharper, the speeches were stronger, and there was much more unity and excitement than in the first two days. Bill Clinton may have pulled the convention from the abyss.
Praising McCain to Bury Him, Continued
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 11:00PM
Biden repeats Clinton's more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger posture. This is the kind of talking point that's going to sound disingenuous with repetition -- it certainly did when Romney's ad shop tried it. It's one of McCain's innate strengths that he repels unequivocal attacks.
Biden Certainly Represents Change
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 10:57PM
Joe Biden a few minutes ago:
Biden to me on January 2, 2008:
The Bush Foreign Policy
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 10:55PM
That Joe Biden voted for until it became unpopular.
UPDATE: Excuse, me let me correct that: the "abysmal failure" in which Biden was "complicit."
George, Er. John
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 10:47PM
A good line. But why can't Biden, who served with McCain in the Senate for decades, show as much grace toward him and respect for his accomplishments as the Clintons? What kind of person shows less grace than the Clintons
UPDATE: Okay, he walked it back a little bit.
Joe Biden
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 10:44PM
I agree with him on almost nothing and think he can be a blowhard and a jerk. But I've always liked him.
Beau Biden
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 10:37PM
Has a great political career ahead of him if he chooses it.
Abuse of Power
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 10:36PM
Joe Biden voted for this war with full understanding of the powers that the war resolution that actually passed conferred on President Bush. Agree or disagree with the war, but never let him forget that. And never let him claim to have protected the country from any abuse of that power.
I Wonder...
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 10:22PM
Was John Kerry's speech intended as a trap? The temptation to make fun of Kerry for calling someone else a flip-flopper is almost irresistable -- but every response advances the McCain-as-flip-flopper meme.
Alright, maybe it's a stretch to think that Kerry might be that clever.
UPDATE: Mea culpa: I scanned the prepared text quickly (and was multitasking during the speech), and I missed the self-deprecating "talk about being for it before you were against it" line. So Kerry was aware of the irony.
Praising McCain to Bury Him
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 10:01PM
If there's been a theme of this convention, it's Bush=McCain. Bill Clinton made a subtler version of this argument: McCain is "a good man who served our country" who has been heterodox as a senator, but "on the two great questions of this election, how to rebuild the American Dream and how to restore America's leadership in the world," McCain is a standard-issue Republican and he's wrong. Though this has the effect of dilluting the message a bit, but it has the virtue of ringing a lot truer.
John Kerry
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 9:50PM
Once again proves he is no Bill Clinton or Barack Obama. Who is Kerry, who has been wrong on almost every major foreign policy issue from the Cold War to Iraq, to evaluate statesmanship? And how can he use Bush to validate Obama's judgment while simultaneously invalidating Bush's using Obama? But the Democrats are making the case they failed to make in the first two nights of this convention.
Clinton's Case Against McCain
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 9:43PM
Clinton can only talk about the failure of "right-wing orthodoxy" by ignoring the success of Ronald Reagan and the economic boom that took off after the Republican Congress's capital-gains tax cut during his own administration, but he also made the best Democratic argument against McCain while being perfectly respectful. As much as I dislike Clinton, he is a first-rate pro among a group of pathetic political amateurs.
Bill Clinton
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 9:40PM
Just made the most coherent argument for Barack Obama of the convention so far. He avoided a lot of the sloganeering from earlier speeches, and reviewing the text of the speech, it looks like he managed to make the case against Republicans and in favor of Obama without using the word "change" a single time. He didn't go overboard by trying to argue that McCain was the same as President Bush -- he made a more limited case that McCain was in line with the administration "on the two great questions of this election" -- before launching into an attack on Bush's unpopular economic and foreign policies.
"They Said I Was Too Young and Inexperienced"
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 9:38PM
It isn't an entirely fair or accurate argument -- Bill Clinton was a six-term governor of Arkansas in 1992, only inexperienced compared to George Bush and Bob Dole -- but it is the best argument to be made. Clinton beat two American patriots who were older than him, trumping them on bread-and-butter issues, and proved experienced enough to be considered a successful president by millions (though I disagree with that judgment too). But the best thing Obama can do is turn himself into Clinton and McCain into Bush/Dole. Bill proved tonight that he is still the real political talent in the Clinton family.
Bill Says Obama is "Ready to Lead"
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 9:21PM
Something that Hillary did not do last night. "The long, hard primary tested and strengthened him," Clinton said. It's as if the Clintons are taking credit for toughening him up and preparing him for the presidency.
I Give You William Jefferson Clinton
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 9:08PM
Now take him, please.
Yesterday's gone. Yesterday's gone.
John Kerry to Accuse McCain of Flip-Flopping
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 7:44PM
John Kerry's prepared remarks attack McCain on, um, interesting grounds. A couple of choice lines:
To those who still believe in the myth of a maverick instead of the reality of a politician, I say, let's compare Senator McCain to candidate McCain...There's more, including a rant against "Rove-McCain tactics" and reminiscing about Vietnam protests. If you like train wrecks, you won't want to miss this....before he ever debates Barack Obama, John McCain should finish the debate with himself.
Hillary is in the Building
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 6:52PM
To stand with the New York delegation to put Barack Obama over the top in another theatrical effort to put Obama over the top.
UPDATE: She calls to suspend the roll call and select Obama by affirmation. This will be her way of shooting down any criticism that she didn't do enough for Obama.
Roll Call Theater
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 6:49PM
The word is that they're coordinating so that Hillary Clinton can cast the votes that put Obama over the top.
