Showing posts with label People McCain-John. Show all posts

Friday, September 05, 2008

Fighting to get control of convention Sep 3, 2008 By DAVID BAUDER

Fighting to get control of convention Sep 3, 2008 By DAVID BAUDER

NEW YORK (Map, News) - Republicans faced the same problem during the second night of their convention Tuesday as Democrats did a week earlier: trying to wrestle television networks for control of their story.

With the Democrats in Denver last Tuesday, there was so much talk about upset Hillary Clinton supporters that Barack Obama was nearly forgotten. Republicans this week dearly wanted viewers to focus on the service of John McCain instead of the qualifications of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

The impact of revelations about the Alaska governor, including the pregnancy of her unwed 17-year-old daughter, was the primary topic of pundit conversations.

"It is ironic that on a night that is supposed to be about `who is John McCain' that everyone here is asking `who is Sarah Palin?'" said MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell.

Her fellow pundit, Pat Buchanan, said the campaign had been enlivened by the entrance of a conservative Republican, earning him a sarcastic putdown from GOP critic Keith Olbermann.

"Those reading US Weekly with the picture of her and her youngest daughter with the word `scandal' written across it won't be so happy," Olbermann said.

Several delegates interviewed by reporters used the word "excited" or "thrilled" to talk about Palin's candidacy. One woman said that "all the unwed pregnancy is doing is endearing us more to Sarah Palin."

If anyone was expressing any doubts about her, they weren't doing it publicly - certainly not First Lady Laura Bush during an interview with NBC's Brian Williams. She said she was thrilled about the choice and that it was bringing big excitement to the ticket.

"Would you tell me if you sampled any trepidation from members of the party or your own family?" Williams asked.

Yes, the first lady said. She would.

That quietly testy moment would likely provide more fuel for fighting back against a familiar foe. Republicans were becoming critical of the news media for raising critical questions about Palin's candidacy.

Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly said the "left wing press gleefully swooped in" on Palin. Fox analyst Karl Rove, on O'Reilly's show, said he believed Palin critics were using the mainstream media to help get Democrat Barack Obama elected. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said that "the media has figured out that she is their greatest threat since Clarence Thomas."

CNN reported that its scheduled Larry King interview with McCain on Tuesday was canceled because an aide said the candidate was upset with Campbell Brown's questioning of McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds over Palin the night before.

Brown had repeatedly pressed Bounds to name one decision Palin had made as commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard.

CNN U.S. President Jon Klein backed his reporter.

"Campbell Brown did what journalists do," he said. "She asked fair and important questions in a respectful way and was simply trying to get a straight answer to a straightforward question."

Read his entire article here: Fighting to get control of convention

Related Articles
MSNBC says Olbermann, Matthews won't anchor
More than 40 million people see Palin speech
McCain, Obama tied in TV audiences
AP News in Brief
Review: McCain can't match week's best speeches

http://www.examiner.com/a-1567524~Fighting_to_get_control_of_convention.html

20080903 Fighting to get control of the convention by David Bauder

Monday, September 01, 2008

Examining Gov. Sarah Palin

Examining Gov. Sarah Palin

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/aug/29/truth-o-meter-welcomes-gov-palin/

PolitiFact

By Amy Hollyfield Published on Friday, August 29th, 2008 at 06:55 p.m.

SUMMARY: John McCain's surprising choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential nominee gives PolitiFact a fresh face. We start by digging into her resume.

John McCain ended his veepstakes Aug. 29, 2008, by selecting Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. The 44-year-old first-term governor is the mother of five and a far cry from a Washington insider.

"She's exactly who I need. She's exactly who this country needs to help me fight the same old Washington politics of 'Me first and country second,' " McCain said, introducing Palin at a rally in Dayton, Ohio.

McCain could have done us a favor by picking Mitt Romney, whose many attacks on McCain during the Republican presidential primary kept us busy.
But we're happy to welcome Palin to the Truth-O-Meter. In Dayton, she introduced herself to the crowd and we got started fact-checking. Here are two claims we checked:

Read more here: Examining Gov. Sarah Palin

20080929 Politifact Examining Gov Sarah Palin

Friday, August 29, 2008

McCain campaign press release on Gov Sarah Palin selection

McCain campaign press release on Gov Sarah Palin selection

For Immediate Release August 29, 2008

John McCain Selects Alaska Governor Sarah Palin As Vice Presidential Running Mate

http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/News/PressReleases/b1a33b7f-5388-4ab9-99a4-95d9d35268ce.htm

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain today announced that he has selected Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate and to serve as his vice president.

