Election Day in Akron 8

It's on. The most important election in a generation from Akron's ward 8.

10:15 - Game over once they called Ohio. Knocking on all those f*&#ing doors actually paid off! Everyone take five.

16:30 - just got back from canvassing. basically no one was home. The people I did manage to coax to the door had already voted, good. Before I left the staging house some of the organizers were whining about low turnout in Ohio. That made me cringe. Wouldn't we expect turnout to be lower due the 25% that cast early ballots? Pho twittered about low turnout at the polls. I''ll admit I'm nervous.

12:05 - leaving for the staging house to pick up a last day canvass pack. I hope all this knocking makes a difference. It better.

9:00 - The futility of stupid people. My idiot neighbor just set up a sign with a blown up copy of an anti Obama pamphlet on William Ayers. Talk about low rent. Even the plutocrats down the road aren't going to this extreme.

8:36 - The line at Case is gone. Voters are trickling in now. Did early voting relieve the pressure on election day?

7:40 - I'm going to get my free Starbucks coffee. Hey did you hear it's free if you voted.

6:35 - They are lined up at Case Elementary to get it done before work. Before the doors open the line runs down Harcourt and just starts to wrap around Westvale. They may have a half hour wait. Not too bad compared to four or five hours. Pix to follow.

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Restless, Distant and Tense

That's the summary of how I'll feel the next two days. I can check out the poll data or Nate Silver's latest on the unlikely McCain paths to victory. Neither of these things will settle me down though. I remember some anxiety on the eve of the 2006 mid terms, mostly about the chances of a having a Governor Blackwell. With so much more on the line and having spent a good deal of time volunteering for the Obama campaign this go around is much more intense. Can you tell I'm a Type A?

Just to add to the election noise take a look at the Pollster composite of Ohio.

Doesn't look to bad for Obama does it? Now look at the national composite.













A good lead but not as comforting. I added the long over due fivethirtyeight.com widget to the sidebar. Too bad it will only be handy for two more days. Anyway this is the last push. If you are still volunteering tomorrow or Tuesday, fight the good fight and as Kos said "leave everything on the road".

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Where I'll Be Sunday Afternoon

Not in Downtown Cleveland on Malls A, B or C.  As much as I would like to be at the Obama rally this Sunday I think I will pass.  I've been waiting to attend one rally before election day and Sunday is the last chance to take in a live Obama speech.   I had a feeling he would swing by C town one last time and unfortunately I was right. Sunday's rally will be an epic event I'm sure.  Hell, Springsteen will even be there.  In the end I'm sticking to the original plan, knocking on doors until my knuckles hurt.

I could go the rally knowing that doing it won't do anything to claim one additional vote.  Canvassing isn't all that exciting but there is a crucial need to keep feeding the ground game that's going to win this state for Obama. I'll suck it up and play a part in that last push on the streets.  I know it sounds selfless but have you heard about the pain in the ass parking is going to be?  And Jesus has everyone forgotten about 2004?  Kerry had a rally on the mall the night before the election along with Bruce and the next day, well we know what happened.

Knock knock knock.

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Tales From 8 Days Out

Step Up and Be Counted
We early voted this past Saturday. I would have gone earlier but I hadn't made a final decision on all of the state and local issues until this past week. More on the issues in a later post. The Summit County location was busy, around 200 people waiting to get their ballots. The good thing is that the Job Center has plenty of room, no waiting in the rain. The whole process took about an hour but it was worth it. There was something meaningful in the way people from all walks of life stood as their names were called out by poll workers to get their ballots. James so and so step up and change history.

An Early Voting Snapshot from Cuyahoga
Speaking of early voting numbers I was able to get some raw numbers from Cuyahoga County for today's (10/27) early voting turnout. Sorry I don't know anyone ant Summit BOE. Here are the results from today's busy round of voting in the county to the north:

Dems 2,179
Newly Registered 492
Reps 60
Indy (Wafflers) 544
Total 3,275

Being conservative, that's about 80-85% Obama support. Does this mean that Obama voters are more enthused than McCain voters or is this an indication of something more dramatic? Sure Cuyahoga is heavy D but only 60 registered R's out of the over 3,000 that showed up. They must be voting absentee. Maybe we're approaching the overwhelming force number that's a tipping point for an Obama win in Ohio.

