Whoa
by digby
Get a load of this. McNasty turns on the press, big time. I just wonder if people reading the article will think he’s nuts or like him better for it.
I also wonder if the press will respond by being even more sycophantic and obsequious. That’s what they did with Junior for many years when he treated them like lackeys.
McCain POW Bingo
By Batocchio
Even if you didn’t see John McCain’s interview this week with Jay Leno, you may have read about this exchange:
LENO: For a million dollars, how many houses do you have?
McCAIN: Could I just mention to you, Jay, that, in a moment of seriousness, I spent five-and-a-half years in a prison cell. I didn’t have a house. I didn’t have a kitchen table. I didn’t have a table. I didn’t have a chair. And I spent those five-and-a-half years because, not because I wanted to get a house when I got out.
Oh yes, he went there, and he had that answer prepared. Crooks and Liars has the video of this section, and a great clip of Rachel Maddow critiquing McCain. (NBC has short fluffy snippets, and for now has the full Monday August 25th episode posted, with the interview starting about 19 minutes in.)
McCain generally does extremely well in these formats, presenting an amiable, jocular persona. It helps sell those claims that Obama is the most liberal senator (not so), and that Biden is the third-most. Leno did ask McCain about his negative ads, but in that apologetic-for-asking-a-real-question-and-I’ll-won’t-press-you-on-your-bullshit-response way of his. McCain answered he thought the ads were funny, but that they also pointed out differences in their positions (on the importance of Paris Hilton, I guess). The reluctantly negative warrior then segued into roughly the same spiel David Broder swallowed, that McCain wouldn’t have gone negative – excuse me, that the rough tone of the campaigns might not have happened, McCain is not responsible — if only Obama would have appeared with him in town hall meetings.
It was quite the performance. The thing is, while I don’t like McCain’s policies, I’ve had sympathy for McCain over the fact he was tortured. I have sympathy and respect for any POW, or any innocent imprisoned, especially for years on end. It comes with being a bleeding heart liberal, I suppose. But I know I’m far from alone. And that makes the increasingly frequent, exploitative mentions of his POW experience more galling.
It bears mentioning that McCain’s never been that reluctant to talk about his POW experiences, it’s just that he typically prefaces his stories with saying he is, and the press has dutifully repeated that (see the Daily Howler archives). That doesn’t preclude all sympathy for him, but his positions haven’t always matched his persona, either. Back during the Republican primary debates, Fox News tossed up a softball question, a ticking time bomb scenario more ludicrous than many 24 plots, to allow the candidates to engage in competitive machismo about “interrogation” (Stephen Colbert has a good recap of all the “Double Guantanamo” madness). Unlike other candidates, McCain talked about how torture was wrong and a violation of American values. It was a more adult response, which naturally didn’t go over well with the base. However, McCain later backed Bush administration efforts to legalize torture. Contradicting an earlier stance, he’s also backed many Bush administration positions on Guantanamo prisoners. Given numerous reports that many prisoners are innocent and have been mistreated, and McCain’s own experience, his stance is particularly appalling – and to some people who liked him, disappointing. Billmon’s sharp piece on McCain draws a portrait of a politician who’s always traded mainly on his image. Regardless of one’s former or current feelings toward McCain, his POW experience has gone far from being part of his personal charm offensive to an active tool of rebuttal and attack.
And plenty more POW references could be on the way! Via Steve Benen, here’s MSNBC’s First Read from Sunday (emphasis mine):
[McCain] advisors say if Obama gets “nastier” on that issue that opens the door for them. Advisors say the “Rezko deal stinks to the high heavens.” They will be prepared to show McCain’s “home” in Hanoi by using images of his cell. They claim they have not overused the POW element and insist they have “underused it.” They say Americans think most people in presidential politics are wealthy and will point out that Obama “made himself a multi-millionaire after he entered public life.”
Yikes. “A Noun, A Verb and POW” is right – we could be heading to all POW, all the time, 24/7. Perhaps Steve Benen can (spare one of the many clones that help him blog to) track McCain campaign POW references from now on. I’m also not exactly overwhelmed by the argument that making one’s fortune by writing two pretty well-written, well-received books is somehow disreputable, while getting wealthy by marrying a rich beer heiress after dumping one’s first wife in, um, rather deplorable circumstances, is somehow the height of honor. Does McCain really want to open that door? Does his campaign really want to continue to toss away deniability on the “respectful campaign” front? Plus, the “scandals” conservatives are trying to tag on Obama are little more than guilt by association, whereas the Keating Five scandal is something McCain himself actually did. That’s not to say the McCain approach won’t be effective, since we’ve seen it can be. But it is riskier. Despite his pleas for town hall meetings, McCain has not taken a particularly serious policy approach to his campaign. His much-maligned speech on June 4th focused mainly on Obama, and his submission to the NYT on Iraq was rejected because it offered no actual plan, mostly just criticism of Obama. Given Bush’s unpopularity and McCain’s actual positions, McCain’s best chance is to sell his persona and to try to make the election a “referendum on Obama.” But to quote John Cole on the POW thing, “At what point does this become a joke in the larger culture, rather than just the blogospheric subculture?”
