Slatest PM: The John McCain Is a Hard Man To Please edition

Your daily PM briefing from The Slatest (@slatest), your trusty news companion.

By Josh Voorhees (@JoshVoorhees)

***Reading on an iPhone? Click here for a mobile-optimized version of the PM.***

SO YOU'RE SAYING IT DIDN'T HELP: Associated Press: "U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice told lawmakers Tuesday that her initial explanation of the deadly Sept. 11 raid in Libya was wrong, but her concession failed to mollify three Republican senators who signaled they would oppose her possible nomination to be secretary of state."

REFRESHER: AtlanticWire: "All John McCain ever really said he wanted was for Susan Rice to come out and talk about her statements about the Benghazi attacks, and say that they were wrong. This afternoon, Rice appears to have done just that."

THE GOP TRIO: John McCain: "We are significantly troubled by many of the answers that we got and some that we didn't get concerning evidence that was leading up to the attack on the consulate. " Lindsey Graham: "Bottom line I'm more disturbed now than I was before that 16 September explanation." Kelly Ayotte: "I'm more troubled today."

WHAT'S REALLY AT STAKE: New York Times: "Their statements – coming after Ms. Rice’s conciliatory remarks during a meeting designed to mend fences with her three critics and smooth the way for her nomination as secretary of state if President Obama decides on her as the successor to Hillary Rodham Clinton – attested to the bitterness of the feud between the White House and Republicans over Benghazi. Mr. Graham and Ms. Ayotte said that knowing what they know now, they would place a hold on Ms. Rice’s nomination if Mr. Obama selected her."

BUT IT'S WORTH REMEMBERING: McCain and co. need 40 votes to filibuster a nomination, a number they don't appear to have despite their near non-stop efforts to keep the spotlight on Rice and her original account of what happened in Benghazi.

HAPPY TUESDAY and welcome to The Slatest PM. Follow your afternoon host on Twitter at @JoshVoorhees and the whole team at @slatest.

ICYMI: China's State Paper Falls for Onion Joke About Kim Jong Un, Publishes 55 Photos in "Sexy" Tribute

WE TRUST YOU WON'T FORGET US: Associated Press: "The historic Powerball jackpot boosted to $500 million on Tuesday was all part of a plan lottery officials put in place early this year to build jackpots faster, drive sales and generate more money for states that run the game. Their plan appears to be working. Powerball tickets doubled in price in January to $2, and while the number of tickets sold initially dropped, sales revenue has increased by about 35 percent over 2011."

BE AFRAID: TMZ Denies It Wants a Drone, but They Probably Will Soon Enough
 

PLAN B: CBS News: "The morning-after pill should be prescribed in advance to teens just in case they one day need it, says the country's leading medical society of pediatricians. The American Academy of Pediatrics said Monday that emergency contraceptives like Plan B and Next Choice can be used to curb a U.S. teen pregnancy rate which, while declining over the past two decades, still surpasses that of other developed countries."

BECAUSE IT'S GOOD TO BE PREPARED: If Every U.S. State Declared War Against the Others, Which Would Win?
 

GET USED TO IT: Reuters: "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Tuesday that he is disappointed that there has been 'little progress' among Democratic and Republican lawmakers as they try to reach a deal to avoid the year-end 'fiscal cliff.' Reid, a Democrat, told reporters that not much headway has been made since congressional leaders met with President Barack Obama on Nov. 16."

CLIFF NOTES: What to worry about and what to ignore as the budget crisis nears.

TAHRIR SQUARE: Washington Post: "Egyptian opposition forces rallied across the country Tuesday in the biggest show of dissent against the country’s first democratically elected leader since he precipitated a political crisis last week with an apparent bid to assume near-absolute power. A loose coalition of rights groups, liberals and secularists poured into Cairo’s Tahrir Square and other public spaces, urging President Mohamed Morsi to rescind a decree he issued Thursday that granted him the authority to legislate without judicial oversight. But many also used Tuesday’s mass protests as an opportunity to call for the downfall of Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood backers, underscoring a complex political conflict in the newly democratic country that runs far deeper than the move that Morsi’s opponents have labeled a power grab."

MOST WANTED: There's An Opening on the FBI Ten Most Wanted List. Handsome Criminals Need Not Apply.
 

APPLE MAPS: Bloomberg: "Apple Inc. (AAPL) has fired the manager responsible for its troubled mapping software, seeking to win back the trust of users disappointed after the program debuted in September, according to people familiar with the move. Richard Williamson, who oversaw the mapping team, was pushed out by Senior Vice President Eddy Cue, said the people.... Critics have faulted Apple’s new map software for unreliable landmark searches, routes that get users lost and lack of public transit directions."

BAPTISTS & BOOTLEGGERS: Medical marijuana versus legal marijuana.

WOMEN IN COMBAT: Christian Science Monitor: The American Civil Liberties Union sued on Tuesday on behalf of four U.S. servicewomen to challenge a longstanding policy barring women from thousands of ground combat positions, citing the changing nature of warfare and fairness for career soldiers. The civil rights group argued in a legal complaint filed in federal court in Northern California that a military policy to bar women from combat roles on the basis of gender was unconstitutional."

MORE SLATE QUICK HITS—
 

Double X: The AP Was Wrong To Ban the Word Homophobia

Future Tense: Is Facebook Really Going to Let Users Vote To Keep Their Voting Rights?

XX Factor: In Defense of Naming Your Kid Hashtag

TNC: Milking, the Dairy Industry’s Answer to Planking

Brow Beat: Can Moonrise Kingdom Get a Best Picture Nod?

XX Factor: Liberal Men Freak Out About Florida's Sex Survey on Behalf of the State's Womenfolk

Future Tense: "Area Man" From Old OnionInternet Parody Was Ahead of His Time

Bad Astronomy: Mayan Notpocalypse

See you back here tomorrow. But, until then, tell your friends to subscribe, or simply forward the newsletter on and let them make up their own minds.

*****

Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/ or http://kevindayhoffart.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.com/ Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/ or http://www.westgov.net/ = www.kevindayhoff.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net Explore Carroll: www.explorecarroll.com The Tentacle: www.thetentacle.com

Reuters: Obama McCain to meet Monday to talk cooperation

Reuters: Obama McCain to meet Monday to talk cooperation

This is a good thing; however, if the past is prologue, Arizona Sen. John McCain should be extra careful.

See:

20081109 First Bush Obama Meeting Hard Feelings and Hand Sanitizer

20081111 Drudge Bush Anger Obama Aides Leak Chat Details

*****

Obama, McCain to meet Monday to talk cooperation

Fri Nov 14, 2008

CHICAGO (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama will meet with his former rival, Republican Sen. John McCain, on Monday to talk about ways they can work together, an Obama spokeswoman said on Friday.