The Local Ground Game
The Obama Ohio GOTV effort has been hitting Akron and west suburbs hard the past month. There have been volunteers in our neighborhood every weekend this month and I'm sure they'll be back this weekend. Speaking as a foot soldier who has been canvassing the past three weeks I can attest to the large numbers of ordinary citizens offering up weekend time to knock on doors. The energy level at the Akron headquarters is high and the place is packed with volunteers every weekend looking to make a difference in some way. I've walked neighborhoods in Northwest Akron, Fairlawn and Bath with varying levels of support for Obama. I think Summit County is going to turn out a massive number of votes for our guy come election day. Will it be enough though?

Robo Call BS from Voinovich
Got a robo call from Sen. George Voinovich on my cell phone tonight. I hung up the call before listening to the actual message. Geez, this guy only shows up to make silly accusations about the Democratic candidate for president or to rant about casinos. I'm supposed to waste time listening to him blather on about his opinion on something I don't care about? I did call George's office and voice my about his stupid call interrupting my dinner.

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Don't Trust the Polls

I am spending too much time obsessing over the polling data. As a self professed fivethirtyeight.com junky I enjoy soaking up Nate Silver's latest daily regression of the polls and the matching pretty graphics. Today's composite chart from Pollster.com is crack for the eyes. The familiar spread continues to widen with the last few says of the trend pointing in almost opposite directions. That's a damn work of art.

Sure things look good for Obama and bad for McCain right now. The polls have add for election observer's and make me feel all warm and fuzzy. Don't take solace in the polls though. There is still a lot of campaign left and I won't feel safe until this one is in the bag on November 5th. My worst nightmare is having one of those Bush 2004 hangovers the day after the election. Except this year it would be a head splitting Palin migraine from hell.

Staring at poll data doesn't do anything to get one additional vote. So close out of Firefox or IE7 (dummy) and get off your collective butts. Walk away from the Internets and go early vote (only once) or knock on some doors for the Obama campaign. The stupid little pie charts on fivethirteight aren't going anywhere trust me, I keep checking.

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Bennett Comes Up For Air

The Ohio GOP's decision to drop its court battle over voter registration may signal a brief detente with Jennifer Brunner. That news and a call to negotiate comes as a surprise but a welcome one. Don't be fooled into thinking the change in tactics is a change in strategy though. The realization that the lawsuit method wasn't gaining any traction finally sunk in and there is still time to regroup. One of the GOP attorneys was quoted as saying different approach was needed.

I can't imagine that the GOP dropped the suit because they are genuinely concerned about the potential ill effects on voter turnout. The change in approach may just mean there are other ways to create problems for legitimate voters on election day. The idea of a court created caging list sounded grand but time is a wasting. Maybe the impact of early voting was a factor in the decision to move away from litigating, for now. Early voting is looking like a much needed relief valve to take the pressure off of the line and the process on Nov. 4th. The GOP has probably conceded that voter caging is not going to have the effect of creating confusion as in years past now that voters have the early option.

Don't count out future court action even if it comes after the election. If for some sick twist of fate Ohio ends up being close enough for a recount then look for the friends of Bob to mount legal challenges to the method of voter verifications. With this in mind don't forget to vote early.

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Obama and the Powell Doctrine

It's a start.

Colin Powell's complicity in the run up to the Iraq war has never set well with me. He is a soldier's soldier and bucking the chain of command was not in the cards that fateful day in February of 2003. A courageous act like crossing party lines in a moment of attention grabbing honesty did a lot to bring people like me back into the Powell's circle of trust. Now that Powell has gone forward with his endorsement the dynamic of the race continues to change in Obama's favor. As I've been saying the way to win this election is through the Powell doctrine of overwhelming force.

The Powell doctrine in practice.
The Obama campaign has indeed continued to generate the momentum that will build into an overwhelming force come election day. It is fitting that the man who championed the strategy is adding to that wave by jumping party lines and endorsing Obama. Combine the nod from Colin Powell with the ginormous cash hall the campaign raised in September and the force grows. Add in the cascade of endorsements of major newspapers regardless of past political alignment of their editorial boards and the unstoppable nature of the force is apparent. By the time November rolls around an election victory will be inevitable. No matter what crack pot charges are lobbed by Team McCain and regardless of GOP attempts to suppress voter turnout.

Two questions arise from Powell endorsement
Will the McCain attack machine be rendered useless in the wake of Powell's support? If not will the attack dogs raise the question of why a four star general endorsed a terrorist for president?