A fine question. And to help achieve that cultural contribution, I’ve taken a first stab at McCain Bingo. It ain’t as good as the Get Out of Gaffe Free Card, but here’s card #95, in honor of McCain’s high percentage on voting the Bush line. Feel free to make suggestions for other square entries, or to make your own cards. My friends, you owe it to this great nation.
(Click the picture for a larger image.)
There’s A Storm Brewin’
by dday
Well this could be just awful.
Energy companies on Wednesday braced for the worst storm to threaten the U.S. Gulf of Mexico oilpatch since 2005’s devastating hurricanes as Tropical Storm Gustav churned toward the heart of U.S. offshore production.
No company had reported output cuts as they began evacuating staff from offshore oil and natural gas platforms, but Shell Oil Co, which has the largest offshore operations, said it may begin shutting output as early as Thursday while it works to evacuate all of its 1,300 Gulf workers by Saturday.
Gustav is expected to morph into a powerful hurricane as it gains strength from the Gulf’s warm waters, and about 85 percent of U.S. offshore oil and gas production could be in its path.
By midday Wednesday, weather forecasters were saying the storm could, as did Katrina and Rita, become a catastrophic category 5 hurricane with winds over 155 mph (249 kph) as it crosses the Gulf, which provides a quarter of U.S. crude oil production and 15 percent of the nation’s natural gas output.
“We do believe Gustav is going to emerge into the Gulf as a major hurricane, category 3 or better,” said AccuWeather Inc Forecasting Director Ken Reeves. “It has a chance for a brief period to be a category 5.”
“Whether or not it can produce the same amount of damage as Katrina or Rita remains to be seen,” Reeves said.
In addition to devastating the Louisiana coast, including the city of New Orleans, Katrina and Rita shut 25 percent of U.S. oil and fuel production. Gulf energy companies needed months to restore operations close to their full capacity.
This was a business article so the focus was on the oil offshore (hey, I thought Republicans told us that not a drop of oil was spilled during Katrina?), but it’s already hitting Jamaica and could be on the way toward New Orleans. Word is it could hit on Day 1 of the RNC.
If anything the federal government is even more tattered and incompetent now than in 2005, if only because of a massive case of senioritis. It ought to be recalled where John McCain spent his birthday that year, on the very day that Katrina hit.
But for now, light a candle for the residents of the Gulf Coast.
Update: From digby.
Just a little reminder of what was happening five years ago today:
2AM CDT — KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE [CNN] 7AM CDT — KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE [CNN] MORNING — LOUISIANA NEWSPAPER SIGNALS LEVEES MAY GIVE: “Forecasters Fear Levees Won’t Hold Katrina”: “Forecasters feared Sunday afternoon that storm driven waters will lap over the New Orleans levees when monster Hurricane Katrina pushes past the Crescent City tomorrow.” [Lafayette Daily Advertiser]
9:30 AM CDT — MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES FIRST EVER MANDATORY EVACUATION OF NEW ORLEANS: “We’re facing the storm most of us have feared,” said Nagin. “This is going to be an unprecedented event.” [Times-Picayune] AFTERNOON — BUSH, BROWN, CHERTOFF WARNED OF LEVEE FAILURE BY NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER DIRECTOR: Dr. Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center: “‘We were briefing them way before landfall. … It’s not like this was a surprise. We had in the advisories that the levee could be topped.’” [Times-Picayune; St. Petersburg Times] 4PM CDT — NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES SPECIAL HURRICANE WARNING: In the event of a category 4 or 5 hit, “Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks, perhaps longer. … At least one-half of well-constructed homes will have roof and wall failure. All gabled roofs will fail, leaving those homes severely damaged or destroyed. … Power outages will last for weeks. … Water shortages will make human suffering incredible by modern standards.” [National Weather Service] LATE PM — REPORTS OF WATER TOPPLING OVER LEVEE: “Waves crashed atop the exercise path on the Lake Pontchartrain levee in Kenner early Monday as Katrina churned closer.” [Times-Picayune] APPROXIMATELY 30,000 EVACUEES GATHER AT SUPERDOME WITH ROUGHLY 36 HOURS WORTH OF FOOD [Times-Picayune] LOUISIANA NATIONAL GUARD REQUESTS 700 BUSES FROM FEMA FOR EVACUATIONS: FEMA sends only 100 buses. [Boston Globe]
Massive
by Dover Bitch
The McCain team is ready for their close up.