The meeting between the former competitors will take place in Chicago at Obama's transition headquarters two weeks after the Democratic senator won a decisive victory over McCain in the November 4 election.

It will be the first time the two have spoken since McCain called Obama to concede the election. McCain gave an emotional speech after the concession in which he promised to help his former rival address the country's many challenges.

[…]

She said the two men would be accompanied by McCain's close friend, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.

[…]

Read the rest here: Obama, McCain to meet Monday to talk cooperation

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE4AD4IX20081114

2008114 Reuters Obama McCain to meet Monday to talk cooperation

TimesWatch Tracker: Poor, Dumb, Racist Southerners for McCain

TimesWatch Tracker: Poor, Dumb, Racist Southerners for McCain

TimesWatch Tracker: Our Latest Analysis Thursday, November 13, 2008

Poor, Dumb, Racist Southerners for McCain Adam Nossiter: "Southern counties that voted more heavily Republican this year than in 2004 tended to be poorer, less educated and whiter, a statistical analysis by The New York Times shows....Many of those counties, rural and isolated, have been less exposed to the diversity, educational achievement and economic progress experienced by more prosperous areas."

Cutesy Shop Liberated Me from the Bush Years Mike Albo: "If you feel as if you have been emotionally, professionally and politically run over by a tank for the last, say, eight years, then the well-selected, fun merchandise and carbonated energy of Fred Flare will bring a smile on your cautious, crabby face."

"Iraq War Ends": NYT Parody Issue Hits Streets of New York A Times parody sounds a bit like the wish-list of the Times editorial page: "Articles described a nation turned hard left: nationalized oil companies, a 'maximum wage' law, the enactment of national health insurance, President Bush indicted for treason and evangelical churches providing sanctuary for Iraqi refugees."

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TimesWatch Tracker Documenting and Exposing the Liberal Agenda of the New York Times

20081113 TimesWatch Tracker for November 13, 2008

Video of Senator John McCain’s November 5 2008 concession speech

Video of Senator John McCain’s November 5 2008 concession speech

November 4, 2008 - Twenty-six months after the 2008 presidential campaign began; Arizona Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee for president delivered his concession speech in Phoenix, Arizona at 9:18 p.m. PT.

Senator McCain had begun his 2008 presidential aspirations on April 25, 2007 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and ended it on the other side of the country in a graceful speech that generously asked his supporters and the country to unite behind Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who won in his bid for the presidency on the Democratic Party ticket.

20081105 McCains concession speech

From: kevindayhoff

The text of his speech may be found here: http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2008/11/text-of-senator-john-mccains-concession.html

20081105 Sen. John McCain’s concession speech

www.kevindayhoff.net

Text of Senator John McCain’s concession speech

Text of Senator John McCain’s concession speech

November 5, 2008

Twenty-six months after the 2008 presidential campaign began; Arizona Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee for president delivered his concession speech at the Arizona Biltmore, in Phoenix, Arizona at 9:18 p.m. PT.

Senator McCain had begun his 2008 presidential aspirations on April 25, 2007 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and ended it on the other side of the country in a graceful speech that generously asked his supporters and the country to unite behind Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who won in his bid for the presidency on the Democratic Party ticket:

JOHN MCCAIN: Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening.

(APPLAUSE)

My friends, we have -- we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly.

A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him.

(BOOING)

Please.

To congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.

In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.

This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight.

I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama believes that, too.

But we both recognize that, though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound.

A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters.

America today is a world away from the cruel and frightful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States.

Let there be no reason now...

(APPLAUSE)

Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.

(APPLAUSE)

Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer him my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day. Though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise.

Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain.

These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.

I urge all Americans...

(APPLAUSE)

I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.

Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.

(APPLAUSE)

It is natural. It's natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow, we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (OFF-MIKE)

We fought -- we fought as hard as we could. And though we feel short, the failure is mine, not yours.

AUDIENCE: No!

MCCAIN: I am so...

AUDIENCE: (CHANTING)

MCCAIN: I am so deeply grateful to all of you for the great honor of your support and for all you have done for me. I wish the outcome had been different, my friends.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: We do, too (OFF-MIKE)

MCCAIN: The road was a difficult one from the outset, but your support and friendship never wavered. I cannot adequately express how deeply indebted I am to you.

I'm especially grateful to my wife, Cindy, my children, my dear mother...
(APPLAUSE)

... my dear mother and all my family, and to the many old and dear friends who have stood by my side through the many ups and downs of this long campaign.
I have always been a fortunate man, and never more so for the love and encouragement you have given me.

You know, campaigns are often harder on a candidate's family than on the candidate, and that's been true in this campaign.

All I can offer in compensation is my love and gratitude and the promise of more peaceful years ahead.

I am also -- I am also, of course, very thankful to Governor Sarah Palin, one of the best campaigners I've ever seen...

(APPLAUSE)

... one of the best campaigners I have ever seen, and an impressive new voice in our party for reform and the principles that have always been our greatest strength...

(APPLAUSE)

... her husband Todd and their five beautiful children...

(APPLAUSE)

... for their tireless dedication to our cause, and the courage and grace they showed in the rough and tumble of a presidential campaign.

We can all look forward with great interest to her future service to Alaska, the Republican Party and our country.

(APPLAUSE)

To all my campaign comrades, from Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter, to every last volunteer who fought so hard and valiantly, month after month, in what at times seemed to be the most challenged campaign in modern times, thank you so much. A lost election will never mean more to me than the privilege of your faith and friendship.

I don't know -- I don't know what more we could have done to try to win this election. I'll leave that to others to determine. Every candidate makes mistakes, and I'm sure I made my share of them. But I won't spend a moment of the future regretting what might have been.

This campaign was and will remain the great honor of my life, and my heart is filled with nothing but gratitude for the experience and to the American people for giving me a fair hearing before deciding that Senator Obama and my old friend Senator Joe Biden should have the honor of leading us for the next four years.

(BOOING)

Please. Please.

I would not -- I would not be an American worthy of the name should I regret a fate that has allowed me the extraordinary privilege of serving this country for a half a century.

half a century.

Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant. That is blessing enough for anyone, and I thank the people of Arizona for it.

(APPLAUSE)

AUDIENCE: USA. USA. USA. USA.

Tonight -- tonight, more than any night, I hold in my heart nothing but love for this country and for all its citizens, whether they supported me or Senator Obama -- whether they supported me or Senator Obama.