In an unforeseen twist to the story did Powell just launch himself onto the short list of potential candidates for Secretary of State if Obama is elected? I may be half way to accepting Powell's mea culpa for his disappointing performance during the run up the Iraq war. I'm not sure if his credibility has been restored one hundred percent though. Still even the thought of Powell serving the Obama administration in some other advisory capacity is an intriguing thought. Maybe a role in unwinding the Iraq occupation would be fitting.

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Quest For The Perfect Caging List

As sure as the leaves will fall off the trees this fall the Ohio GOP will strive to find ways to prevent a free and unfettered election process. The plan usually depends on carving out a large group of potential voters and finding a way to divert them into provisional ballot purgatory. As we have seen this year Bob Bennet et al have focused their energy on creating a court enforced caging list. Why spend untold dollars mailing out certified letters in order to identify potential victims of their age old suppression racket? The events of 2008 have given these creeps the perfect backdrop for asking the courts to do the work for them.

The tactics may differ but the strategy is always the same, divert as many potential voters to the confused path of provisional balloting and hope the election is close. Bill Boyarsky sums it up:

Republicans, as they did in 2004, can make massive challenges of voters in Democratic areas, creating confusion and slowing the vote. Challenged voters cast provisional ballots, which are counted later. But in 2004 many potential voters walked away from long lines created by the challenges. Some doubted that their provisional ballots would be counted.

The histrionics over the ACORN voter registrations and the new focus on getting Jennifer Brunner to employ cross matching have provided the poor slobs on the right the latest method to create that special underclass of voters. The key to this year's scheme is getting a court to enforce the tactics. The corollary to the plan is to turn up the heat on the ACORN story by drumming up white fear and relying on law enforcement to legitimize the fear about the group's activity. And yes, I said white fear. There are reports on numerous threats and racial slur laden emails the group has been receiving since the fear has been ratcheted up.

After losing 9-0 in the US Supreme Court the GOP re-modulated faster than the Borg and filed a new challenge with the Ohio Supremes. This latest filing should worry anyone concerned about the real integrity of this election considering the heavy conservative leaning of the Ohio court. A victory for the GOP will enshrine their caging tactic as version 2.0 and keep the tactic alive for future elections. If the SCO sides with Brunner then the chance to see a fair outcome in the Ohio becomes more of a reality. In the end the only real hedge for winning this election is an overwhelming force of support for the Democratic candidate.

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Seamore Butts Is Not the Problem

The latest hysteria over fraudulent voter registration cards is an overblown reaction to a minor issue. The stories about bad voter registration cards are hyped as indicators of insidious election fraud coordinated to tilt the election in one candidate's favor. The Plain Dealer and some other media outlets have been in a tailspin recently over problems with a small number of voter registration turned in to Cuyahoga County by ACORN.

A story in the PD about the voter registrations in question describes the situation but finally manages to provide some much needed context as to what is happening in Cuyahoga County. As you could have guessed the amount of names in question is minimal, the story by Joe Guillen indicates 50 out of 65,000 cards turned in have problems. According to my slide rule that would be a staggering 0.08% (I'm even rounding up) of registrations turned in to the elections board. The cards were already flagged by board employees so it's not a voting issue. Even the normally bitchy pants Rob Frost, Chairman of the Cuyahoga County GOP wasn't overly concerned, from the PD:

But even Chairman Rob Frost, the second Republican member on the county's election board, said the potentially fraudulent registration cards do not jeopardize the fairness of the election.

His opinion on the lack of severity of the matter was seconded by the other Republican member of the Cuyahoga County BOE, Jeff Hastings. The consensus seems to be that the bad registrations are a result of a sloppy operation on the part of ACORN's staff not a concerted effort to have everyone vote three times. That understanding over the ACORN voter card issue has been lost on the McCain Campaign. Seeing another line of attack McCain and his advisors have begun to link Obama to the group and it's alleged diabolical scheme to register fake voters. If you were part of the flailing John McCain campaign you'd probably do the same thing. Claiming that a few erratic voter registration cards threaten the election process isn't an honest assessment of the real problems facing voters.