DENVER (CNN) – John McCain has decided on his running mate and will officially reveal his pick on Friday in Ohio, multiple sources tell CNN.
A knowledgeable Republican source says there the matter was settled at a major meeting of McCain’s advisers Wednesday.
The Arizona senator’s choice has not yet been told of the decision, but the plan is to call tomorrow. A handful of names of dominated VP speculation in recent days, including former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, independent Senator Joe Lieberman, and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.
The presumptive Republican nominee will appear with his prospective running mate at a massive rally on August 29, the day after Barack Obama formally accepts the Democratic presidential nomination.
The McCain campaign is hoping to have 15,000 people at the Ohio rally — roughly five times the size of his largest crowd to date.
That massive rally is sure going to look daunting after Barack Obama electrifies a capacity crowd at Invesco Field tonight. Of course, you know this will probably be leaked today to change the subject away from Obama’s big speech. That’s the card you play when you simply cannot compete on the same playing field (literally). Oh, but I forgot… McCain’s inability to draw big crowds is simply a reflection of his vast experience.
When you think about it, Obama actually has more experience than McCain. Sure, a guy named “John McCain” has been in the Senate since 1987, but he’s not the Republican nominee.
There was a guy by that name who supported Roe v. Wade, but the new John McCain replaced him two years ago.
There was a guy by that name who called Jerry Falwell an “agent of intolerance”, but the new John McCain replaced him two years ago.
There was a guy by that name who proposed comprehensive immigration reform, but the new John McCain replaced him in February.
There was a guy by that name who was against waterboarding, but the new John McCain replaced him in February.
There was a guy by that name who was willing to talk to Hamas, but the new John McCain replaced him in May.
There was a guy by that name who was against offshore drilling, but the new John McCain replaced him in June.
There was a guy by that name who supported affirmative action, but the new John McCain replaced him in July.
The new John McCain running for president has only really existed for a couple years, max. Parts of his brain have been replaced as recently as this summer. Really, the list of his reversals is staggering. We’re going to hear a lot next week about his huge advantage on experience, but they’re really not going to be talking about the same person they nominated. What happened to that guy? Where did the world’s oldest freshman come from and how did he get keys to all of John McCain’s houses?
They’re also going to throw around their favorite tired zingers, like “Blame America First.” This from the crowd that nominated a guy who reacted to 9/11 by leading the Blame Iraq First brigade. This from a guy who abandoned his principles to cozy up to the extremists who really did Blame America First, while real Americans, the majority of Americans, were coming together, united, the way we have defeated every threat in our history.
It’s certainly useful for Obama that people are starting to notice that John McCain is playing the POW card with increasing frequency. I find that it never justifies the mistake he’s trying to excuse with it or the position he’s claiming he supports because of it. But the repetition honestly doesn’t diminish, in my mind, the sacrifice he made years ago.
However, there is a vast — you might say “massive” — difference between the images of honor in his biography and the undignified campaigner he has chosen to become, the bottom-feeders with whom he has associated himself and the swiftness with which he has dispatched so many of the principled positions he has taken previously. The more he describes what a big man he was in the past, the smaller he looks today.
If he weren’t perilously close to running the country, it would be just another tragedy of Washington D.C. that I’d just as soon forget.
Protest Politics
by digby
I haven’t been able to keep up with all the protests outside the convention, but here are a couple of posts, about them, the second with footage. I haven’t seen any pepper spray action, but I can attest to the fact that the anti-abortion forces are all over the place and that the police don’t seem to be as concerned by them as they are other protesters.
There are trucks with pictures of fetuses on them driving around and lots of middle aged men holding up photos of bloody masses while screaming about how we shouldn’t even be allowed to vote. They are ubiquitous.
I wonder what would happen if a bunch of anti-war protestors showed up in Minneapolis with huge posters of dead and maimed Iraqi children? Do you think the police and the crowds would be as tolerant? How about pictures of dead children whose parents didn’t have health care or dead children who died of diseases for which stem cell research may have a cure?
Somehow I doubt it. Graphically showing the death of fully formed humans if they are outside the womb is considered in bad taste and unnecessarily provocative. They would probably consider it disturbing the peace.
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Class Act
by digby
From Wes Clark:
Dear Friend,
I’m in Munich right now, but I can’t tell you how ready I am to
head to Denver and join my fellow Democrats.The Democratic Party is ready to lead and address the many
challenges ahead, and Barack Obama is the leader we need for our
country and to help humanity meet today’s global challenges.We’re a party loaded with talent. Like many of you, I’ve been
thrilled by the speeches at the Democratic National Convention
so far. Hillary Clinton was great last night. Her strength, her
character, her call for unity. Her speech just proves once again
that she is a great American and has many years of distinguished
public service ahead of her.And what an inspiration Ted Kennedy was, as was Nancy Pelosi,
our Speaker of the House. Brian Schweitzer, the history-making
Governor of Montana and Mark Warner, a business executive,
distinguished former Governor and soon-to-be a remarkable U.S.