I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president. And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe, always, in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.

Americans never quit. We never surrender.

(APPLAUSE)

We never hide from history. We make history.

Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you all very much.

20081105 Text of Sen. John McCain’s concession speech

This week in The Tentacle

This week in The Tentacle

Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Vote “NO” on Early Voting
Kevin E. Dayhoff

On Election Day November 4, there are two statewide questions on the ballot to amend the Maryland constitutional. I will be voting NO on both questions.

Question 1 would amend the state constitution to allow early voting in Maryland and Question 2 will amend the Maryland Constitution to allow slots.

Let’s take a look at Question 1. This was placed on the ballot as a result of the passage of Senate Bill 1 during the 2007 session of the Maryland General Assembly.

Read the entire column here: Vote “NO” on Early Voting

http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=2844


To Thine Own Self Be True
Tom McLaughlin
I am a Democrat and support Jennifer Dougherty and Barack Obama. I would support the Democratic ticket if the devil himself were on it. I am sure there are Republicans who feel the same way.


Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Election Worry
Roy Meachum
Readers may recall I take a certain pride in making up my mind well in advance about election personalities and issues. Not always, helas! This resolution on slot machines remains unresolved for me. I suspect I'm not alone. Please allow me to point out personal problems.


Unqualified To Be President – Part 2
Maude Franceschina
In yesterday’s column, I recited a litany of reasons Sen. Barack Obama is unqualified to be President of The United States. Today I’ll expand on that.


Monday, October 27, 2008
Commissioners’ Pie-In-The-Sky
Richard B. Weldon Jr.
Leaves reflect the autumn color palette in the Catoctin Mountains, a brisk fall breeze sends people scurrying along Market Street in downtown Frederick, and General Assembly members start thinking about making hotel arrangements in Annapolis.


House of Cards Burning Down
Steven R. Berryman
What had been “supply side economics” and the economic school of “rational expectations” is now both an experiment gone bad and a “Ponzi Scheme” exposed.


Unqualified To Be President – Part 1
Maude Franceschina
Okay, I have had enough. I would like to know how the majority of Americans are missing what is as plain as the nose on their faces.



Friday, October 24, 2008
Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan
Roy Meachum
Read the name again: Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan. General Colin Powell did, carefully. He noticed on the corporal's Arlington Cemetery marble grave marker the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. There were also the crescent moon and the star, sacred to Islam.


Beyond The Racial Divide
Derek Shackelford
Well, it is almost upon us. Everything that has been said and conjured up will come to a screeching halt on November 4th. That is when the real politics will begin.


Thursday, October 23, 2008
Down The Trodden Path
Chris Cavey
Election Day is two days short of two week away and the candidates are coming down the home stretch of the oddest presidential race in history. Do the two presidential candidates drive these oddities, or does the current situation of our economy?


Teaching Teachers A Little Respect
Joan McIntyre
Teachers, what do I say? I'm sorry you didn't get everything you wanted? I'm sorry you didn't get it the way you wanted? At this point, not so much anymore.


Wednesday, October 22, 2008
McCain for America – First
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Election Day is less than two weeks away. On November 4, I will be voting for the Republican Party nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain and his vice presidential running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.


Nobel Prize, The Economy & McCain
Tom McLaughlin
Once again it is time for my yearly commentary on the Nobel Prize in Economics. Here, I try to make some sense of this award.


Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Fortnight Off
Roy Meachum
Unless you join the apparent throng voting early, the presidential election takes place two weeks from today. A fortnight, as the British sometimes portray the time. With that in mind, I turned on the last presidential "debate." I should have read a book instead.


Walking The Economic Line
Farrell Keough
Times are tight and even the government is recognizing the need to cut back – or at least, appear as if they are making budget cuts.


Monday, October 20, 2008
The Road Less Traveled
Richard B. Weldon Jr.
The esteemed publisher of The Tentacle has asked regular contributors to offer some words reflecting their preference for a particular presidential candidate over the other. The condition for submission was that the piece was supposed to reflect why we support our guy, not our critique of the opponent.


Voting Strategy for President
Steven R. Berryman
How can pollsters possibly get it right? Sampling and trend analysis, and picking the correct “target groups” would seem to be impossible efforts, based upon my informal surveys.

20081029 This week in The Tentacle

McCain the Stalwart by Charles Krauthammer Friday, October 24, 2008

McCain the Stalwart by Charles Krauthammer Friday, October 24, 2008

Related: My endorsement for the Arizona Sen. John McCain for president can be found here in The Tentacle: McCain for America – First by Kevin E. Dayhoff:

Election Day is less than two weeks away. On November 4, I will be voting for the Republican Party nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain and his vice presidential running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Read my entire column here: McCain for America – First

Meanwhile Dr. Charles Krauthammer has also endorsed Senator McCain here - McCain the Stalwart by Charles Krauthammer:

WASHINGTON -- Contrarian that I am, I'm voting for John McCain. I'm not talking about bucking the polls or the media consensus that it's over before it's over. I'm talking about bucking the rush of wet-fingered conservatives leaping to Barack Obama before they're left out in the cold without a single state dinner for the next four years.

[…]

First, I'll have no truck with the phony case ginned up to rationalize voting for the most liberal and inexperienced presidential nominee in living memory. The "erratic" temperament issue, for example…

[…]

McCain the "erratic" is a cheap Obama talking point. The 40-year record testifies to McCain the stalwart.

Nor will I countenance the "dirty campaign" pretense. The double standard here is stunning.

[…]

The case for McCain is straightforward. The financial crisis has made us forget, or just blindly deny, how dangerous the world out there is. We have a generations-long struggle with Islamic jihadism. An apocalyptic soon-to-be-nuclear Iran. A nuclear-armed Pakistan in danger of fragmentation. A rising Russia pushing the limits of revanchism. Plus the sure-to-come Falklands-like surprise popping out of nowhere.

Who do you want answering that phone at 3 a.m.? A man who's been cramming on these issues for the last year, who's never had to make an executive decision affecting so much as a city, let alone the world? A foreign policy novice instinctively inclined to the flabbiest, most vaporous multilateralism…

[…]

Read Dr. Krauthammer’s entire column here: McCain the Stalwart by Charles Krauthammer

20081024 Charles Krauthammer: McCain the Stalwart

My three part series on the current economic mess in The Tentacle

My three part series on the current economic mess in The Tentacle

Folks have been asking where they can find my three-part series on the current economic mess in The Tentacle from October 1, 2 and 3, 2008.