A story written by Dennis Willard appearing in today's ABJ highlights the true threat to free and unfettered elections. In his account the Greene County (Ohio) Sheriff had taken up the banner of fighting election fraud. What made this case disturbing was the Jim Crowe era tactics attempted by a elected law enforcement official. As Willard points out Sheriff Gene Fischer took it upon himself with no evidence of apparent wrong doing (only rumors) to start investigating the names of the 300 or so persons who early voted in Greene County. Fischer's requests involved seeking the public and non public information of the people who early voted. Presumably the names would include some of the students attending two historically black universities that are located within the County. The arbitrary and seemingly biased way that this "investigation " was started is enough to sound the tocsin over voter suppression:

This ill-conceived act is enough to raise questions about Fischer's understanding of the law and his sensitivity to ensuring that voters —especially African-American voters — feel secure and not threatened by exercising their fundamental rights, but his ineptitude did not occur in a vacuum.

The context Willard refers to is the importance of Ohio in this election and the issues that demobilizing voters, be they black or white through intimidation and suppression could have on the outcome.

The real problem with elections in swing states like Ohio is and has always been voter suppression and purging of voter roles. Unlike registration drives from outside groups these two menaces are abetted by the government bodies charged with protecting our most important franchise. A dark and inequitable force that seems to gravitate around poor and working class citizens in economically depressed areas.

Just in the past few weeks there have been stories of attempts to purge voters from the rolls in Michigan, Colorado and even in Ohio (no way). The story is repeated every four years and the purging always seems to zero in on minority and poor voters. In fact Michigan officials were going to attempt to challge voters who's homes had been foreclosed on and thus had outdated mailing addresses. Who can forget the voter challenging drives and caging lists in Ohio in 2004? That round of voter suppression was brought to you by the Ohio GOP and the fomerly important Ken Blackwell. An exhaustive story by Robert Kennedy Jr. detailed the damage caused to the fairness of Ohio's voting system in 2004.

Clearly the likes of Seamore Butts, Hugh Jass, Heywood Jablome and the Dallas Cowboys pose only minor nuisance for election board staff trying to sort through voter registrations. Troubles from phony registration cards pale in comparison to the damage caused by system enforced voter purging and suppression that rears its head every four years. I've said before the only sure way of overcoming this undemocratic influence is through the Powell Doctrine of overwhelming force. The crushing wave of support for candidates like Obama and the disdain for more Bush era policies will provide that force on election day.

If you get the chance check out Greg Palast's new web site and comic book called Steal Your Vote Back. Vote early vote often once.

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McCain Needs Fiber Infusion

I didn't have the energy to do any fancy live blogging of last night's debate but a few observations are in order:

McCain and his people have been barking about the town hall format and how that's his strong suit. If that is the case then what the hell happened last night? Things went south as soon as McCain unleashed that dry retort of "not you" to Brokaw in response to his question on Sec. of Treasury picks. As the night dragged on McCain's lurking in the background as Obama answered questions just made things stranger. McCain's now famous "that one" quip coupled with ad nauseam use of the "my friends" technique all indicated a man teetering on the edge of senior citizenship. Add the long Christmas list style notes written with a Sharpie and it becomes clear that this guy should be thinking about hanging it up to enjoy his golden years in Sedona.

Seriously, when you start exhibiting overt signs of old age as McCain clearly is now is the time to ease back and take it easy. It's best to be relax, stay close to a bathroom and load up on plaid pants. This is not time to be running for president, just ask Bob Dole.

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49 Nifty United States

Sarah Palin has completely degenerated into self parody at this point in the race.  Could it be any more obvious that she serves no other purpose than to rile up the base at those creepy-ass rallies?  By now the media cycle has been permeated with this one liner:

"This is not a man who sees America like you and I see America..."

We sadly know the rest by now.  I wouldn't expect the MSM not to pick up this meme and repeat it,that's what they do.  What sticks in my craw is that I have yet to see one outlet at least come back and mention Saracuda's association with the secessionist Alaskan Independence Party.  When she says " the way you and I see America", does she mean one with only forty nine states?  Could at least one crummy news publication or cable show at least bring this up, just once? 

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VP Darn Tootin' Debate Lowlights You Betcha

I can't believe how little substance Palin provided in her "answers" to the foreign policy section of the debate.

My favorite higlight was Biden's rebuttal on meeting with Iran floored Palin. Spain, Spain! SP didn't even ask for a redirect after that. Next question please.

It can be surmised that the half life of schmaltzy debate soundbites appears to be much less than Palin's handlers expected. Not unlike the half life of her folksy nonsubstanative appeal to voters which has also fallen short of the expectations of the McCain people.