Governor Palin is a tough executive who has demonstrated during her time in office that she is ready to be president. She has brought Republicans and Democrats together within her Administration and has a record of delivering on the change and reform that we need in Washington.

Governor Palin has challenged the influence of the big oil companies while fighting for the development of new energy resources. She leads a state that matters to every one of us -- Alaska has significant energy resources and she has been a leader in the fight to make America energy independent.

In Alaska, Governor Palin challenged a corrupt system and passed a landmark ethics reform bill. She has actually used her veto and cut budgetary spending. She put a stop to the "bridge to nowhere" that would have cost taxpayers $400 million dollars.

As the head of Alaska's National Guard and as the mother of a soldier herself, Governor Palin understands what it takes to lead our nation and she understands the importance of supporting our troops.

Governor Palin has the record of reform and bipartisanship that others can only speak of. Her experience in shaking up the status quo is exactly what is needed in Washington today.

20080829 McCain campaign press release on Gov Sarah Palin selection

Could it be Alaska Governor Sarah Palin?

Could it be Alaska Governor Sarah Palin?

August 29, 2008 by Kevin Dayhoff

Of course, in a matter of hours we will know for sure; however, could it be that Arizona Sen. John McCain will choose Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate?

It would be a brilliant choice.

Here’s a screenshot of the McCain Palin website. Could it have been put up as a red herring to throw us off?

In spite of what I wrote on April 2, 2008, or here; the popular Alaska governor would certainly be my first choice – just slightly ahead of Florida Governor Charlie Crist; or South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. My second choice would be either South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham or Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.

Related:

April 2, 2008, “The McCain Vice President Decision” by Kevin E. Dayhoff:

Speculation persists as to who presumptive Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain will choose as a running mate. This upcoming decision has sparked a growing debate among many political pundits for a number of reasons…

May 17, 2008

20080317 Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin on the vice-presidency

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UAfBo1gNj8

20080829 Could it be Alaska Governor Sarah Palin?

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Time blog - Real Clear Politics: “A Media Coverage Mea Culpa” by Heather Wilhelm

I’m not sure I needed Deborah Howell to call this to my attention.

What is equally disturbing is: 20080817 McCain protests NBC coverage by Mike Allen at Politico

_____

August 18, 2008 A Media Coverage Mea Culpa

Posted by HEATHER WILHELM

"It doesn't look good," writes Deborah Howell, the Washington Post's ombudsman:

Democrat Barack Obama has had about a 3 to 1 advantage over Republican John McCain in Post Page 1 stories since Obama became his party's presumptive nominee June 4...In overall political stories from June 4 to Friday, Obama dominated by 142 to 96. Obama has been featured in 35 stories on Page 1; McCain has been featured in 13, with three Page 1 references with photos to stories on inside pages...This dovetails with Obama's dominance in photos, which I pointed out two weeks ago.

"This is not just a Post phenomenon," Howell writes, and she seems to be right: The Project for Excellence in Journalism, in its latest study, reports similar findings across the spectrum.

http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2008/08/a_media_coverage_mea_culpa.html

20080818 Time blog - Real Clear Politics: “A Media Coverage Mea Culpa” by Heather Wilhelm

McCain protests NBC coverage by Mike Allen at Politico

McCain protests NBC coverage by Mike Allen at Politico

August 20, 2008

Mike Allen at Politico has reported that Arizona Sen. John McCain has finally formerly complained to NBC about their blatantly biased coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign.

For many of us, we rolled our eys and collectively gasped “It’s about time.”

In my Tentacle column today, A Civil Affair at Saddleback, Wednesday, August 20, 2008, I wrote:

Since the forum, the spinmeisters have collectively expressed surprise at how well Senator McCain performed to the point that NBC's Andrea Mitchell told “Meet the Press” last Sunday that he must have cheated. “He seemed so prepared.”

Then, she gave gravitas to the talking points of Senator Obama’s campaign by saying, “the Obama people must feel that he didn’t do quite as well as they might have wanted to in that context. ... What they’re putting out privately is that McCain ... may have had some ability to overhear what the questions were to Obama.”

Alas, NBC and Ms. Mitchell seem so dedicated to removing any doubt that they wish to be the sycophant mouthpiece of Senator Obama.