They may be found here:

October 3, 2008
Congress and The Rattlesnake – Part 3
Kevin E. Dayhoff
On May 13, 2008, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama compared the current housing crisis in the U.S. to the Great Depression in a campaign stop in Missouri.


October 2, 2008
Congress and The Rattlesnake – Part 2
Kevin E. Dayhoff
For several weeks the nation and the world have been watching the financial news emanating from Washington and Wall Street with that “deer in headlights” look as everyone holds their breath in disbelief and worries another shoe will drop.


October 1, 2008
Congress and the Rattlesnake – Part 1
Kevin E. Dayhoff
In response to the increasing wrath of the American voter, the U.S. House of Representatives came to its senses on Monday and voted 288 to 205 to kill the rash and ill-conceived proposed $700 billion bailout of Wall Street.

20081003 My three part series on the current economic mess in The Tentacle

TimesWatch Tracker for October 20 2009

TimesWatch Tracker for October 20 2009

Documenting and Exposing the Liberal Agenda of the New York Times

TimesWatch Tracker: Our Latest Analysis Monday, October 20, 2008

Conservatives Brook No Dissent While Ignorant Evangelicals Ruin Movement

Why the conservative crackup? Reporter Patricia Cohen cites evangelicals: "...the disillusioned commentary of credentialed conservatives like Mr. Will, Mr. Buckley and Mr. Krauthammer may be the sound of a movement splintering at its foundation -- a movement whose intellectuals have long been uneasy with, for example, the rising power, in the Bush years, of evangelicals, with their categorical faith in creationism and distrust of scientific reason."

Columnist Blow Would Bet His Life on Obama Win

Charles Blow (pictured) is mightly confident in a Barack Obama victory: "If I'm wrong, I'll take my crow with a six pack of Liquid-Plumr."

Public Editor Admits Times Reporters Are More Liberal...

..but Clark Hoyt then cited a report saying "a link between reporters' political beliefs and news coverage has never been convincingly established."

NYT Trolls Teens on Facebook for Hit Piece on Cindy McCain

Reporter Jodi Kantor aimed for a hit piece on Cindy McCain, but fawned over Michelle Obama.

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20081020 TimesWatch Tracker for October 20 2009

Jewish Press: John McCain For President

Jewish Press: John McCain For President

http://www.jewishpress.com/

Related: Radical Days: Obama's Funding of Anti-American Extremists by Stanley Kurtz Oct 22th 2008: It looks like Jeremiah Wright was just the tip of the iceberg. Read Article All Articles By This Author

John McCain For President

Date: Wednesday, October 22 2008

The Jewish Press heartily endorses John McCain for president of the United States.

Senator McCain has long been the poster boy for what's made America great. He heroically served our nation in the Vietnam War, doing what he was called on to do and going well beyond, incurring great personal suffering and deprivation he could have avoided simply by trading on his family connections. For five years he famously declined to abandon his fellow prisoners and end his travail. In a time of political pandering and rank opportunism, Sen. McCain's courage, integrity and fortitude are traits to be treasured in a national leader.

And in a period of corrosive inter-party political strife, Sen. McCain offers a solid record of bipartisanship. Indeed, his failure to regularly follow the Republican Party line often drew the ire of President Bush and Republican congressional leaders.

Plainly, Sen. McCain has demonstrated he has the leadership skills key to lead our nation at a time of great testing. He is also persuasive on the issues and was actually highly thought of even in Democratic circles until Barack Obama made it the linchpin of his campaign to try to persuade voters of a direct link between Sen. McCain and the policies of President Bush - particularly with regard to the war in Iraq and the current economic crisis - and therefore a shared responsibility.

The New York Daily News, even while endorsing Sen. Obama, heaped great praise on Sen. McCain, calling him an "outstanding" senator, a man of character, a man of "courage in the face of torture," "dead on" right on Iraq, the soul of bi-partisanship, and "tough minded" on foreign affairs and military issues.

But while the paper acknowledged "there is no question [Sen. McCain] would bring change," it lamented that "McCain's misfortune is that he is the standard bearer of a party whose leadership, starting at the top, ran the U.S. onto the rocks."

But let's look at this notion of shared responsibility.

Sen. Obama makes the point that Sen. McCain supported the invasion of Iraq while he himself spoke out against it from the beginning. Yet whatever one thinks of President Bush's foreign policy, including the war in Iraq, the fact is there has not been another terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11. Yes, there have been more than 4,000 American deaths in Iraq, and each loss is a great tragedy in itself, but there were nearly 3,000 deaths on 9/11.

Without question the war in Iraq, which drew Al Qaeda into an arena where America's military power could be most effectively deployed against the terrorist infrastructure, palpably disabled the ability of Islamic extremists to coordinate large-scale attacks on the American continent. And it should not be forgotten that Sen. McCain had long criticized President Bush for not putting enough American power on the ground.

Sen. McCain is also being linked to the current economic downturn, again because both he and President Bush are Republicans. But as documented by the release of Sen. McCain's correspondence file on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, it was Sen. McCain who had long been drawing attention to the excesses of the two agencies which contributed so greatly to the current economic meltdown.

More pointedly, consider the following excerpts from a front-page story in Sunday's New York Times about the role of Henry Cisneros, President Bill Clinton's secretary of housing and urban development, in the mortgage debacle:

As the Clinton Administration's top housing official in the mid-1990's Mr. Cisneros loosened mortgage restrictions so first-time buyers could qualify for loans they could never get before.... While Mr. Cisneros says he remains proud of his work...[he] acknowledges that "people came to homeownership who should not have been homeowners...."

Homeownership has deep roots in the American soul. But until recently getting a mortgage was a challenge for low-income families. Many of these families were minorities, which naturally made the subject of special interest to Mr. Cisneros, who, in 1993, became the first Hispanic to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He had President Clinton's ear.... [Emphasis added]

If anything, President Bush inherited a mess left by President Clinton. By what stretch does one then lay this on Sen. McCain simply because he is a Republican?

But it is not only Sen. McCain's positives that commend him to voters as their choice on November 4. Unfortunately, there is also the matter of Sen. Obama's glaring negatives, some of which are quite alarming.

As The Jewish Press and others have pointed out, there is a rather disturbing dimension to Sen. Obama. Although he has succeeded in denying public access to much of his past relating to his work as a community organizer and his connection to the radical advocacy ACORN group, what we do know speaks volumes of where his views are grounded.

For more than 20 years he turned to the virulently anti-American and anti-Israel churchman Reverend Jeremiah Wright for counsel and advice. He has explained away Rev. Wright's diatribes as an understandable reaction to the black experience in America.