Clinton Country for Obama
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 6:03PM
Arkansas just cast all of its votes for Obama heeding Hillary Clinton's call for unity.
Speak for Yourself
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 5:55PM
Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz of Florida, in seconding the nomination of Barack Obama, said, "as a Jewish American and strong supporter of Israel" she knows that Obama represents "all our values." Who appointed her the decider?
In any event, it's noteworthy that she felt she had to make such a statement.
UPDATE: Interestingly, the line wasn't in her prepared remarks.
Nominating Hillary
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 5:35PM
Dolores Huerta, who co-founded United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez, just nominated Hillary Clinton for the presidency "on behalf of all women and all working families." The nomination is now being seconded and a roll call vote will follow shortly.
Believe it Or Not
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 5:17PM
At a Denver gathering of pro-life Democrats, people are more excited to see Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne than me.
Don Young A Ron Paul Republican?
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 5:16PM
If his exceedingly narrow margin over Sean Parnell holds up, Don Young may have been helped by a late endorsement by Ron Paul, who praised the Alaska congressman for his opposition to environmental extremists. Paul finished third in the Alaska caucuses (once polling even better) and his supporters have had some impact within the state GOP. I've always given Paul a pass for his appetite for earmarks because he has consistently voted for actual spending reductions and against unconstitutional appropriations bills, and because I think earmarks as a fiscal conservative issue are wildly overrated.
But if earmarks played even a small role in the Good Doctor's support for an obnoxious big spender like Young, it is as a good an argument for the unhealthy incentives created by the earmarking process as any I've seen. Relatedly, when I interviewed Tom DeLay recently I mentioned Paul. The Hammer replied, "I love Ron Paul! Who do you think helped him with all his earmarks?"
Fight for Your Right to Party
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 4:35PM
Chris Beam explains how lobbyists and corporations are getting around ethics laws and throwing parties for lawmakers here in Denver. I stopped by the Distilled Spirits Council bash that he discusses in his lede. I got there toward the end of the night, when they were running low on cigars, and was told they were all out even as they handed them to people more important than me right before my eyes. Who can blame them, though? As long as government is eager to meddle with their business, the liquor industry would be crazy not to try and buy influence on the legislative process.
If there were no Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, there would almost certainly have been no Distilled Spirits Council party. Wheeler's First Law: The way to get rid of corruption in high places is to get rid of the high places.
Hillary: 'Thanks . . . Send Money'
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 1:10PM
E-mail from Hillary Clinton:
Dear Robert,
Standing on that stage tonight in front of 20,000 Democrats unified behind Senator Obama, I saw a bright future for America. I saw millions of people across the country working as one to elect the next Democratic President. I saw a new President and a new Congress giving a voice to the voiceless. I saw America, the land of endless potential, regaining its role as a leader in the world.
I couldn't be prouder of our party, of our nominee, and of all the work you and I have done together over the course of this campaign on behalf of the American people. I knew that as I stood in front of that podium, I wasn't alone. I had you, and everyone who has supported me, standing right up there with me. And that means the world to me.
Thank you again for everything you've done. Now let's get to work helping elect Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and all of our great Democratic candidates!
Sincerely,
And then a link to contribute to retire her campaign debt. Heh.
Barack Obama May Be Famous
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 1:10PM
But other leading Democrats, not so much. Jeanne Shaheen, former governor and current Democratic Senate candidate in New Hampshire, stood in line outside the Pepsi Center unnoticed by most of the crowd, though DNC staffers did eventually let her cut. Once inside, Democrat revelers nudged your humble servant during speeches by Mark Warner, Brian Schweitzer, and Deval Patrick, each time asking, "Who is that guy?"
Who Mourns for Obamadonis?
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 12:52PM
Given Obama's hubris problem, it's absolutely stunning that Democrats would be dumb enough to have him accept his nomination from a Greek temple set up. A McCain aid quipped. "Is this from the Onion?"
It reminds me more of Spinal Tap.
Ted Stevens Wins, Don Young Leads
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 11:43AM
There may be no reform in Alaska's pipeline: Indicted Sen. Ted Stevens won the Republican primary easily, beating Dave Cuddy, his nearest challenger, by 35 points. And although the results aren't official, Congressman Don Young, who is also under federal investigation, is clinging to a 145-vote lead over Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell. It's unclear whether the closeness of the Young-Parnell contest shows that Stevens could have been beaten by a stronger primary opponent or whether the two GOP porkmasters were unbeatable. Neither of them is invincible in the general election, however -- both are trailing their Democratic opponents, who have to be pleased by the results so far.
This just goes to show for all of Obama's problems closing the deal with the American people and the surprisingly weak Democratic convention so far, the Republicans haven't gotten the point yet. And they are going to face an uphill battle for Congress no matter what happens in the presidential election.
Bottle On Hull
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 11:07AM
Several TAS friends and contributors have joined together to help launch a new web magazine that seeks to be something of a sleek conservo-libertarian version of Slate. It's called Culture 11 and it just launched today with a great line-up. Check it out.
Novak's Back
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 9:04AM
Cancer, schmancer -- he can't stay away from the keyboard, and will now be writing occasionally for Creator's Syndicate.
Bloody Karl
Posted by on 8.27.08 @ 12:56AM
As I was leaving the Pepsi Center Karl Rove whizzed by a in a golf cart. Needless to say, he didn't have many fans in this crowd. One man shouted, "Do you know how much blood you have on your hands?"