Senator.Tonight, I’m looking forward to catching the speeches of our
honored former President Bill Clinton and our vice-presidential
nominee Joe Biden. We are so fortunate that these two
outstanding men are Democrats.And then there’s tomorrow. Our Party is so fortunate at this
time in history to be nominating Barack Obama. After Michelle’s
incredibly warm and personal speech on Monday, any American can
see the strength of character in their family. It’s clear that
when the Obamas become first family, they’ll definitely bring
change to America.I can’t wait to hear Senator Obama’s words in person. He’s
warned us not to expect that he can duplicate the electricity
from his memorable speech in 2004, but I think he’s just being
wise to play down expectations. He has proven to be a remarkable
human being with incredible judgment, an outstanding sense of
direction, and unmatched communication skills. I fully expect to
be inspired, as I was in 2004.I’m proud to be a Democrat, and I’m proud to ask you to pull
together with me. It’s time to help elect our candidates to
every office. From mayors to governors, from state legislators
to Congress. And especially to come together behind Barack
Obama.Barack is going to be the leader of a great team of Democrats in
this election campaign. And he’s going to become a great
American President.I believe he has the skills and resolve to strengthen America’s
security, rebuild America’s economy, and restore Americans’
faith in the future.Our challenge is clear. We must win in November.
Biden Night
by digby
I’ve been taking part in a poll done by the National Journal all week. They asked us which of the following things Biden should do in his speech:
Tying McCain to the Bush administration
Criticizing McCain on national security
Boosting Obama’s national security credentials
Criticizing the Bush administration
Tying McCain to Bush/Criticizing Bush/Criticizing McCain on security
I said he should speak to middle class anxiety and talk about conservative failure. He did that and I thought it was the best part of his speech. (I’ll comment on some of the disturbing aspects of the foreign policy rhetoric another time…)
I haven’t been able to discern any overarching theme and I’d have loved to see more Republican bashing, but overall I still think it’s been a good convention for the Democrats and not because the so-called rift has been healed. (It’s always been almost impossible for me to imagine that even Democrats would be that self destructive after being out of power for eight years and facing a party with a -4% approval rating.) It’s been a good convention because the “civil war” storyline actually ended up revealing that the Democratic leadership, for all their faults, has far more firepower than the tired freakshow the Republicans are going to throw out next week. The young generation, from Obama to Beau and the older generation from Bill and Hillary to Joe are all politicians of stature compared to the D-list of oddballs (even by Republican standards) who will be on the stage in Minneapolis — Giuliani, Romney, McCain, Huckabee, Lieberman etc.
That’s why the GOP is working so hard to turn the Democrats into empty suits. While they were blowing all credibility during this long period of conservative dominance the Democrats built a strong national team in terms of political talent, appeal and experience. These Dems really shouldn’t have any trouble beating that rag tag mob of leftover wingnuts. God help us all if they don’t.
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Rulz
by digby
It’s a village law that whatever rules are normally applied to politicians are never to be applied to Bill Clinton. A sub-section of that law is that whenever he adapts to their laws, they will immediately be changed. Here’s another case in point, from Boehlert.
I know that it is fashionable among the cognoscenti to hate Bill Clinton, it has been since he came on the scene. But rank and file Democrats still love him and they were happy to see him tonight. Like Hillary, he’s the ultimate pro, and he has a legacy to protect and a wife who is one of the most important people in Democratic politics still. There was never any chance he and Hillary would replay 1980. It’s never been their style.
He did something important tonight by reminding Americans that he too was derided in 1992 as being too young and too inexperienced to be commander in chief, which to all but a few die hard wingnuts, looks pretty ridiculous in retrospect. In doing that he laid the mantle of his own credibility as president on Obama, which despite the cable babblers who’ve never gotten it, is substantial to the American public.
I hear that he’s going to be campaigning alongside Barack in places like Ohio and Pennsylvania and that’s smart. Say what you will about him, he’s still a helluva politician.
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Political Paps
by digby
I have always liked Spike Lee as a director and was even indirectly involved in one of his most important films. But he is no politician or diplomat — I can say that from personal experience. Why he is consulted every five minutes for his learned opinion on the state of the Democratic party, when there are thousands of people in that hall, is sadly obvious. Apparently, the media thinks that because the country likes celebrities they also think they have some insight into politics.
He may be a fine artist but his abrasive personality and political opinion aren’t particularly representative of anything but a typical Hollywood diva.
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Convention Blogging
by dday
I’m liveblogging the convention from the California delegation over at Calitics, so instead of cross-posting, you can check it out over there.
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