If you also feel NBC’s coverage is "abandoning non-partisan coverage of the presidential race," write to:

Mr. Steve Capus
President, NBC News
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112

And tell them so.

Meanwhile:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12594.html

McCain protests NBC coverage By MIKE ALLEN 8/17/08

Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) campaign manager Rick Davis asked Sunday for a meeting with Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, to protest what the campaign called signs that the network is "abandoning non-partisan coverage of the presidential race."

Davis made the request Sunday in a letter that is part of an aggressive effort by McCain to counter news coverage he considers critical.

In this case, the campaign is objecting to a statement by NBC's Andrea Mitchell on "Meet the Press" questioning whether McCain might have gotten a heads-up on some of the questions that were asked of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who was the first candidate to be interviewed Saturday night by Pastor Rick Warren at a presidential forum on faith.

Warren told the audience that McCain was being held in "a cone of silence" so he wouldn't hear the questions, which were similar for both candidates.

[…]

Here is the text of the letter:

August 17, 2008

Mr. Steve Capus
President, NBC News
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112

Steve:

We are extremely disappointed to see that the level of objectivity at NBC News has fallen so low that reporters are now giving voice to unsubstantiated, partisan claims in order to undercut John McCain.

Nowhere was this more evident than with NBC chief correspondent Andrea Mitchell's comments on "Meet the Press" this morning. In analyzing last night's presidential forum at Saddleback Church, Mitchell expressed the Obama campaign spin that John McCain could only have done so well last night because he "may not have been in the cone of silence and may have had some ability to overhear what the questions were to Obama." Here are Andrea Mitchell's comments in full:

Mitchell: "The Obama people must feel that he didn't do quite as well as they might have wanted to in that context, because what they are putting out privately is that McCain may not have been in the cone of silence and may have had some ability to overhear what the questions were to Obama. He seemed so well-prepared." (NBC's "Meet The Press," 8/17/08)

Make no mistake: This is a serious charge. Andrea Mitchell is repeating, uncritically, a completely unsubstantiated Obama campaign claim that John McCain somehow cheated in last night's forum at Saddleback Church. Instead of trying to substantiate this blatant falsehood in any way, Andrea Mitchell felt that she needed to repeat it on air to millions of "Meet the Press" viewers with no indication that 1.) There's not one shred of evidence that it's true; 2.) In his official correspondence to both campaigns, Pastor Rick Warren provided both candidates with information regarding the topic areas to be covered, which Barack Obama acknowledged during the forum when asked about Pastor Warren's idea of an emergency plan for orphans and Obama said, "I cheated a little bit. I actually looked at this idea ahead of time, and I think it is a great idea;" 3.) John McCain actually requested that he and Barack Obama do the forum together on stage at the same time, making these kinds of after-the-fact complaints moot.

Indeed, instead of taking a critical journalistic approach to this spin, Andrea Mitchell did what has become a pattern for her of simply repeating Obama campaign talking points.

This is irresponsible journalism and sadly, indicative of the level of objectivity we have witnessed at NBC News this election cycle. Instead of examining the Obama campaign's spin for truth before reporting it to more than 3 million NBC News viewers, Andrea Mitchell simply passed along Obama campaign conspiracy theories. The fact is that during Senator Obama's segment at Saddleback last night, Senator McCain was in a motorcade to the event and then held in a green room with no broadcast feed. In the forum, John McCain clearly demonstrated to the American people that he is prepared to be our next President.....

We are concerned that your News Division is following MSNBC's lead in abandoning non-partisan coverage of the Presidential race. We would like to request a meeting with you as soon as possible to discuss our deep concerns about the news standards and level of objectivity at NBC.

Sincerely,

Rick Davis
Campaign Manager
John McCain 2008

Read the entire article here: McCain protests NBC coverage by Mike Allen at Politico

20080817 McCain protests NBC coverage by Mike Allen at Politico

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12594.html

Monday, August 18, 2008

Transcripts available for Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency and other random thoughts...

Transcripts available for Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency and other random thoughts...

August 17, 2008

I watched and very much appreciated the Pastor Rick Warren “Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency” last Saturday night.

If you have been on vacation and are not aware, Rick Warren, is the author of the best-selling "The Purpose Driven Life" and, according to the Washington Post, “one of the country's most prominent evangelical preachers. Warren, a Southern Baptist, referred to both McCain and Obama as friends in his introductions. ‘They both care deeply about America,’ Warren said. ‘They're both patriots.’