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Hillary
Posted by on 8.26.08 @ 11:18PM
She brought the house down, and this will serve as a good launch pad for her 2012 presidential run if John McCain wins. I'm also sure it will help with party unity. But while it was a good night for her, it's hard to see what it will do to convince undecided voters that Barack Obama should be president.
"Barack Obama Is My Candidate"
Posted by on 8.26.08 @ 10:50PM
Looking at the text now, the early part of Clinton's speech is heavy on party unity.
What Speakers?
Posted by on 8.26.08 @ 10:46PM
I'm at a restaurant in Denver watching CBS to get a more normal perspective on the goings-on. The change in perspective is enlightening. I'm hearing news from inside the hall about Democratic governors throwing red meat to the crowd. The coverage is all interviews -- Mitt Romney getting equal time, Ed Rendell being grilled about the Hillary-Obama rift, etc. John Dickerson just said on Twitter that "Schweizer is 08's Obama." Well he might be, if he were getting camera time. A Teamster activist sitting next to me is grousing about the coverage. I don't blame her.
Mark Warner
Posted by on 8.26.08 @ 10:13PM
I thought it was okay, but rather weak as a keynote speech. All of the lines about how we can win the race to the future, as well as his delivery, had a sort of Tony Robbins self help feel. It was definitely a moderate speech -- and it's refreshing to hear a Democrat who doesn't demonstrate a visceral hatred of business. The only lines that drew big applause were generic ones such as, "That's why we must elect Barack Obama as our next president." But he didn't do much to convince people why we must.
"The Race to the Future Is On"
Posted by on 8.26.08 @ 9:51PM
That's the opening theme of Mark Warner's speech.
But isn't everybody going to get to the future kind of at the same time?
Is Obama Planning on Assuming Office Early?
Posted by on 8.26.08 @ 9:39PM
In response to Sen. Bob Casey's line "not four more years, four more months," the crowd burst into cheers of "Four More Months! Four More Months!" That would take us to the day after Christmas. Last I checked, the president isn't sworn in until January 20.
Seblivious
Posted by on 8.26.08 @ 9:18PM
This may not be obvious on TV, but here at the Pepsi Center, few people seem to be paying attention to Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who was on the list of possible Obama VP picks. Delegates are walking around and the sound of attendees chit chatting amongst themselves is almost drowning out her speech, which is an unispired effort anyway.
It included the line: "I'm sure you remember a girl from Kansas who said there's no place like home. Well, in John McCain's version, there's no place like home. And a home. And home. And home."
Bad Line of the Day Award
Posted by on 8.26.08 @ 7:53PM
"If that's conservative, than we don't want the con that they're serving." -- Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA)
Re: Republicans Strike Back
Posted by on 8.26.08 @ 7:39PM
As I get closer to the Pepsi Center, I'm also seeing a fair number of sign-waving McCain supporters in the streets.
Republicans Strike Back
Posted by on 8.26.08 @ 6:40PM
Mitt Romney -- along with Representatives Marsha Blackburn, Eric Cantor, and Lincoln Diaz-Barlart -- held a press conference at the GOP's temporary Denver headquarters today. Though the room was crowded, the biggest media outlets mostly stayed away -- the front two rows were reserved for the major networks and national newspapers, but they were mostly empty until they opened them up to other reporters. The Deseret News has a decent write-up, and if you want to hear the whole thing (including Diaz-Barlart's Spanish remarks, which he made at a Spanish-language TV reporter's request) you can listen here. It's in .WMA format -- I tried and failed to convert it to MP3 -- so it may not work for Mac users.
Re: Carly Fiorina: McCain Can Win Women
Posted by on 8.26.08 @ 5:13PM
Jim, maybe Fiorina tapped your phone, leading to its eventual failure.
Carly Fiorina: McCain Can Win Women
Posted by on 8.26.08 @ 4:54PM
My decrepit cell phone just kicked me off a McCain campaign blogger conference call. Before I was reduced to the state of nature, McCain surrogate Carly Fiorina argued that the Republican nominee could appeal to Democrats and independents who, Jim Leach-style, put party over country. She said that such independence was consistent with McCain's history of putting country first.
Fiorina contended that female voters could also be won over by McCain. At 52 percent of the electorate, Fiorinia said, "Women aren't a constituency -- they are the majority." She reported knowing both pro-choice and pro-life women who are pro-McCain. She said that women are twice as likely start small businesses and therefore not single-issue voters based on "reproductive rights" (from the pro-choice perspective) or "life" (from the pro-life perspective).
Reaching out to women who supported Hillary, Fiorina said that Clinton had been "treated with some disrespect" by Barack Obama, who did not vet her for the veep nomination or call her when he picked Joe Biden. She said that everything Biden brings to the ticket, so does Hillary.
Fiorina acknowledged that Obama's campaign has been "uplifting" and "inspirational" to many, but dinged him for offering "no specifics" compared to McCain's plans on the economy, energy independence, and other issues.
Responding to a question about the markets, Fiorina said that McCain consulted widely with Wall Street, the Federal Reserve chairman, the treasury secretary, and Nobel prize-winning economists. She said that McCain understood that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could not be allowed to fail in the short term, but that in the longer term "major reform" is "absolutely required," up to and including privatization. What is important, she argued, is the transparency of capital markets.
After that, my phone died and major news was probably broken.