We can now sit back and listen to the insufferable storyline being propagated across cablenewsland. The one that says as long as she didn't implode or belch out loud she accomplished her mission. Palin must have cycled though her note cards at least twice. That's great. I agree with Andrew Sullivan she now should have no problem submitting to press interviews.

Oh and by the way it's General McKeirnan.

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Timely Fiscal Wake-Up Tour at CSU

Now seems like the right time to start talking about the financial future of government.

The Cleveland State University Levin College of Urban Affairs will be hosting the Fiscal Wake-Up Tour on October 2nd. The tour is a series of forums organized by something called the Concord Coalition. Included in that panel discussion are some experts from other think tank type organizations that work with the Concord Coalition, these include Heritage Foundation (righty), Brookings Institution (moderate to left) and the Peter G. Petersen Foundation.

Notice the event uses the word "Fiscal" in its name. This implies a focus on the other piece of the economic puzzle that will have to be addressed if this nation is able to regain its hope for future solvency. Sounds like an interesting concept to foster a grassroots level recognition and discussion of the looming crisis that is facing government at all levels. The Levin College is a respectable organization and the event holds promise to be enlightening. Details are here.

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Ole Miss Ramblings

Here we go. I doubt we'll get the same gems from this debate as we did from the 2004 debate. It seems so long since the words "hardwork" and "internets". Lehrer made the smart choice of including the global markets as part of the security of America so we should get some idea of where each guy stands.

Obama calls for oversight, taxpayer protection, limits on CEO pay and bascially the highlights of the Dodd Plan. He decides to get tough an call McCain on years of deregulation.

The political stunts never stop with McCain. He first announces that Ted Kennedy is in hospital. How wonderfully bipartisan of him. He goes to bat for the House Republicans and their crazy shock doctrine specimen of a plan.

Lehrer pulls them back to the question at hand, whether or not they support the bailout plan.

McCain compares the task at hand to the D-day invasion. Obama goes back to the lack of deregulation.

Okay we cold have spent more time on the financial bailout. Moving on to government spending.

McCain quickly gets the discussion to earmark spendings. Obama counters with McCain's support for corporate taxbreaks. The earmark things seems to be stickig, Obama looks like a deer in the headights.

***

McCain pulls out the inaccurate statement on high U.S. business tax rates paid as compared to other countries. Actually we have a higher statutory rate but pay less after all of the tax breaks. Thankfully Obama sets the record straight. McCain gets back on the sheriff of earmarks kick. Obama spars over the tax breaks to oil companies. McCain counters with the creepy laugh.

Back to the bailout and impact on the federal budget. So far I'm not bowled over. We've heard all of these points from both already. We will have to make changes blah, blah blah.

***

McCain calls Obama liberal, oohhh that's original. Jim still can't get traction on how the bailout is going to impact the federal budget. They both seem reluctant to acknowledge that the bailout and pending financial doom will severally cripple their attempts to implement their programs. McCain answers the question for Obama. Obama reminds McCain that he was present through the Bush years when the federal spending increased.

***

On to Iraq. McCain paints the predictable rosy picture. Quick! Is Al Queda shia or sunni?

Obama asks the question, has it all been worth the price. This will soon be a trillion dollar war

McCain unloads all of his ammo on Obama on his not believing in the surge. Obama reminds us the war didn't start in 2007. McCain continues to score points on his support of the surge. Obama does his best to counter. This point of the debate will be scored better for McCain. Who loves General Petraeus the mostest?

***
I have to say the debate is not that exciting but that is a good thing if you are Obama. Neither one of the candidates is running away with this thing. Such a difference when compared to the first debate in 2004.

Afghanistan is next. Obama gets a tongue lashing from McCain on being brash about military strikes in Pakistan. No mention that the current administration is already doing this! Obama hits back with a hilarious reference to McCain singing about bombing Iran. He then squares up the argument that as president you can't wait to take action if danger to U.S. troops is eminent.

Take a break, we're getting a long winded lecture from McCain on the grave nature of being commander in chief.

***

Let the Iran fear mongering begin. McCain proposes the league of justice or dmocracy or legion of doom, I'm not really sure. McCain suggests John Bolton be the first leader of this organization (not really).

Obama admits he buys into the Kyle Lieberman amendment, so sad.