“Each candidate was interviewed individually by Warren for an hour. The two met only briefly, embracing on the stage midway through the event as Obama exited and McCain entered.

“Warren quizzed both men on issues including their positions on abortion, the definition of marriage and the existence of evil in the world.”

Today - - I guess it was inevitable - - various spinmeisters are already parsing words and taking various answers out of context So pasted below are links to Pastor Rick and Kay Warren’s online newsroom - Broadcast Transcript Service: Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency.

For those of us who are relatively academic about matters of presidential history and the 2008 presidential campaign, the transcripts are needed for primary source information; if for no other purpose than to fact-check the various claims and counter-claims since the forum aired.

The one moment that I found unfortunate for Illinois Senator Barack Obama, was his claim that he reached across the aisle to work with Arizona Senator John McCain on a certain piece of legislation.

When it came time to vote on the bill, Senator Obama voted with the Democrats against the bill and thus began a rather rocky personal-political relationship between the two presidential hopefuls.

Interestingly enough, Senator McCain and New York Senator Hillary Clinton have become friends over the years despite their political differences. Such cannot be said for the relationship between Senators McCain and Obama.

Senator McCain more or less has been rubbed the wrong way by the young upstart Senator Obama, who spent 143 days in the Senate before beginning his quest for the presidency and has quite an “elevated opinion of himself.”

As even the most uninitiated observer is aware, Senators Clinton and Obama are not each other’s Christmas card list either…

_____

DATE: Saturday, August 16, 2008
TIME: 8:00-10:00 P.M. ET / 7:00-9:00 P.M. CT / 5:00-7:00 P.M. PT
LOCATION: Saddleback Church (Lake Forest, Calif.)

updated: 10:32 EDT / 9:32 p.m. CDT / 7:32 p.m. PDT

PART 1: MS Word Format Text-only Format
PART 2: MS Word Format Text-only Format
PART 3: MS Word Format Text-only Format
PART 4: MS Word Format Text-only Format
PART 5: MS Word Format Text-only Format
PART 6: MS Word Format Text-only Format

Visit www.RickWarreNews.com for full media information, including the latest news releases.

This online newsroom is provided by A. Larry Ross Communications.

http://www.rickwarrennews.com/transcript/

20080718 Real Clear Politics: The Audacity of Hope by Charles Krauthammer

20080816 Transcripts available for Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency

Sunday, August 10, 2008

"Republican Doesn't Plan Long Speech" by Michael D. Shear

20080809 McCain Does not Plan Long Speech at convention by Michael D. Shear for the Washington Post

"Republican Doesn't Plan Long Speech" by Michael D. Shear

Saturday, August 9, 2008; Page A06

Mark Salter, the top aide and longtime speechwriter for John McCain, has written a "working draft" of the senator's address to the Republican National Convention and is circulating the draft to a very limited number of his aides, sources inside the campaign said.

The speech as written runs roughly 21 minutes, but it could end up being even shorter, because McCain is not a fan of lengthy speeches, aides to the candidate said.

[…]

Read Mr. Shear’s entire piece here: Republican Doesn't Plan Long Speech

____

I’ll be attending and covering the Republican National Convention. I’d like to hear from others who are attending the convention in case there are some ways we can link up and collaborate. These events can be overwhelming and a bit of team work might very well be helpful.

I can reached at kdayhoff AT carr Dot org. And you may find me on: Facebook

Please consider putting Republican National Convention in the subject line so that I may discern your e-mail from the enormous amounts of spam I am receiving these days…

Thanks,

Kevin Dayhoff

Monday, June 30, 2008

20080627 Mark Tapscott's Copy Desk: John McCain's three biggest problems - Himself, George Bush and history

I finally got around to reading Mark Tapscott’s post from last Friday: Tapscott's Copy Desk: John McCain's three biggest problems - Himself, George Bush and history.

As usual, Mr. Tapscott has illuminated some rather salient points… / June 30, 2008 Kevin Dayhoff

Tapscott's Copy Desk: John McCain's three biggest problems - Himself, George Bush and history.

From last Friday, June 27, 2008

Some folks are asking what I meant yesterday on MSNBC during an interview with Chris Jansing when I said that presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain's "three biggest problems are John McCain, George Bush and history, and he's yet to effectively address any of the three."