Making Obama Into FDR
Posted by on 8.26.08 @ 4:07PM
DENVER -- I'm here at "The Big Tent," a space a few blocks from the Pepsi Center, where progressives are gathering for panels and speeches througout the convention sponsored by DailyKos and other liberal groups. Right now, Campaign for America's Future is holding a "Take Back America" panel on the economy.
I've written before about whether, if elected, Barack Obama would be a transformative liberal president like FDR, or more of a Bill Clinton -- i.e. more concerned with advancing his short term political goals than with advancing any sort of progessive agenda.
Robert Kuttner, co-founder of the American Prospect and author of the new book Obama's Challenge, argued that all of the transformative presidents in history (he named Lincoln, FDR, and LBJ), started off as moderates and became radicalized once in office as a result of pressure from activists.
"The time for giving [Obama] a pass is over," Kuttner said. He said Obama needs to understand that to be a great president, he would have to present a much bolder, much more progressive agenda on health care, housing, and deficit spending. He said now that the economy is in bad shape, "we need deficits." He also called for a "Roosevelt scale" regulation of markets.
Now that Obama will be the Democratic nominee, he said, "it us up to us as progressives" to make sure he adopts a more radical policy agenda.Â
They're Crashing Our Party -- Gimme Money!
Posted by on 8.26.08 @ 3:26PM
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has decided to use the Republican "shadow convention" presence as a fundraising opportunity. In my inbox from Paul Begala:
Dear James,You just knew it was going to happen. And in a way I can't blame them.
If I were a Republican I'd be trying to crash our party as well.
Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, John Boehner - a motley crew of Bush-Cheney Republicans who have shown up here in Denver. And I don't think they came just for the Rocky Mountain air.
Can you really blame them? While we're all here to celebrate Barack Obama's plans to write the next great chapter for America in the 21st Century, those guys will be stuck next week at their convention having to celebrate the Bush-Cheney record and John McCain's plan to continue it for another eight years. Which party would you rather be at?
They hope to raise a cool $1 million to compensate for these
uninvited Republican guests.
Amazing
Posted by on 8.26.08 @ 3:09PM
The pro-choice lesbians for McCain movement is having trouble catching on.
Hillary March, Stymied
Posted by on 8.26.08 @ 2:40PM
DENVER -- I was planning on covering a pro-Hillary Clinton march this morning to see if there were any more dead-enders than I was able to run into yesterday.
When I arrived at the designated departure point for the march just three minutes after the 11:45 a.m. start time, I saw only about 15-20 people, mostly women carrying "Hillary for President" signs, and one holding a life-sized cardboard cutout of the Senator from New York.
"The police made them leave at 11:15!," grumbled a woman carrying a clip board. "They probably are worried about conflict."
She then led the group in a frenzied attempt to catch up with the other Clinton supporters who left 30 minutes earlier, though apparently nobody had any way of getting in touch with the other group, and weren't totally on top of Denver geography.
So, maybe there are millions of Clinton dead-enders ready to defect to McCain in November. But if there are, I'm certainly having trouble finding them in large numbers here in Denver, and they don't seem to be all that well organized.
Jim Leach
Posted by on 8.26.08 @ 12:11PM
He is actually one of my favorite liberal Republicans, but his speech last night was a boring mess. Leach's contention that the "party of individual rights has started regulating values" is a little too much to take from the sponsor of the online gambling ban. The Democratic Party's desire to showcase Republicans like him is rich, because he was one of the Republicans they defeated in 2006 to get their majority. And finally, this is off-message for the Obama campaign, since Leach is one of the sponsors of the banking legislation they (erroneously) blame for our current financial jitters, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.
Daily Must-Reads
Posted by on 8.26.08 @ 11:30AM
Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman: Russia is a threat
CS Monitor the wave of the future?
If it takes 100 years to appreciate nuclear power, our's the loss
In defense of keeping the drinking age where it is
The "money train" that ran over municipalities
2004's harsh criticism made the 2008 Olympic basketball team
Truther Leads Mob Against Malkin
Posted by on 8.26.08 @ 4:45AM
DENVER -- The People's Collective provides video of 9/11 Truth crackpot Alex Jones leading a threatening mob against Michelle Malkin, who was trying to cover a protest event here:
Jones, about 200 pounds of undiluted paranoid obnoxiousness, comes off as a bully against Malkin, who is about 100 pounds. As Founding Bloggers said, "Alex Jones single-handedly hijacked an otherwise peaceful, if not useless protest, and turned it into a near violent rampage."No Justice, Some Peace
Posted by on 8.26.08 @ 3:25AM
DENVER -- The police presence in downtown Denver was very heavy Monday night, with squads of cops in full riot gear on nearly every corner of the 16th Street pedestrian mall. This seemed unnecessary as a couple of blogger buddies and I strolled along the street about 6 p.m. But an hour later, as we were in a 33rd-story condo a couple blocks away, my cell phone rang: "They're rioting," said a woman we had been talking to at the Sheraton Hotel during the afternoon.
Jim Hoft and another blogger left to go catch the action. The protesters were outnumbered by the cops. At least 16 protesters were reportedly arrested, and there ensued a standoff that consisted mainly of chanting.
As I wrote earlier, there is little real potential for serious mayhem in Denver. Despite warnings of as many as 50,000 protesters descending on the city, it seems that fewer than 2,000 responded to the call to "Recreate '68." The Denver P.D. seems more serious about security than the protesters are about anarchy.
I photoblogged some street scenes from Denver.