Everyone agrees we can't tolerate a nuclear Iran. What is the approach to use in dealing with Iran? McCain uses about 200 too many words to explain why he will only meet with Iran only with preconditions.

Obama skillfully picks up that thread and makes his point on diplomacy with Iran much more easier to comprehend. A mcuh better counter than on Iraq or Afghanistan. Obama hits pay dirt with the McCain's Spain gaffe. They are a NATO ally.

Some one fact check the alleged Kissenger remarks on meeting with Iran.

***

McCain is certainly up on the events around the turmoil in the Caucuses. It helps when your campaign adviser lobbies for the Republic of Georgia. He just read every damn name that appears on the map of that region, what a great geography lesson.

Obama pivots very well from Georgia to the impact of prudent energy policy. I'll admit I wasn't to sure how he would handle that topic.

Are we safer now than we were after 9/11? Obama is willing to say somewhat but more work left to go.

The take away is that both candidates held their own in their own way. No one pulled away. McCain probably salvaged his reputation by showing up and debating in earnest. Obama kept McCain in his sights and did not let him get to far of an advantage. I agree with Bo Bo Brooks that this was not a game changer.

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IUOE Local 18 Loses Its Mind

The Plain Dealer covered John McCain's visit to the Cleveland area but the real story wasn't the actual visit or the prepared remarks:

Pool report: Republican presidential candidate John McCain spoke briefly this morning at a construction site at Interstate 71 and Ohio 82, where he promised to bring jobs to Ohio and accepted the endorsement of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 18.

Unions typically endorse democratic candidates but that's quickly becoming the conventional wisdom these days. The Cleveland chapter of the International Union of Operating Engineers lent Republican John McCain their endorsement today. The sanction was given despite his party's track record of marginalizing unions and rampant support of free trade agreements. They appear to be an outlier unlike the large manufacturing unions like the UAW or other major players like the S.E.I.U. and A.F.S.C.M.E. who will most certainly put there muscle behind the Obama campaign this fall. One thing that makes the I.U.O.E different is that they are a construction union and per their website the contractors they are affiliated with are small family owned businesses. This is exactly the group of voters that McCain is trying to woo with his unrelenting "Obama will raise your taxes" mantra. That being said whatever happend to union brotherhood?

The blue collar tweekers are usually mobilized to help out the Democratic candidate but in Ohio in 2008 nothing can be taken for granted. Now I don't foresee more unions peeling off in great numbers to endorse a candidate that most likely does not have their best interest at heart but any movement from the norm is not a welcome sign. Obama will need all the support of the traditional Democratic base and then some if he thinks he is going to win the Buckeye State. Union Yes, McCain No.

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Charlie Gibson for a Day

The much awaited unveiling of Sarah Palin to the news media will begin tonight in a multi-part interview with Charlie Gibson. Now that the time of her confinement is over we can expect candidate Palin to offer up her real views on the most pressing policy questions of this election.

Is there anyone out there that doesn't think this won't be more than a " Meet the Palins" type affair? Fox News already ran one of these specials and CNN is planning to release one soon. The Associated Press has a story that touches on how ABC will package and commodify the Gibson interview into bite size ratings friendly pieces.

Gibson is having three separate interviews with Palin, ABC said. Parts of the interviews will be spread around other ABC news programs, including "Nightline" and "Good Morning America."

I'm not holding out for a hard hitting Russertesque scrubbing of her record but I can still dream. If ABC News sent the Bizarro Charlie Gibson to Alaska to interview Bizarro Hillary he would do the opposite of the real Gibson and ask hard questions that aren't about hockey or lipstick. Here are some of the questions in backwards order and quasi-Bizarro speak:

7. Will you try to have minutes of top secret Cheney Energy Task Force meetings released to the public? Why do you hate polar bears?

6. What should U.S. military do to reclaim control of Afghanistan? What is capital of Afghanistan?

5. Me want to know what contributions or edits you made to Op-ed piece on the GSE bailout that was in Wall Street Journal? Do you want to correct your statements about them being tax payer funded?

4. Me want to see if you know what the Fourth amendment (of U.S Constitution) says in regards to warrantless wiretapping. Would you ask a President McCain to revisit the FISA Reauthorization of 2008?

3. How many signing statements is too many? 800? 900?

2. How soon after December 2008 do Iraq have provincial elections? Me want to know if you think a referrendum on the status of the city of Kirkuk should be included in elections? Do you even know what that means?