He also worked closely for years with the notorious William Ayres, Jr. on reforming educational policy, though Mr. Ayres's stated mission is to employ education to cleanse America of its many alleged sins.

From where we sit, Sen. Obama emerges as a representative of the radical left, which does not accept the notion of American exceptionalism and the presumptive validity of American tradition. We recall his gratuitous ridicule of those middle Americans who, supposedly out of frustration, "cling to their religion and their guns."

We fear Sen. Obama is not intent on merely changing this or that policy but the system in its entirety.

This strain emerges also in the area of international affairs. His observation that the leaders of Hamas support him because they expect him to abandon President Bush's "cowboy diplomacy" reflects the view that perhaps our enemies have a point and America is to be blamed for most of the world's problems. This was underscored when he said he would negotiate with such leaders as Iran's Ahmadinejad "without preconditions."

And then there are the insults to our intelligence he regularly delivers. When he immediately backtracked from his declaration that he supported an "undivided Jerusalem" as the capital of Israel, he explained that he only meant it shouldn't be divided by fences. He has also regularly played the race card by asserting that Sen. McCain would resort to claiming that he, Sen. Obama, doesn't look like others who have run for president.

To criticisms of his relationship with Rev. Wright, Sen. Obama claimed he wasn't present on those occasions when Rev. Wright spilled his venom. He initially said of his contacts with William Ayres that they were minimal, and later that he thought Mr. Ayers had "been rehabilitated" - despite the fact that Mr. Ayres regularly bemoans his failure to have planted more bombs during his terrorist heyday.

Perhaps among the most troubling things about Sen. Obama was his recent comment to the now famous "Joe the plumber." When "Joe" asked him why he planned to raise taxes on him, Sen. Obama responded: "It's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody that is behind you, that they have a chance for success too. I think that when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."

This a radical departure from mainstream thinking in our country. It is one thing for the government to provide for the less fortunate and for those in dire need. It is quite another to embrace a scheme to arbitrarily redistribute the wealth from the get-go in order to institutionally equalize the situation of all Americans.

In addition to the concerns we have as Americans about Sen. Obama's decidedly leftist predilections, those of us with a particular interest in Israel are troubled by the prospects of an Obama presidency. His political bent, facile changes of position and overall failure to stick to his word make us leery of the reliability of his oft-stated commitment to the Jewish state. We have no such hesitancy about Sen. McCain.

Copyright 2008 http://www.jewishpress.com/

http://www.jewishpress.com/pageroute.do/3/John_McCain_For_Pres.html

20081022 Jewish Press: John McCain For President

John McCain’s Remarks on the Economy

John McCain’s Remarks on the Economy

September 24, 2008

"It is time for both parties to come together to solve this problem. We must meet as Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans, and we must meet until this crisis is resolved. I am directing my campaign to work with the Obama campaign and the commission on presidential debates to delay Friday night's debates until we have taken action to address this crisis."

Watch the Speech

John McCain’s remarks on the economy

September 24, 2008

America this week faces an historic crisis in our financial system. We must pass legislation to address this crisis. If we do not, credit will dry up, with devastating consequences for our economy. People will no longer be able to buy homes and their life savings will be at stake. Businesses will not have enough money to pay their employees. If we do not act, every corner of our country will be impacted. We cannot allow this to happen.

Last Friday, I laid out my proposal and I have since discussed my priorities and concerns with the bill the Administration has put forward. Senator Obama has expressed his priorities and concerns. This morning, I met with a group of economic advisers to talk about the proposal on the table and the steps that we should take going forward. I have also spoken with members of Congress to hear their perspective.

It has become clear that no consensus has developed to support the Administration’s proposal. I do not believe that the plan on the table will pass as it currently stands, and we are running out of time.

Tomorrow morning, I will suspend my campaign and return to Washington after speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative. I have spoken to Senator Obama and informed him of my decision and have asked him to join me.

I am calling on the President to convene a meeting with the leadership from both houses of Congress, including Senator Obama and myself. It is time for both parties to come together to solve this problem.

We must meet as Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans, and we must meet until this crisis is resolved. I am directing my campaign to work with the Obama campaign and the commission on presidential debates to delay Friday night’s debate until we have taken action to address this crisis.

I am confident that before the markets open on Monday we can achieve consensus on legislation that will stabilize our financial markets, protect taxpayers and homeowners, and earn the confidence of the American people. All we must do to achieve this is temporarily set politics aside, and I am committed to doing so.

Following September 11th, our national leaders came together at a time of crisis. We must show that kind of patriotism now. Americans across our country lament the fact that partisan divisions in Washington have prevented us from addressing our national challenges. Now is our chance to come together to prove that Washington is once again capable of leading this country.

20080924 John McCain’s remarks on the economy

www.kevindayhoff.net

economy mortgage Wall Main Street legislation McCain Palin financial Congress credit derivatives traunch bipartisan Dayhoff jobs small business

Joint Statement Of Senator John McCain And Senator Barack Obama

Joint Statement Of Senator John McCain And Senator Barack Obama

For Immediate Release

September 24, 2008

ARLINGTON, VA -- Today, U.S. Senators John McCain and Barack Obama issued the following statement:

"The American people are facing a moment of economic crisis. No matter how this began, we all have a responsibility to work through it and restore confidence in our economy. The jobs, savings, and prosperity of the American people are at stake.

"Now is a time to come together -- Democrats and Republicans -- in a spirit of cooperation for the sake of the American people. The plan that has been submitted to Congress by the Bush Administration is flawed, but the effort to protect the American economy must not fail.

"This is a time to rise above politics for the good of the country. We cannot risk an economic catastrophe. Now is our chance to come together to prove that Washington is once again capable of leading this country."

http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/News/PressReleases/7663d12d-048a-4279-9a82-8ef6f96acdb3.htm

20080924 Jt St Of Senators McCain Obama

McCain Discusses Financial Crisis, Rescue Plan by Steve Holland for Reuters

McCain Discusses Financial Crisis, Rescue Plan

By Steve Holland, Reuters September 24, 2008

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Republican presidential nominee John McCain got an update on the Wall Street financial crisis from several economic experts on Wednesday and was cautious on whether he would vote for a $700 billion bailout.

The Arizona senator said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, was wrong to say on Tuesday that McCain planned to vote for the hotly debated rescue plan.

"I did not say that," McCain told reporters…

McCain's comment came as he met with several economic experts and current and former corporate executives, such as Cisco CEO John Chambers, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman and former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain…

"Most Americans feel very strongly that this isn't their fault but it's Wall Street and Washington and the cozy insider relationships that have caused a great part of the problems," McCain said.