Read his entire post here: Tapscott's Copy Desk: John McCain's three biggest problems - Himself, George Bush and history.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

20080609 America Blog: McCain web site also contains hate speech

America Blog: McCain web site also contains hate speech

It would appear what goes around, comes around and the McCain website seems to have its own problems with hate speech…

As an aside, if folks want to gain a greater understanding as to why this fall’s election is so close, they need to look no farther than AmericaBlog. It ain’t pretty…

Be warned - AmericaBlog contains strong language that many will find offensive…

Monday, June 09, 2008

McCain’s Web site talks about the anit-Christ, Jews, Hillary and more

John Aravosis (DC) · 6/09/2008 08:53:00 AM ET · Link 44 Comments

[…]

Some folks on the right thought they'd pull an "I gotcha" on Obama by trying to find kooky things visitors have written on Obama's blog. So, I thought I'd take a look at John McCain's campaign Web site and do a search for words like "fag," "(b*tch)," and "Jew," for starters. What I found wasn't pretty. It's interesting to note that each comment has a "flag as offensive" button next to it, so that readers can inform the moderator that the comments are offensive. Either McCain's readers don't find any of this offensive, or McCain's staff was informed and didn't care.

The Anti-Christ will be a Jew (this was posted in order to prove that Obama wasn't really the anti-Christ (more on that below)):

Obama is the anti-Christ (there's a long debate on this page of McCain's site as to whether Obama really is the anti-Christ):

Obama is the devil and the anti-Christ:

Hillary as "(b*tch)." This one is particularly odd as it seems to be something posted by McCain's own staff - they quoted an article calling Hillary a "(b*tch)":

Obama is a "Muslim (f*g)":

[…]

America's "Jewish TV and press" are in McCain's pocket (here's a guy who could really get into McCain if it weren't for him being so close to those Jews). This post on McCain's site also seems to suggest that we got what we deserved on 9/11:

Obama's "deep resentment" of whites:

There's also an entire page of some nut going after AIPAC and Israel, and no one at JohnMcCain.com seems to mind (this guy has tons of messages about AIPAC and Israel on this particular page):

Labels: john mccain

http://www.americablog.com/

http://www.americablog.com/2008/06/mccains-web-site-talks-about-anti.html

Saturday, June 07, 2008

20080531 “Is McCain the new Goldwater” by Delmarva Dealings

Is McCain the new Goldwater by Delmarva Dealings

June 6^th, 2008

As I was trying to do some file maintenance – and put away everything from last week’s columns and get ready for another Sisyphisian exercise in writing another three columns for next week – I was once again taken by a post by Cato, May 31, 2008, over at Delmarva Dealings: Is John McCain the New Goldwater?

I have done a good bit of research on Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater and I’m not inclined to see Arizona Sen. John McCain as the next “Goldwater,” with one caveat – Senator McCain, like Senator Goldwater, is well known as a principled public servant who has had very few, if any, “election campaign conversions.”

Nevertheless, it is my view, whether or not Senator McCain is our next president – and I certainly hope that he is – history will be very kind to him as it has been with Mr. Buckley, President Reagan, and Senator Goldwater.

Senator McCain, who is the presumptive Republican candidate for president in this fall’s election, certainly has earned the adjective, “maverick,” and has no concept of political expediency.

And he is certainly not running for President George W. Bush’s third term.

As an aside, I appreciated a recent AP article which quoted Senator McCain:

“You will hear from my opponent's campaign in every speech, every interview, every press release that I'm running for President Bush's third term," McCain said. "You will hear every policy of the president described as the Bush-McCain policy. Why does Senator Obama believe it's so important to repeat that idea over and over again? Because he knows it's very difficult to get Americans to believe something they know is false."

For the younger readers in our midst, Senator Goldwater was first elected to the U. S. Senate in 1952. History may know him best by way of his 1964 campaign for the presidency against the political juggernaut, known as Lyndon Johnson.

Although he lost the election, he is remembered by history, as are William F. Buckley and President Ronald Reagan, as the gold standard for advocating less government, strong national defense, disciplined federal spending and reigning-in federal social welfare programs that do not facilitate personal responsibility or empowerment. Senator Goldwater retired in 1986.

I well understood “Cato’s” comment:

In Quin Hillyer’s excellent piece in the American Spectator, we are treated to a rare objective piece on McCain from a conservative POV. As I have previously noted, just not as eloquently, McCain has been a principled politician most, if not all, of his career.

I certainly don’t agree with the Senator on everything…

[…]

He’s right on a great many more issues. He also appears to be an honorable man.