1. Do you think me sexy?

Update: Andrew Sullivan links to a list of 20 questions formulated by the editors of Foreign Policy magazine. Add these to the no way in hell list.

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Meet Bizarro Hillary

John McCain the maverick is back and has defied convention and the odds makers by picking Alaska governor Sarah Palin to join him on the GOP ticket. There are some risks with this pick but, it could be a brilliant move or come off as exceedingly calculated and condescending to voters. The McCain campaign certainly must be aware of the danger but had to weigh those risks against the long shot chance of winning this election. Defying convention with Palin is one way to shake up the race and create their own fate. I agree with Ed Shultz, it has the feel of a Hail Mary pass. It is telling about how hard they think it's going to be to win the election.

IOKIYAR Alert

Obviously her lack of experience in Washington in the foreign policy milieu is going to be hard to shake. Andrew Sullivan makes a good case for
not going the Palin route at the Daily Dish:

The first criterion for a veep - and I'm simply repeating a truism here
- is that they are ready to take over at a moment's notice. That's
especially true when you have a candidate as old as McCain. That's more than especially true when we are at war, in an era of astonishingly difficult challenges, when the next president could be grappling with war in the Middle East or a catastrophic terror attack at home. Under those circumstances, we could have a former Miss Alaska with two terms years under her belt as governor.

There's no easy way to predict what the McCain handlers were thinking. Here are some reasons that the McCain people must have used to rationalize the Palin pick:

The Bizarro Hillary

Attract the legions of disaffected Hillary supporters that supposedly have left the Democratic party. Have these guys read the latest polls? The massive carve out of Hillary supporters heading for the McCain camp looks more and more like a media concoction built up to attract
eyeballs to cable news channels. How many pant suits does this women have? She will need a lot of them to pull of the Hillary switcharoo if that's what she plans to do.

A Biden Factor

A perceived vulnerability of Biden by McCain could be a factor in selecting Gov. Palin. He will easily demonstrate his gigantic advantage in foreign policy over Palin during the VP debate. Biden has legendary loose lips and they may perceive a slight chance that he could mutter something condescending or rood during the debate. The echo chamber would cycle such caddy behavior and pull Biden down with it. On the other hand he may try to hold back and not completely school her to avoid looking like a jerk.

Bucking Party Orthodoxy - To a Degree

Palin has the appropriate bona fides. She is of course a pro-life evangelical, a lifetime member of the NRA, an advocate of small government, anti-earmarks, pro-drill-the-shit-out-of-everywhere and a defense hawk (how can you tell). She does however support some rights of gay couples, is an advocate of energy diversification and likes basketball. I think the McCain camp realizes the Republican brand is in shambles and introducing a female VP pick that has a mavericky edge like him could be effective in attracting independent and swing voters. This may not be 100% amiable to the GOP faithful but they will fall in line in the end of this pick pays off.

As much as he annoys me I think Romney would have been a better pick for McCain. He espoused all of the right conservative viewpoints on the primary trail as evidenced by the prattling done over him on right wing radio. He would also give McCain the edge in Michigan. And since he isn't a Washington fixture or a party insider he has some of the outsider cache that today's right wingers thirst for. Apparently the focus group horseshit conducted by Team McCain said otherwise.

Obama certainly has many angles to go after on the Palin VP pick and he should exploit those where possible. In the end I wouldn't underestimate Palin. She has risen in a meteoric fashion to get to the governorship of Alaska. I know it's only Alaska and not a mighty swing state like Ohio or Michigan but, her political achievements like those of Obama have come at a relatively early age which speaks to her determination and savvy.

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Big Dog Shows Ann Curry Some Unity

The Olympics are over and Ann Curry has been reassigned to asking every delegate and VIP at the Democratic National Convention about Hillary and party unity. The Today show host was apparently set loose on the convention floor with only one assignment, keep pushing the media theme of party disunity and the Clinton-Obama schism.

I've turned to MSNBC for some of my coverage mainly to laugh at Pat Buchanan's comb over and watch the commentary of Olbermann and Matthews. Ann was part of the mix from the mix from the beginning. On Monday night she accosted Nancy Pelosi and Jimmy Carter within the same hour and wouldn't let them go until they admitted Hillary was a ticking time bomb that was going to tear the Democrats apart. After the "sisterhood of the traveling suit pants" speech on Tuesday you would have thought Ann would give it a rest but she was at it again tonight going after more victims.