Monday, August 25, 2008
The Obama Family
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 11:09PM
In the wake of the controversy over Obama's decision to expose his daughters to the TV interview, there will probably be some debate over whether allowing his young kids on stage with microphones was a bit too exploitative. My immediate reaction is that the benefits of showing Obama as a familiy man will exceed any potential backlash.
Michelle Channels Barack 2004
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 11:04PM
Michelle Obama just said:
Here was Barack Obama in his 2004 convention speech:
Michelle to Give Props to Hillary
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 10:39PM
Just received the text of Michelle Obama's speech, which contains the line: "People like Hillary Clinton, who put those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, so that our sons and daughters can dream a little bigger and aim a little higher." A smart move to deploy Michelle to reach pay respect to Clinton supporters.Â
No Soda For You
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 10:32PM
All afternoon people have been bringing food and drink into the convention hall (there are vendors outside). The guys checking credentials haven't said anything. All of a sudden, guys in DNC shirts are coming through the press gallery and confiscating drinks. That's not change we can believe in.
(This scintillating news has been brought to you by the incredibly boring series of speeches sandwiched between Teddy and Michelle.)
Jim Leach
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 10:24PM
You gotta give Leach credit. Somehow, he managed to suck all the air out of the room, which didn't seem possible after Ted Kennedy spoke. Why didn't they have Kennedy speak right before Michelle Obama? What a weird way to open a convention.
Kennedy's Speech
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 9:48PM
Basically, he could have burped into the microphone for ten minutes and still received a rousing standing ovation. His speech was predictably filled with Camelot references, and policywise focused on health care -- interestingly a topic that many progressives feel that Obama hasn't talked enough about since he wrapped up the nomination.
Kennedy and McCain's Housing Controversy
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 9:39PM
In the wake of the firestorm Democrats created after McCain couldn't immediately say how many houses he owned, did anybody else find it odd that the Kennedy tribute video featured him steering his yacht?
UPDATE: I'm reminded of something that a delegate from California said to me yesterday when I asked him about the housing line of attack, which he acknowledged was silly: "Ted Kennedy probably owns seven houses, and he gets it. McCain doesn't, and even if he owned no houses, he still wouldn't get it, and that's the real issue."
Waiting for Kennedy
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 9:17PM
They've already started distributing blue and white "KENNEDY" placards here in the main hall.
A Kinder, Gentler Michelle
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 9:00PM
Tonight begins the soft rollout of Michelle Obama. Looking at the excerpts of the speech, Michelle will be introduced by a video called "South Side Girl" which will contain interviews with her family and portray her rise from a middle-class upbringing and the values it instilled in her. Her speech is heavy on the importance of family in her life and her love for her husband.
A preview:
But each of us also comes here tonight by way of our own improbable journey. I come here tonight as a sister, blessed with a brother who is my mentor, my protector and my lifelong friend. I come here as a wife who loves my husband and believes he will be an extraordinary president. I come here as a Mom whose girls are the heart of my heart and the center of my world -- they're the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning, and the last thing I think about when I go to bed at night. Their future -- and all our children's future -- is my stake in this election.
And I come here as a daughter -- raised on the South Side of Chicago by a father who was a blue collar city worker, and a mother who stayed at home with my brother and me. My mother's love has always been a sustaining force for our family, and one of my greatest joys is seeing her integrity, her compassion, and her intelligence reflected in my own daughters."
This is a clear effort to rebuild the image of Michelle, which
suffered from her string of bizarre comments, most prominently the
fact that her husband's successful campaign was the first time in
her life that she was proud of America.
Don't Know Much About History
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 8:54PM
Jesse Jackson Jr. just said that this is "the first political convention in history to take place within sight of a mountaintop." Um, the 1908 Democratic Convention was in Denver. And the Libertarian Party convention was here earlier this summer. But I guess if it wasn't covered in prime time by CNN, it didn't happen.
Carter and Katrina
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 8:44PM
The Democrats clearly keeping Carter on a short leash with a video presentation of him working to help rebuild New Orleans -- a topic where most Americans don't see him as a complete embarassment. They don't want to take any chances by letting Carter speak, because it's hard to imagine he could get through a whole talk without bringing up foreign policy in general and Israel specifically -- and that's not something that the Obama campaign needs.
Pelosi Speech
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 8:37PM
She isn't exactly the most inspiring orator. The speaker of the House entered and exited the stage to chants of "NAN-CY" but during the speech she lost most of the crowd -- people moving about, talking to their fellow delegates, and basically completely oblivious what was going on in the speech -- other than when it began and ended.
Barack Obama Inspired Me: Illinois State Treasurer
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 8:23PM
Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulis was at the podium a little while ago burbling about "my friend, my mentor, my inspiration" Barack Obama. Hope he won't take it too personally if he's thrown under the bus because of these stories about Giannoulis's controversial loans and campaign contributions.
My One Take It To the Bank Prediction
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 7:49PM
From day one of the Democratic National Covention: the selection and performance of R&B songs will not be as good at the Republican Convention. I'll update if I'm wrong.
Moral Complexity
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 7:06PM
Nancy Keenan of NARAL Pro-Choice America is now lecturing John McCain on morality. She mentions the importance of respecting people with different views and of doing things to "reduce the need" for abortions. As long as Roe v. Wade is upheld and a senator with a 100 percent NARAL rating is elected president.