He said any package must have "transparency, accountability, CEO responsibility and obviously be in the best interest of the people (of) this country who are going to pay $10,000 per household in order to take the necessary measures to restore our confidence."

While Obama was in Florida getting prepared for his first debate with McCain on Friday in Mississippi, McCain was engaged in a round of meetings with foreign leaders in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

The list included a joint session with the presidents of Georgia and Ukraine, both of whom are concerned about Russia after Moscow's invasion of Georgia last month. He was also to meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Read the entire article here.

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE48N4TR20080924?sp=true

20080924 McCain Discusses Financial Crisis Rescue Plan

The New York Times: “A Partisan Paper of Record” by Michael Goldfarb

The New York Times: “A Partisan Paper of Record” by Michael Goldfarb

Posted at www.johnmccain.com/ 1:57 AM on 9/24/2008 by Michael Goldfarb

A Partisan Paper of Record

Today the New York Times launched its latest attack on this campaign in its capacity as an Obama advocacy organization. Let us be clear about what this story alleges: The New York Times charges that McCain-Palin 2008 campaign manager Rick Davis was paid by Freddie Mac until last month, contrary to previous reporting, as well as statements by this campaign and by Mr. Davis himself.

In fact, the allegation is demonstrably false. As has been previously reported, Mr. Davis separated from his consulting firm, Davis Manafort, in 2006. As has been previously reported, Mr. Davis has seen no income from Davis Manafort since 2006. Zero. Mr. Davis has received no salary or compensation since 2006. Mr. Davis has received no profit or partner distributions from that firm on any basis -- weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual -- since 2006. Again, zero. Neither has Mr. Davis received any equity in the firm based on profits derived since his financial separation from Davis Manafort in 2006.

Further, and missing from the Times' reporting, Mr. Davis has never -- never -- been a lobbyist for either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Mr. Davis has not served as a registered lobbyist since 2005.

Though these facts are a matter of public record, the New York Times, in what can only be explained as a willful disregard of the truth, failed to research this story or present any semblance of a fairminded treatment of the facts closely at hand. The paper did manage to report one interesting but irrelevant fact: Mr. Davis did participate in a roundtable discussion on the political scene with...Paul Begala.

Again, let us be clear: The New York Times -- in the absence of any supporting evidence -- has insinuated some kind of impropriety on the part of Senator McCain and Rick Davis. But entirely missing from the story is any significant mention of Senator McCain's long advocacy for, and co-sponsorship of legislation to enact, stricter oversight and regulation of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- dating back to 2006. Please see the attached floor statement on this issue by Senator McCain from 2006.

To the central point our campaign has made in the last 48 hours: The New York Times has never published a single investigative piece, factually correct or otherwise, examining the relationship between Obama campaign chief strategist David Axelrod, his consulting and lobbying clients, and Senator Obama. Likewise, the New York Times never published an investigative report, factually correct or otherwise, examining the relationship between Former Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson and Senator Obama, who appointed Johnson head of his VP search committee, until the writing was on the wall and Johnson was under fire following reports from actual news organizations that he had received preferential loans from predatory mortgage lender Countrywide.

Therefore this "report" from the New York Times must be evaluated in the context of its intent and purpose. It is a partisan attack falsely labeled as objective news. And its most serious allegations are based entirely on the claims of anonymous sources, a familiar yet regretful tactic for the paper.

We all understand that partisan attacks are part of the political process in this country. The debate that stems from these grand and sometimes unruly conversations is what makes this country so exceptional. Indeed, our nation has a long and proud tradition of news organizations that are ideological and partisan in nature, the Huffington Post and the New York Times being two such publications. We celebrate their contribution to the political fabric of America. But while the Huffington Post is utterly transparent, the New York Times obscures its true intentions -- to undermine the candidacy of John McCain and boost the candidacy of Barack Obama -- under the cloak of objective journalism.

The New York Times is trying to fill an ideological niche. It is a business decision, and one made under economic duress, as the New York Times is a failing business. But the paper's reporting on Senator McCain, his campaign, and his staff should be clearly understood by the American people for what it is: a partisan assault aimed at promoting that paper’s preferred candidate, Barack Obama.

Statement by Senator John McCain, May 25, 2006:

Mr. President, this week Fannie Mae's regulator reported that the company's quarterly reports of profit growth over the past few years were "illusions deliberately and systematically created" by the company's senior management, which resulted in a $10.6 billion accounting scandal.
The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's report goes on to say that Fannie Mae employees deliberately and intentionally manipulated financial reports to hit earnings targets in order to trigger bonuses for senior executives. In the case of Franklin Raines, Fannie Mae's former chief executive officer, OFHEO's report shows that over half of Mr. Raines' compensation for the 6 years through 2003 was directly tied to meeting earnings targets. The report of financial misconduct at Fannie Mae echoes the deeply troubling $5 billion profit restatement at Freddie Mac.

The OFHEO report also states that Fannie Mae used its political power to lobby Congress in an effort to interfere with the regulator's examination of the company's accounting problems. This report comes some weeks after Freddie Mac paid a record $3.8 million fine in a settlement with the Federal Election Commission and restated lobbying disclosure reports from 2004 to 2005. These are entities that have demonstrated over and over again that they are deeply in need of reform.

For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--known as Government-sponsored entities or GSEs--and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market. OFHEO's report this week does nothing to ease these concerns. In fact, the report does quite the contrary. OFHEO's report solidifies my view that the GSEs need to be reformed without delay.

I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.

I urge my colleagues to support swift action on this GSE reform legislation.

http://www.johnmccain.com/mccainreport/Read.aspx?guid=74063c9d-7cb5-47c9-acf6-53c0c2d88376

20080924 The NYT A Partisan Paper of Record by Michael Goldfarb

Records show McCain more bipartisan

Records show McCain more bipartisan

Stephen Dinan (Contact) Monday, September 15, 2008

ANALYSIS:

Sen. John McCain's record of working with Democrats easily outstrips Sen. Barack Obama's efforts with Republicans, according to an analysis by The Washington Times of their legislative records.

Whether looking at bills they have led on or bills they have signed onto, Mr. McCain has reached across the aisle far more frequently and with more members than Mr. Obama since the latter came to the Senate in 2005.

In fact, by several measures, Mr. McCain has been more likely to team up with Democrats than with members of his own party. Democrats made up 55 percent of his political partners over the last two Congresses, including on the tough issues of campaign finance and global warming. For Mr. Obama, Republicans were only 13 percent of his co-sponsors during his time in the Senate, and he had his biggest bipartisan successes on noncontroversial measures, such as issuing a postage stamp in honor of civil rights icon Rosa Parks.