Read (or hopefully re-read) Goldwater’s Conscience of a Conservative.

While McCain may be weak on excessive government regulation, his record AND rhetoric are much in line with this true blue print of American conservative thought. Rather than risk someone without a true record, but instead one who panders to a philosophy in which they do no believe, McCain can be the bridge that we need from the Bush years back to that shining city.

Read Delmarva Dealings’ entire post here: Is John McCain the New Goldwater?

Thanks for calling “Quin Hillyer’s excellent piece in the American Spectator,” to our attention. And suggesting that we (re) read Goldwater’s Conscience of a Conservative.

####

20080531 “Is McCain the new Goldwater” by Delmarva Dealings

20080606 Doug Ross: “I’d rather have Bush’s 3rd term than Carter’s 2nd.”

Doug Ross: “I’d rather have Bush’s 3rd term than Carter’s 2nd.”

June 6^th, 2008

Hat Tip: Don Surber – “Just ask me” Thursday, June 5th, 2008; who called to our attention the post by “Doug Ross” on Tuesday, June 03, 2008 “My new bumper sticker .” “I’d rather have Bush’s 3rd term than Carter’s 2nd.”

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

20080416 TimesWatch Tracker

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

TimesWatch Tracker: Our Latest Analysis

Wednesday, April 16 2008

Maureen Dowd Massacres Obama's "Elitism"
Maureen Dowd: "Behind closed doors in San Francisco, elitism's epicenter, Barack Obama showed his elitism, attributing the emotional, spiritual and cultural values of working-class, 'lunch pail' Pennsylvanians to economic woes."

NYT Smothers McCain's Conservative Tax-Cut Plan with Dem Assaults
Michael Cooper, always on the bright side: "With the address, Mr. McCain labored to overcome the impression that he does not understand the economy well, and the idea being pushed by his Democratic rivals that he does not comprehend the economic pain felt by many Americans."

Reporter Says European Health Care Far Superior to "High-Cost" U.S. "Failure"
"If your latest battle with your H.M.O. has you pounding your head with frustration, 'Sick Around the World' on PBS may spur you to more drastic action, like leaving the United States altogether."

Times Greets Bush-Supporting Berlusconi's Comeback in Italy with Raspberry
Oh no, not him again: "Silvio Berlusconi, the idiosyncratic billionaire who already dominates much of Italy's public life, snatched back political power in elections that ended Monday...the least bad choice...."

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

20080406 Politics versus Petraeus

Politics vs. Petraeus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR8p0bro9RM

Added: April 06, 2008

Politics vs. Petraeus. The latest video from the Republican National Committee

I still wonder… see:

20080324 McCain asks when Clinton will apologize to Petraeus

March 24, 2008

Hat Tip:

http://www.memeorandum.com/080326/p10#a080326p10

Brianinmo / BLOGS FOR JOHN McCAIN:

McCain Asks When Hillary Clinton Will Apologize to Gen. Petraeus - Video — Here is Sen. John McCain on March 24, 2008 asking when Sen. Hillary Clinton will apologize to Gen. David Petraeus for her remarks last year ridiculing the idea that “The Surge” strategy in Iraq was working.

****

Courtesy of “Blogs for McCain”

McCain Asks When Hillary Clinton Will Apologize to Gen. Petraeus - Video

http://blogsforjohnmccain.com/mccain-asks-when-hillary-clinton-will-apologize-gen-petraeus-video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXcXzoHjqhE

Here is Sen. John McCain on March 24, 2008 asking when Sen. Hillary Clinton will apologize to Gen. David Petraeus for her remarks last year ridiculing the idea that "The Surge" strategy in Iraq was working. McCain also said both Clinton and Obama are advocating a policy of "disaster and defeat" in Iraq.

UPDATE: For reference, here is Hillary Clinton's statement to Gen. David Petraeus on Sept. 11, 2007:

Hillary Calls Petraeus Report Unbelievable

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0isifAC8IQ

Sen. Hillary Clinton told GEN Petraeus Tuesday in the Senate Armed Services Committee testimony that his testimony required the "willing suspenion of disbelief." After naming it a failed policy in Iraq, Petraeus pointed out that she knows Congress...

_____

Friday, April 04, 2008

20080331 GOPAC Chair Michael Steele’s brief web site bio

GOPAC Chair Michael Steele’s brief web site bio

April 3, 2008

In this past Wednesday’s Tentacle[1] column (The McCain Vice President Decision) I said that of my top three dream choices for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Senator John McCain’s vice presidential running mate; one of the three is former Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele.