'A 90 Percent Friend of Bush No Friend of Workers'
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 6:56PM
The crowd is still filtering into the Pepsi Center, but Rep. Joe Baca, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, got more applause when he said he was from California than when he called for an end to the war in Iraq or for universal health insurance. But the lady who followed him to the podium got rousing applause when she said John McCain voted 90 percent of the time in lockstep with President Bush. "We don't need 10 percent change," she said. "We need 110 percent change."
Then when Silvestre Reyes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, promised that Obama would take the fight to the terrorists and be tough with American adversaries, crickets chirped. Though in fairness, Congressman Jose Serrano's line about Bush running the economy into the ground didn't get much crowd reaction either.
Ezra, meet Strawman. Strawman, meet Ezra.
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 6:51PM
Ezra Klein takes issue with Sean Wilentz's Newsweek article on Obama and substance:
Or, y'know, Wilentz could be asking Obama for specifics. Which, for all of his transcendent rhetoric (sigh), he doesn't do too well with.
Black Gold, Texas Tyrants
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 6:25PM
I didn't think much of President Bush's promise to end tyranny in our time, but he was at least talking about, you know, actual tyrannies. Democrats are promising to end the tyranny of oil.
Duly Noted At the DNC
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 6:13PM
A speaker just noted that he is an investor, that he is gay, and that he is a proud American. Guess which attracted the most applause?
Live From Hillaryville
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 5:09PM
DENVER -- I just swung by what was billed as a celebration of Hillary Clinton at Confluence Park here in Denver to get an idea of how large of a contingent the pro-Clinton block represented at the convention, and whether it lived up to the media hype. I must say that though "Hillary for President" signs adorned much of the park, and they had tent space set up, there were only about 20 people on hand to show their support for the New York Senator.
The organizers of the event insisted that it was still early in the day (I was there from around noon to 1:30), Clinton had her own events going on, and the big day would be tomorrow, when she speaks at the convention and they are planning a march in her honor.
What I learned by talking with several folks there is that there are two strains within the community of die-hard Clinton supporters. The founder of "18 Million Strong, Rise Hillary Rise," Elizabeth Fiecher, repeatedly emphasized to me that her group was not out to divide the Democratic Party, but to support women's rights and celebrate Hillary Clinton. She did not want to be confused with the P.U.M.A.,'s who are staunchly anti-Obama and ready to vote for John McCain.
I spoke to two Clinton delegates from Colorado who are still voting for her on the first ballot. Brenda Krause of Colorado Springs doesn't know what she's going to do in November, but said she can't talk to the media about it, because if she said she were going to vote for McCain, she'd risk being stripped of her status as a delegate, and that is what really got her going.
"It's fascist," Krause told me, and said that several Clinton delegates she knows were threatened by the DNC after publicly criticizing Obama. "I don't think that's right. That's not Democratic. That's not freedom of speech."
Another delegate, Daniel Kagan of Denver, said he planned to vote for Clinton on the first ballot, but would ultimately get behind Obama in November because as a Democrat he doesn't want to see McCain elected. He did, however, say that the Obama people could have done a much better job unifying the party by bringing in the Clinton backers and being proactive about putting her name in the convention ballot.
While I was there, a dyed in the wool P.U.M.A. showed up wearing a homemade white t-shirt that read, "DNC A DISGRACE" on the front, and on back it said "CLINTON DEM/ NO DEAL OBAMA/CLINTON DEM 4 MCCAIN."
The woman, Marcella Mitchell, came from Houston, Texas to show her support for Clinton, and repeatedly emphasized that as an African American woman she saw through Obama from the beginning, and employed an expression that my father used when I was growing up. "He's a bullsh*t artist," Mitchell said. "And you cant sh*t a sh*tter."
A hospital worker from Ft. Hood and disabled veteran of the Gulf War, Mitchell said she is definitely voting for McCain, and nothing can change her mind.
"What the DNC did was wrong," she said. "I'm not gonna vote for wrong."
When she was watching the Democratic debates, Mitchell said she believed that Obama repeatedly copied Clinton's answers, demonstrating that he has no original ideas of his own, nor any experience on foreign policy. The fact that he picked Joe Biden as his running mate, she said, shows that his "change" message was all talk.
But what particularly galled her was the fact that she felt Obama played the race card, and she was happy to see the McCain campaign call him on it when he tried to do it in the general election. "Oh, did I mention he was black?" she said, mocking Obama's pronouncement that Republicans would try to use his race against him. "Who gives a crap? We know you are…I knew he was gonna play the race card, and when he did, it bit him in the ass."
She also complained about the Rev. Wright controversy, and referred to him as "Rev. Wrong," saying that as a member of an African American church, she doesn't believe that Obama could have listened to his pastor's sermons for 20 years and not know what Wright was about.
"And he's got judgment?" she said, laughing, and slapping her knee. "Who does he think he's talking to? Sally Fufu?"