I think the speech by Bill Clinton may be enough to put the disunity storyto bed. Clinton was clear and concise on his support for Obama. His criticism of Republican policies and the damage to America as a result of those polices was strongly worded and direct. As effective as Hillary's speech was on Tuesday, Bill's was even better. He compared the story of his run in 1992 and the uphill battle he faced convincing voters he would be an effective president to that of Obama's quest to win the election in 2008. In doing so he helped dispel the effects of the 3AM adds that Hillary launched against Obama during the primary run. They may have had their fingers crossed behind there backs but Bill and Hill delivered the goods. Ann you are free to return to the Today show.

I've also watched the PBS coverage because they tend to focus on the actual convention and not media driven memes. Lehrer is always good and of course Shields and Brooks provide great analysis. Although David Brooks seemed to be more antsy than normal. Maybe he's regretting some of those NYT columns he wrote on Obama's candidacy.

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Finally a Foothold for Obama

The McCain house party has hit the news cycle and this should be seen as manna from heaven by the Obama campaign. With the polls looking tighter and the negative adds taking there toll on Obama the momentum was on McCain's side. Being able to counter the typical GOP attacks of 'Obama's an elitist" depends on taking advantage of the statements like those made by McCain this week. Being rich is one thing. Being so rich that you have houses laying around like dirty underwear just seems out of touch with average people. That's the theme that has to be replayed over and over in order to have an impact on voter perceptions.

Of course team McCain had to hit back and they came back swinging. Unfortunately for McCain they hit like a girl (not PC, I know) and appear to be desperate for any comeback. The latest counter attack goes for the old reliable Obama - Rezko association and all that stuff. It's kind of a curious move because the Rezko material is not easy to grasp and not in your face like actually not knowing how many homes one owns. And it won't be hard for Obama to see that Rezko and raise McCain one Charles Keating. Funny how years of inside the beltway dealings leave a residue on the Senator from AZ.

Anyway Obama needs to hold on to this foothold like grim death. Let the 24 hour news cycle work for us for once and drill this one into the popular lexicon. In fact why not carry the theme of an out of touch McCain right into the convention next week?

The Bankruptcy Reform I Told You So

Remember that one time in 2005 when Congress did the bidding of the credit card companies and passed a bankruptcy reform law? It was supposed to help credit card companies and other financiers of short term credit mitigate the abuses of the bankruptcy system. In return there was an explicit (by my recollection) reciprocation offered by said firms to lower rates and fees associated with their business line.

That seemed like a load of bull crap from the start but the GOP controlled Congress was on a roll back then and the bill written by the same firms that would benefit from its passage was passed and signed into law. It even had plenty of help from moderate Dems like some guy named Ted Strickland. The whole sordid affair of the influence peddling in the case of this wretched law has been well documented in books like The Broken Branch by Ornstein and Mann.

Fast forward to 2008 were the stories of our collective economic anxiety and oil price angst fill pages of newsprint on a daily basis. The NYT ran a piece on the strangle hold that credit providers maintain over their hapless borrowers and the massive growth of revenue generated from the endless credit cards and loans that we consumerist Americans seem to be so addicted to. The payoff is the empirical indication that the bankruptcy reform law did not save us money but rather made money for it's supporters. The article cites a study conducted at a little known institution called Harvard University:

Not surprisingly, such practices generated dazzling profits for the nation’s financial companies. And since 2005, when the bankruptcy law was changed, the credit card industry has increased its earnings 25 percent, according to a new study by Michael Simkovic, a former James M. Olin fellow in Law and Economics at Harvard Law School.

The“2005 bankruptcy reform benefited credit card companies and hurt their customers,” Mr. Simkovic concluded in his study. He said that even though sponsors of the bankruptcy bill promised that consumers would benefit from lower borrowing costs as delinquent borrowers were held more accountable, the cost of borrowing from credit card companies has actually increased anywhere from 5 percent to 17 percent.

What can we learn from this? The current economic malaise that hovers around us has some root in the supplication of special interests as was the clear case with the 2005 law on bankruptcy reform. The lobbyists and campaign advisers that candidate X prefers to surround themselves with makes a difference to the poor saps that may end up at the wrong end of special interest crafted policies. A real critical difference if you are just trying to ride out the current economic tempest.