With calls for change in Washington dominating the campaign, both Mr. Obama, the Democrats' presidential nominee, and Mr. McCain, his Republican opponent, have claimed the mantle of bipartisanship.

But since 2005, Mr. McCain has led as chief sponsor of 82 bills, on which he had 120 Democratic co-sponsors out of 220 total, for an average of 55 percent. He worked with Democrats on 50 of his bills, and of those, 37 times Democrats outnumber Republicans as co-sponsors.

Mr. Obama, meanwhile, sponsored 120 bills, of which Republicans co-sponsored just 26, and on only five bills did Republicans outnumber Democrats. Mr. Obama gained 522 total Democratic co-sponsors but only 75 Republicans, for an average of 13 percent of his co-sponsors.

An Obama campaign spokesman declined to comment on The Times analysis.

McCain campaign surrogate Sen. Lindsey Graham, though, said the numbers expose a difference between the two candidates.

Read the rest of Stephen Dinan’s analysis here: Records show McCain more bipartisan

http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/sep/15/records-show-mccain-more-bipartisan/

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20080915 Records show McCain more bipartisan

Why Doesn't McCain Use a Computer?

Why Doesn't McCain Use a Computer?

September 14, 2008 10:59 AM

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. introduced a new TV ad his week that paints Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., as out of touch for being, when it comes to technology, shall we say a touch "old-school."

"1982, John McCain goes to Washington," the narrator says. "Things have changed in the last 26 years, but McCain hasn't. He admits he still doesn't know how to use a computer, can't send an e-mail, still doesn't understand the economy, and favors two hundred billion in new tax cuts for corporations, but almost nothing for the middle class. After one president who was out of touch, we just can't afford more of the same."

STILL : Barack Obama campaign ad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-ae409tJEI

[…]

Assuredly McCain isn't comfortable talking about this -- and the McCain campaign discouraged me from writing about this -- but the reason the aged Arizonan doesn't use a computer or send email is because of his war wounds.

I realize some of the nastier liberals in the blogosphere will see this as McCain once again "playing the POW card," but it's simply a fact: typing on a regular keyboard for any sustained period of time bothers McCain physically.

[…]

Read Mr. Tapper’s entire article here: Why Doesn't McCain Use a Computer?

Political Punch: Power, pop, and probings from ABC News Senior National Correspondent Jake Tapper,

Jake Tapper is ABC News' Senior National Correspondent based in the network's Washington bureau. He writes about politics and popular culture and covers a range of national stories.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/why-doesnt-mcca.html

20080914 Why doesnt McCain use a computer by Jake Tapper for ABC News

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CNSNews.com E-Brief for Wednesday September 10 2008

CNSNews.com E-Brief for Wednesday September 10 2008

www.cnsnews.com

‘Spare Me the Phony Outrage,’ Obama Says
(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Barack Obama, appearing at a Norfolk, Va., high school Wednesday morning, responded to the “made-up controversy” involving Obama’s own comment about “lipstick on a pig.” “Enough! I don’t care what they say about me. But I love this country too much to let them (Republicans) take over another election with lies and phony outrage and Swift Boat politics. Enough is enough.”

Americans Mull Obama’s ‘Lipstick on a Pig’ Comment
(CNSNews.com) - “You can put lipstick on a pig. It's still a pig,” Sen. Barack Obama said Tuesday on the campaign trail. He was questioning Sen. John McCain’s commitment to “change,” but many people think he was making a sly reference to Sen. John McCain’s running mate Sarah Palin, and some are offended.

Pelosi Puts ‘Big Oil’ on One Side, Taxpayers on the Other
(CNSNews.com) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her fellow Democrats plan to introduce a “comprehensive energy bill” this week, but Republicans say it doesn’t go far enough. “In fact, this package would permanently put 80 percent of our offshore resources under lock and key,” warned House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.). “That's hardly the kind of comprehensive approach to crafting real energy solutions that the American people are demanding,” he said.

McCain Closing in on Obama on Economy
(CNSNews.com) – GOP presidential candidate John McCain has gained voter support on the economy, according to the latest Gallup poll. Before the Democratic National Convention, Obama had a 16-point lead over McCain on the economy. Now it’s just three percentage points, within the margin of error.

Foreigners Support Obama, Global Poll Shows
(CNSNews.com) - A BBC World Service poll finds that in all 22 countries surveyed, respondents favored Democrat Barack Obama for president over his Republican rival John McCain. But nearly four in ten people passed on the question, instead giving replies such as “neither,” “either,” “don’t know” or “no difference.” One columnist acknowledged the risk that foreigners’ voicing support for an American candidate could backfire.

Palin’s Travel Reimbursements Not News to Alaskans
(CNSNews.com) – The Washington Post on Tuesday ran a front-page story about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin receiving $16,951 in travel reimbursements, including a per diem travel allowance for members of her family, and for sometimes staying in her home as part of official business. But Alaskans who follow politics told CNSNews.com that such action is standard practice. Palin’s spokeswoman, Sharon Leighow, said the reimbursements were within the law, and commonplace. Other Alaskans who follow politics in the nation’s northern-most state, agreed.

Obama on Wright, Ayers: ‘Guilt by Association’
(CNSNews.com) - The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Weather Underground radicals Bill Ayers and Bernadette Dorn, MoveOn.org, and the Daily Kos blog: You have some pretty bad friends, Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly told Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in the third installment of an interview taped last week. “I know thousands of people,” Obama told O’Reilly, adding that his critics have singled out certain individuals to score political points.

Palestinian Children’s Program ‘Glorifies Terror’
Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) – A children’s television program aired on the Palestinian Authority’s official television station glorifies a notorious terrorist and ignores the existence of Israel. “To Win With Shahad,” a children’s quiz program, is broadcast daily in the afternoons by the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation.

OPEC Production Cut May Not Trigger Huge Gas Price Increase (CNSNews.com) - OPEC oil ministers met Tuesday in Vienna, with several nations – especially Iran and Venezuela -- pushing for the cartel to cut production to stop a retreat in world oil prices from the all-time high of $147 a barrel this summer.