The other two were Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

When I researching the column I re-read my latest Tentacle column, I came across the brief bio for Mr. Steele pasted below for the couple of folks I heard from who not familiar with him…

McCain - John McCain, Presidential election 2008, Steele - Michael Steele, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin

The Honorable Michael Steele

GOPAC Chairman Michael Steele was born on October 19, 1958 at Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George's County and was raised in Washington, DC. He graduated from Archbishop Carroll High School, earned his bachelor's degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University in 1981 and his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1991. Mr. Steele also spent three years as a seminarian in the Order of St. Augustine in preparation for the priesthood.

In 2003, Chairman Steele earned a place in history when he became the first African American elected to statewide office in Maryland. He was the nation's highest-ranking African American Republican elected official and the only sitting African American Lt. Governor in the country.

In 2002, President George W. Bush appointed Chairman Steele to serve a term on the Board of Visitors of the United States Naval Academy. Other affiliations include the State House Trust, the East Baltimore Development Corporation, the Export-Import Bank Advisory Committee and the Prince George's County Chapter of the NAACP.

Among the distinguished awards and honors received by Chairman Steele, he has been named a 2005 Aspen Institute-Rodel Fellow in Public Leadership and was awarded a Bethune-DuBois Institute 2005 Award for his work in the ongoing development of quality education in Maryland.

Chairman Steele is a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Landover Hills, MD, where he attends mass regularly with his wife Andrea and their two sons, Michael and Drew.

####

[1] April 2, 2008

The McCain Vice President Decision

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Speculation persists as to who presumptive Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain will choose as a running mate. This upcoming decision has sparked a growing debate among many political pundits for a number of reasons…

20080402 Campaign 2008: Past Tentacle columns about Sen. John McCain or former Maryland Lt. Gov. Steele

Campaign 2008: Past Tentacle columns about Sen. John McCain or former Maryland Lt. Gov. Steele

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

The McCain Vice President Decision

Kevin E. Dayhoff

February 20, 2008

A Presidents’ Day View

Kevin E. Dayhoff

In the wake of “Super Tuesday” and the “Potomac Primary,” all signs point to a November presidential contest between United States Senators John McCain, of Arizona, and Barack Obama, of Illinois.

February 13, 2008

The McCain Maalox Paradox

Kevin E. Dayhoff

At this point in the Republican 2008 presidential primary campaign Senator John McCain has over three times as many Republican National Convention delegates as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Most people have resigned themselves to the fact that Senator McCain is the de-facto Republican nominee.

June 27, 2007

Striking a Blow for Free Speech

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Many are singing high praise of the Supreme Court's decision handed down Monday which took a bite out of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law.

November 1, 2006

Michael Steele Endorsement

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Last Monday brought more good news for the Michael Steele campaign for Maryland US Senator.

April 19, 2006

Guess Who’s Coming to the Election

Kevin E. Dayhoff

In a remake of the classic 1967 movie, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” the royal blue portion of Old Line State just doesn’t quite know what to make of the continuing success of Maryland’s Dr. Prentice – Lt. Gov. Michael Steele.

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20080402 Campaign 2008: Past Tentacle columns about Sen. John McCain or former Maryland Lt. Gov. Steele

Campaign 2008: Past Tentacle columns about Sen. John McCain or former Maryland Lt. Gov. Steele

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

The McCain Vice President Decision

Kevin E. Dayhoff

February 20, 2008

A Presidents’ Day View

Kevin E. Dayhoff

February 13, 2008

The McCain Maalox Paradox

Kevin E. Dayhoff

June 27, 2007

Striking a Blow for Free Speech

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Many are singing high praise of the Supreme Court's decision handed down Monday which took a bite out of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law.

November 1, 2006

Michael Steele Endorsement

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Last Monday brought more good news for the Michael Steele campaign for Maryland US Senator.

April 19, 2006

Guess Who’s Coming to the Election

Kevin E. Dayhoff

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Wednesday, April 02, 2008

20080402 This week in The Tentacle

This week in The Tentacle

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

The McCain Vice President Decision

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Certainly one issue is that when he is sworn in next January, he will be 72 years – old and therefore the oldest first term president in American history.

Remember, President Ronald Reagan was 73 when he was sworn in for his second term.