So, there's a taste, anyway. There are definitely hard-core Clinton supporters out there who are ready to vote for McCain -- or at least refuse to vote for Obama. But how big of a group is it? Thus far I haven't seen evidence here that the movement is large enough to cost Obama the election. But all of this is obviously rough and anecdotal. Â
Scenes from Web 2.0
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 5:09PM
Lots of reporters and bloggers are twittering from the convention. (This includes me, though I don't know that I'll be sharing anything all that interesting that I won't also mention here.) CSPAN is collecting tweets that use the #DNC08 hashtag, but lots of people forget to use that, so I thought I'd highlight a few of this afternoon's interesting/funny tweets:
CQDNC Al Sharpton's advice for Michelle Obama tonight: "Just be Michelle." #dnc08I should note, to be fair, that the last one (by Patrick Gavin of FishbowlDC) isn't refering to the convention hall, where people did stand for the pledge and the national anthem. I'm not sure where Gavin was when he tweeted that. Quin? UPDATE: Quin tells me it was the "practice" pledge/anthem -- yes, apparently this needed to be rehearsed.daveweigel Al Sharpton gets pocket Constitution shoved in face, asked for sig. "I don't sign anything I haven't read."
jdickerson Cindy McCain to Georgia. If you want to get into all the Michelle Obama stories on her big night that's one way to do it.
marcambinder Obama camp (justifiably) frustrated with coverage of HRC / O spat. People who voted for Hillary not necessarily Hillary voters
baltsunlive montana is "dead dang tied" says the charming schweitzer
FishbowlDC #DNC08 Quin Hillyer and I stood for the pledge of allegiance. That may have been it. Star Spangled Banner getting similar snoozy reception
Gouging!
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 4:24PM
Hey, I'm not gonna complain too much about the vendors selling a bottle of water for $3.25 inside the Pepsi Center here in Denver. What-the-market-will-bear and all that. But how do the Democrats feel about it? Will they be imposing a windfall profits tax?
Milking our veterans?
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 2:50PM
Today's Prowler column mentions an Obama advisor promising to milk Biden's deployed son for all he's worth: "Biden is very well aware that his son's deployment is going to be a big part of what we do in October. It's part of our narrative and we're going to milk it for all it's worth," says one of the Obama advisers. "Republicans would do the same."
Actually, they're not. From the Gazette in Iowa:
It's unusual for McCain to talk about it, and Chuck Larson, senior adviser to McCain's Iowa campaign, doubts
he will make a habit of it. [emphasis mine]
This isn't the first time Obama's campaign has exhibited symptoms of projection bias -- the psychological defense mechanism where the subject attributes his own unacceptable tendencies to others. The Democrats have repeatedly addressed the "Republican Attack Machine" (let's call it R.A.M. from now on) as though the Democrats (let alone Obama) have no idea who Mayor Daly or the Clintons are. They also have accused the McCain campaign's obvious race-baiting (subconscious and non-existent though it may be).
The bright side is that defense mechanisms are meant to reduce anxiety. I guess Biden really isn't the cure for what ails ya.
Obama-Narcissus '08
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 1:26PM
A friend who reports on Capitol Hill emails, "I wonder if Obama picked Biden because it would make him look less narcissistic by comparison."
Joe Way
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 12:08PM
As if to prove Stacy's point that conservatives are better off when Bill Kristol gives advice to Democrats rather than Republicans, Kristol is back with another op-ed urging John McCain to pick Joe Lieberman for vice president. The usual points obtain: Social conservatives don't trust McCain enough for him to name a pro-choice running mate; having Lieberman as his first personnel choice would undermine his promise to these conservatives on judges; this would give the Republicans a ticket of two candidates who opposed the Bush tax cuts but supported amnesty for illegal immigrants, campaign finance reform, and cap and trade.
But there are two larger issues conservatives should consider. First, for all its post-partisan appeal a McCain-Lieberman ticket would still double down on an issue (the war) that is at best problematic for Republicans even with Obama's lack of commander-in-chief cred and after the surge. The failure to see this bespeaks a conservative echo chamber that could blind McCain to political reality as much as liberal media bias has blinded Obama. The second issue is the near-total subordination the conservative domestic agenda to foreign policy. Reducing the issues of taxes, guns, and babies to boob bait for the bubbas while foreign policy trumps all will have lasting implications for the conservative coalition.
The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy at Microsoft
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 11:42AM
A conspiracy so large it includes Jerome Corsi and Bill Gates. Since my normal laptop is in the shop, I had to get another to bring with me to the convention. In the latest version of Microsoft Word, everytime I write "Obama" spell check prompts me to change it to "Osama." The smear continues in high-tech form.
Ring of Change
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 10:55AM
The Obama phenomenon has spawned a cottage industry, and I've
come across all sorts of merchandise here in Denver. Below, AJ
Bontempo gives me the pitch for the "Change Ring" -- an
Obama-inspired product he co-created.
Antiwar Dems Give Biden an "A" for Effort
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 10:52AM
While we were traveling to Denver, I asked several Democrats about their reaction to the Biden pick. When they praised Obama's choice of Biden, as they almost universally did, I would follow up by asking if his war vote bothered them (Biden, like the other Democratic presidential wannabes in the Senate, was a yea on authorizing the use of force). One fellow became animated and insisted, "Biden did more than anyone else to try and stop the war!" He went on to praise the resolution, crafted by Biden and Republican Sen. Dick Lugar, that would have authorized force only after all diplomatic options were exhausted. I smiled and pointed out, "Yes, but in the end he voted for the more expansive resolution the president wanted." Silence. Then finally from his traveling companion: "You know, that's a good point."
Republican Counter Programing
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 10:49AM
Yesterday I had the oppourtunity to visit the RNC's temporary headquarters here in Denver, where they hope to play skunks in the Democrats' garden party. Located near Denver's downtown, it has the feel of 24's CTU -- to gain access I had to drive into a back alley, flash credentials, and have a security guard open a black gate into a small parking lot. Inside, the offices have a rapid response war room, a TV-ready press conference room, and lots of flat screen televisions playing news.