Fannie, Freddie Takeover Criticized by Some Free Market Experts
(CNSNews.com) - In a move intended to ease the nation’s housing crisis, the U.S. government is taking over two of the largest mortgage companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which hold a combined $5 trillion worth of mortgages. Some free market experts said the decision raises a number of concerns for investors.
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NEWSPAPER ROUNDUP:
Columnist: Palin ‘oozes sexuality’
Liberal critics force change in venue for McCain-Palin rally
Palin outshines Biden in favorability, head-to-head polling
Biden says he isn't afraid of Palin
Reduced dominance predicted for U.S.
Rangel says he will pay back taxes; GOP wants hm out of chairmanship
Ron Paul: Reject GOP, Dems at the polls
Safer Iraq draws foreign investors
COMMENTARY
Sisterhood of the Protected Female Liberal Journalists
By Michelle Malkin
Let’s talk Mommy Wars, double standards and the media elite. Last Friday, Howard Gutman, a member of the Obama campaign’s National Finance Committee, attacked Sarah Palin’s ability to be a good parent and have a high-powered public life at the same time. Damningly, it’s high-powered working mothers in the journalism business who are helping to broadcast the anti-Palin slams or doing nothing to defend her. What I challenge is their silence and complicity as the Palin-bashers impose a “Family First” double standard on conservatives.

To Whom Joe Biden Bows
By Terence P. Jeffrey
Take a leap of faith. Assume Sen. Joe Biden is an intellectually rigorous man who never fails to act on his own convictions when he votes in the Senate -- and that he is especially careful in thinking things through when he votes on matters of life and death. Now, try to entertain Joe Biden’s logic on a matter of life and death. “I’m prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception,” Biden said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “But that is my judgment.” Biden’s implication is that it is equally plausible to conclude that life does not begin at conception and that this conclusion ought to command as much respect from rational people as the conclusion that life does begin at conception.

MTV: Where Virgins Go To Die
BY Ben Shapiro
Virginity is hilarious, according to MTV Video Music Awards host Russell Brand. After Brand was done encouraging Americans to vote for Barack Obama because George W. Bush is a “retarded cowboy fellow,” he attacked the Jonas Brothers for wearing promise rings that are intended to demonstrate support for abstinence until marriage. It’s always so easy to make fun of teenagers who want to remain abstinent until marriage. But at the end of the day, those teenagers who do succeed in upholding their standards are, by and large, the happiest people in the world. They don’t enter marriage with the baggage of past relationships; they don’t get STDs; they don’t need abortions or adoptions. They have a lower suicide rate and experience depression less than their peers.

November Lineup: Obama vs. Obama
By Dick Morris and Eileen McGann
Now that Sen. John McCain has definitively separated himself from George Bush, he has become an acceptable alternative to Sen. Barack Obama for voters seeking change. Obama was wrong to invest so much in the Bush-McCain linkage. He should have focused very specifically on McCain himself and taken shots at specific votes and bills that he introduced. Now, after the massive exposure McCain got at his convention and the demonstrable commitment to change embodied in the selection of Sarah Palin, it is too late.

20080910 CNSNews E Brief for Wednesday September 10 2008

Carroll County Times: Shedding light on candidate myths by Ann McFeathers

Carroll County Times: Shedding light on candidate myths by Ann McFeathers

Shedding light on candidate myths

By Ann McFeatters, White House Watch

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

ST. PAUL, Minn.

So, it's up to us, folks

The balloons are popped, the fireworks are spent, grand acceptance speeches have been made. The elaborate Hollywood-type sets have been struck, the flags and strange hats are packed away, the country music CDs silenced. The conventions are over.

As good citizens who want to make our votes count, we must sort through the verbiage, spin, disinformation, wild promises, clever attacks, innuendo, sexism, racism, classism and religiosity to pick the next president and vice president on the basis of substance, critical issues, vision, quality of experience and gut instinct.

This will not be easy.

Because of the unpopular war in Iraq and the weak economy, both blamed on President Bush, Barack Obama should be ahead in the polls. He's not. Statistically, he and John McCain start the general election campaign about even.

No astute person denies that Democrats will gain House and Senate seats, but it's impossible to say whether McCain or Obama will win. Flat predictions are based on emotion, gut feelings or wishful thinking. Swing voters are still deciding.

This is my scorecard of the smokescreens and false arguments we should avoid from both parties:

Read the rest of her column here: Shedding light on candidate myths

Scripps Howard New Service columnist Ann McFeatters has covered every national political convention since 1976. E-mail her at amcfeatters@ nationalpress.com.

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2008/09/09/news/opinion/opinion/opinion514.txt

20080909 Shedding light on candidate myths by Ann McFeathers

TimesWatch Tracker for September 8 2008

TimesWatch Tracker for September 8 2008

Documenting and Exposing the Liberal Agenda of the New York Times

TimesWatch Tracker: Our Latest Analysis

Monday, September 8, 2008

The "Fraudulent...Fiction" of the McCain-Palin Ticket
Conservatives are happy, and columnist Frank Rich is spitting mad.

The NYT Tackles US Weekly's "Scandalous" Cover Story on Sarah Palin
A focus on liberal bias: "The celebrity magazine, which usually focuses more on Britney and baby bumps than elections, drew criticism from readers for the cover. A record number of commenters on the Us magazine Web site -- more than 6,600, at last count -- weighed in, most focusing on the magazine's perceived bias."

Times Media Columnist Saw Journalistic Contempt for Palin at RNC
Mark Leibovich dismisses Republican arguments about liberal media bias as a campaign tactic, while media columnist David Carr takes them to heart.

No More Mr. Nice McCain: Advisor a Rove Acolyte Spreading "False," "Fierce Attacks"
"[Steve Schmidt's] stamp was reflected in the sharp tone of the scathing prime-time speeches, all of which Mr. Schmidt reviewed and approved, and some of which were criticized as stretching the truth."

Sticking Up for Harry Reid Against Sarah Palin
Reporter Carl Hulse: "Now Harry Reid is hardly thin-skinned and almost anything else Ms. Palin could have said about him might not have drawn much of a reaction. But to the former boxer from tiny Searchlight, Nev., that insinuation from Governor Palin amounts to fighting words. He sees himself as more than capable of standing up to Mr. McCain..."

GOP Convention Reminded Reporter of "Belligerent" Buchanan Speech of '92"The Republican National Convention this week in Minneapolis-St. Paul hardly measures up to the belligerence of Patrick J. Buchanan's 1992 call for a 'cultural war,' but some of the same refrains are playing in the background."

Egan on Sarah Palin, "Alarming" Alaskan Outsider
Liberal reporter turned nytimes.com blogger Timothy Egan argues that the Alaskan Palin may be too strange for mainstream America -- a week after attacking Cokie Roberts for calling Hawaii a "foreign, exotic place" for Barack Obama to grow up in.

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20080908 TimesWatch Tracker for September 8 2008