Another reason, which I first discussed back in January – after the New Hampshire primary – on WYPR with political analyst Bob Sommersby, is that Senator McCain needs to shore-up his conservative base. At the time, I got very little traction on the idea.

Read the rest of the column here: The McCain Vice President Decision

Farmers and the Bays

Tom McLaughlin

Where in the world are we going to put the chicken poop? That is the question most people on the Eastern Sore are asking. “Not in my back yard!” said the towns. “Not in my backyard” said the counties. Not on the fields said the wacko environmentalists.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

War That Won't Disappear

Roy Meachum

Despite administration strategy to keep the war in Iraq out of sight, the official image formed over the past five years busted out in the open last week. The accompanying text confirmed the road to peace had made another violent turn. Those surprised belonged to the administration's Coue faction.

In The Preacher’s Defense

Derek Shackelford

So far this presidential election has developed many subplots. They – if we are not careful as voters – will take us away from the important issues that affect this nation.

Roadmaps to Success

Nick Diaz

What is happening to American institutions requires both art and science. From its churches to its educational system, from the government and political party system to the military, an invasive form of totalitarian groupthink has been artfully and successfully applied to those institutions.

Monday, March 31, 2008

Hang ‘Em High, Just Not in Maryland!

Richard B. Weldon Jr.

As the 2008 General Assembly session starts to wind down, the issues are easier to define. The big revenue shortfall is the 800-pound gorilla, but there a whole bushel of other topics that have garnered the attention of the press corps.

The Semantic War 4000

Steven R. Berryman

Survey says: You don’t want to hear it. The 4,000 war-attributed deaths in combat were reported as a “milestone” event last week in our Iraq War. Why did one have to turn to page A-3 in many papers to read the story? Strange, as we are told by President George W. Bush’s administration that this is the defining issue of our day, even in light of the “recession.”

Friday, March 28, 2008

Clintons' "Audacity of Hopelessness"

Roy Meachum

The phrase is not mine. Playing off the title of one of Sen. Barack Obama's books, New York Times' columnist David Brooks strung the words together, which is why they're set in quotes. Running counter to the newspaper's endorsement, he both opposes and doubts Sen. Hillary Clinton's White House quest.

Camelot "Revisited"

Roy Meachum

A REVIEW

Shortly after Jack Kennedy's inauguration, I moved to New York, taking residency at the now-vanished Hotel Dauphin. By chance, the rooms assigned me had once been part of the suite of legendary Broadway producer David Belasco.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Dems Campaign Won’t End In Desired Result

Chris Cavey

A week or so ago, while chatting up Maryland politics with a yellow dog Democrat friend of mine, our topic shifted to presidential politics. He lamented to me about not knowing what he would do come November. He might even stay home in disgust! Unable to remain silent my comment was: “Glad I’m not a Democrat.”

Consequences of Irresponsibility

Joan McIntyre

Before it's too late and you and I are left holding the entire bag, do something for me, please. Start screaming; make it so loud that the local, state and federal governments finally hear you.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Preaching to the Choir

Kevin E. Dayhoff

As April 7, the final day of the 2008 Maryland General Assembly session, looms on the horizon, a great deal of conversation is focused on the fate of many of the “social initiatives” of the administration of Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley.

Piner Whiners

Tom McLaughlin

The people in Ocean Pines are so old! That’s what I discovered when I returned to Middletown after a month’s absence. It is so nice to see young people and families. Strong vibrant individuals walking purposefully onward in their lives.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Joyful Noises

Roy Meachum

If you still wonder what the Psalm meant by "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the world," you obviously didn't visit Walkersville's Calvary Assembly of God church this Easter weekend.

You Can’t Get There from Here

Farrell Keough

Recent articles on the Transportation Planning Board for the National Capital Region studies indicate that solutions to our road congestion are still very much in limbo. Ideas like Private Toll Roads, (HOT Lanes and such) may not offer the solutions people were hoping to see.

Monday, March 24, 2008

General Assembly Journal 2008 – Volume 5

Richard B. Weldon Jr.

Crossing Over

Okay, I’m not talking about that show where they talk to dead people. This is Cross Over Week, the constitutional deadline for bill passage in the House and Senate so bills can “cross over” to the other chamber by Sine Die.

The Dilution of our Citizenship and Branding of America

Steven R. Berryman

Membership has its rewards! Just ask major credit card providers. Citizenship in America is much the same way. When we “brand” America, in the demographic sense, citizenship should be the upgrade, and it should not be provided with no strings attached!