All of the RNC's communications' staff as well as some McCain folks have made the trip to Denver (about two dozen people in all), and each day the HQ will host a different surrogate who will try to undermine the Democratic convention's theme of the day. The lineup includes Carly Fiorina and Democrats supporting McCain on Monday, Mitt Romney on Tuesday, Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday, and Tim Pawlenty on Thursday.
I asked Chairman Mike Duncan if this was a sort of shadow convention. "They've got their own shadow convention," Duncan said, referring to the disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters. "We're just commenting on it."
The theme of the Republican response is Not Ready '08 (see website here) with the slogan "a mile high and an inch deep," which I don't think makes much sense, to be honest.
I asked Duncan how the RNC expected to respond to several attacks we'd expect to hear from the Democrats over the course of the week.
McCain is out of touch with the economic anxiety of Americans because he can't recall how many houses he has? Duncan responded by noting Tony Rezko, and then arguing that Obama's plans to raise taxes and oppose drilling to reduce gas prices shows that he's out of touch.
How about the argument that the agreement between Iraq and the U.S. to remove U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of 2011 demonstrates that everybody now agrees with Obama's call for a timetable? Duncan said that Obama opposed the surge that made talk of withdrawal possible and that Joe Biden supported dividing up Iraq, which is opposed by many Iraqis.
The overall response to Biden pick has several layers -- that Biden repeatedly said that Obama wasn't ready while offering praise for McCain, that the choice of Biden demonstrates that Obama knew he was "lacking on foreign policy," and they are "birds of a feather" domestically, especially when it comes to raising taxes.
Daily Must-Reads
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 10:45AM
Not vetted? The Clinton circus tours on
Beijing pollution isn't going away that easily
Biden the Clown
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 8:05AM
In the Guardian today, I make a very small part of the case against Joe Biden. (See Jeffrey Lord's latest for the story behind the plagiarism story.) I weigh the pros and cons and conclude that "Republicans may soon feel not so much mauled by a vicious attack dog as gummed by a clown."
Several people have taken up one problem that I raise: "And if Obama thought he had a problem with ethnic Catholic voters before, just wait. Expect several bishops to start making noises about excluding the pro-choice Catholic Biden from receiving communion when he campaigns in their dioceses."
One commenter says "That would only make Biden more popular with most Catholic voters." And over at the Free Liberal, Michael Binder writes that Biden has "enough of a spine to effectively argue with any Bishop who tries to deny him communion for his defense of abortion rights -- at last I hope he does." Binder at least admits that John Kerry "was a disaster in that regard."
VIDEO: Anti-War Protesters in Denver
Posted by on 8.25.08 @ 5:06AM
It ain't my forte, but I'll be taking some video now and then
when something seems like it might be of interest and posting it
when I'm able to. Here are some anti-war protesters I ran into
while walking along the 16th Street Mall in Downtown Denver on
Sunday.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Biden Joke
Posted by on 8.24.08 @ 11:08PM
Just came up with this one while I was on the Bill Cunningham show to talk about The Warm Bucket Brigade. Remember when the new Democratic VP nominee complained that Rudy Giuliani's sentences could all be diagrammed as "a noun, a verb, and 9/11"? Well Biden's sentences have an unnerving tendency to contain a noun, a verb, and... Joseph Biden.
What the Helfeld?
Posted by on 8.24.08 @ 4:53PM
The press secretary of congressman Esteban Torres didn't like the way an interview was going, so he stole the tape and erased it. Fortunately, this story has a happy ending.
Off to Denver
Posted by on 8.24.08 @ 2:56PM
I'm heading out to join Phil in Denver. I am sure I will find a lot to grouse and complain about while there.
Re: Nominate Hillary for VP
Posted by on 8.24.08 @ 9:42AM
That's the spirit, Jim! Besides, I'd much rather Kristol give advice to Democrats than to Republicans.
Libertarian Borat Strikes Again
Posted by on 8.24.08 @ 1:04AM
Rep. Pete Stark has a get rich quick scheme for America. And if you don't like it, he'll throw you out the window.
Re: Nominate Hillary for VP
Posted by on 8.24.08 @ 12:47AM
You know Stacy, immediately after writing that post it occurred to me that Kristol was making a "let's you and him fight" modest proposal. And now it occurs to me: Maybe the problem that we on the right have faced is that we keep taking Kristol seriously when he is just being mischevious. Cakewalk*, oops.
*Yes, I know "cakewalk" is actually a Ken Adelman term.
Re: Nominate Hillary for VP
Posted by on 8.24.08 @ 12:16AM
Hey, Jim, I didn't mean to suggest you should take Kristol seriously. As mischief-making of the "let's you and him fight" variety, it was splendid, however.
Real mischief in Denver by the Clintonites is unlikely, but it is not impossible, nor is it unprecedented. In Miami in 1972, party leaders lost control of the vice-presidential nomination process, and the delegates spent hours nominating various obscure favorite-son types (e.g. Mike Gravel, Sissy Farenthold, Clay Smothers, etc.) a process that pushed George McGovern's acceptance speech back to 3 a.m. In the end, Tom Eagleton got only 59% of the vice-presidential vote.
A clever minority, determined to cause trouble, could disrupt the show if the Obama machine doesn't marshal its forces on procedural votes.
- Mission Implausible
- The Continuing Crisis
- Evolve or Die
- Digital Subscription (Save 78%)
- Buy a single issue (Save 50%)
- Send Spectator as a gift
