I didn’t vote, but I still have the sticker…

I didn’t vote yesterday.

That really isn’t anything new for me. I haven’t voted in a single presidential election ever. I always figured my vote didn’t matter and I always felt like I was picking between the lesser of two evils. I don’t say this with pride. In fact, I have always been very ashamed of this. I wish I voted. I wish I cared or thought it mattered, but every time an election came around I couldn’t muster the motivation to even register.

Then 2008 came along. I decided I was going to do something about my shame and do my civic duty. When Obama became the nominee there wasn’t anything in the world that was going to keep me from voting for him. Whether my voted matter or not I wanted to be part of this historical election and I was going to vote. I was so excited the day I registered. Yes, I waited until the last possible minute, but it didn’t matter, I was registered and I was going to vote for Obama.

So how did I go from nonvoter to enthusiastic registered voter back to nonvoter?

Yesterday I took my 10 year old son in the voting booth with me for the first time. As we stood there I took a moment to give him a small civics lesson and then we talked a little bit about the meaning of this election. Despite being 10 he is quite informed on the candidates and their positions. He is a curious boy filled with questions and thirst for knowledge. He really wanted to get involved and was pretty annoyed that just because he was a kid his opinion doesn’t matter. I really was looking forward to voting in this election so I understood his disappointment. Just seeing how bummed he was made me feel terrible and I knew I had do something.  So I decided that I was going to include him in this important election and let him do the voting for us both. This was a big moment for a little boy during an even bigger election. As our nation stood poised to unite for change, I wanted to share that feeling of hope with him and give him a chance to be part of something so historic he would remember it for the rest of his life.

We went through the ballot together and reviewed his options with him. I explained to him that I would abide by his decision and let him pull the lever for the candidates of his choice. He has been following the election for some time and Nickelodeon recently had an election special that really fascinated him. Now this was his chance to have his voice heard and I felt a mix of surprise and pride when I saw how important that was to him.  I knew he was ready when he turned to me and said, “I’m ready to Barack the vote” and pulled the lever for Obama. It was a moment, our moment, for change. My son and I were part of electing our nation’s first black president. We chose hope.

Thankfully, so many others made the same choice

When we exited the booth I got a little teary-eyed as one of the volunteers gave us our “I voted” stickers, but I don’t think my son noticed. He was too excited telling his older sister about his vote as she exited her booth after having had a similar experience of her own with her step-mother. The kids continued their chatter and I just smiled as we grabbed our youngest who was waiting for us and headed home to optimistically begin our election party.

I didn’t vote yesterday, and I have never been prouder.

Yes We Can

If you aren’t moved by the meaning of this day then I don’t know what will move you. I awoke this morning to find that the skeptic in me had grown a little quieter and as I considered the vote I was about to cast I couldn’t help but get a little emotional. I don’t have the words to do this justice, but I can only describe it one way…

Hope.

Zogby’s Final Poll: Obama +11

Yes I’ve been gone a while for various reasons, I was out producing bottled hot water for dehydrated babies. Anyway, the road to 270 electoral votes has been long and arduous. I just cannot stand another Sarah “Pander” Palin hate speech or another “My Friends” from John McGoTheFuckAwayAlready. That said, I felt I needed to come back and give one final nod to the historic 2008 election.

Like many of you, I endured a long 8 years under Bush. I have seen my country elevate anti-intellectualism to it’s national religion. And I’ve seen religion attempt to supplant my constitutional rights. We live in a world where it is considered moral to deny the right to marriage to people of the same  gender. We live in a time where it is considered patriotic to accuse a United States Senator of treason to gain a few points in the polls. As the election comes to a close, I suspect many others feel the way I do, tired of this bullshit, and ready to decidedly reclaim our country. I predict that Obama won’t just win, he will win handily in the electoral college and popular vote as the citizen declare that Obama has won a mandate for change.

The last 8 years have been a disgrace and I welcome their conclusion. I look forward to the return of the rights of the people. I am excited to have a president I admire and respect for his sure handed demeanor and considerable intellect. I look forward to returning America to a place of honor internationally, with a leader respected around the world.

George Bush won by promising compassion. It is 8 years overdue, but Obama will deliver it instead. Yes I expect a loud death rattle from the Joe the Plumber fans, the Religious Right, Sarah Palinites, and The Fox Noise crowd, but there will be no resurrection. Sarah Palin will not be the 2012 nominee. I suspect that the Republican party will seek to break away from the anti-intellectuals and religious zealots and return to the party that gives rights to the people and keeps government small. There was a time when Republicans actually cut spending and reduced deficits, though you would never know it from watching the last 8 years. I believe most conservatives were sick to see their party fall in to these hands of these people, but there isn’t much you can say when you are winning. It will take a decisive loss like this one for the conservatives to regain their voice and their party. I would expect a major realignment if they are to have any chance in 2016. 2012 is out. Obama will easily be re-elected.

Congrats, America, you made it through some rough shit. Now we have an adult heading to the White House and we’re headed for some real change. This week I found out that my future In-laws retirement plan lost $20k. These are not the kind of people who take serious risks and $20k to them is a big chunk. They, like many of you with similar stories, will be voting Obama today because it is time to change things. Good people shouldn’t lose a quarter of their networth in a low-risk retirement plan and be told that deregulation is good and the market corrects itself. The market is a disaster and lots of hands are covered in blood. If there was ever a time for change it would be now, while there is still hope to stem the tide and return to prosperity. I don’t trust the invisible hand of the market to fix things, nor do I trust the invisible wizard in the sky. We need a government for the people, by the people.

A more perfection union? Well, it would be hard to do worse.

Today, let’s retake our future. Today, let’s give Obama a mandate for change. Let’s give Congress the power to lead with a super majority so that we can take action fast and firm. Today, let’s see California Vote no on 8. Today let’s start giving hope for tomorrow. Today you can’t get me down. Flame away, but it won’t matter. Today Obama wins in a landslide and all the negative comments in the world can’t bring me down from that high. Today I am celebrating John McCain’s early retirement!

Obama ‘08!

First Fargo, Now Knocked Up!

I give up. You win John McCain, you can have all of the headlines until the election. You aren’t going to win the election, but you have the attention of the press again. Well, okay, YOU specifically don’t, but your daughter VP does.

So today’s hot story is that Sarah Palin’s 17 year old, unwed daughter is knocked up. Yes, this is precisely the role model women want for their children. The conservatives freaked out about Clinton and having to discuss his affairs with their kids, do you really think they are voting for someone who is going to force them to talk about teen sex?!!! Uh, no. Most Evangelicals just hand their kids some kind of light pamphlet about waiting until marriage and consider that sex-ed. These people are averse to serious discussions about sex with their kids and Sarah Palin isn’t helping with this. Maybe it’s just me, but I want my VP to have as little in common with Lynn Spears as possible. Did McCain’s campaign vet her at all?

Oh, but we aren’t done yet. See Sarah Palin really ends the whole role model for our young daughters thing by being photographed in a t-shirt that says “I may be broke, but I ain’t flat-busted”. Yes, because today’s impressionable young girls need to be told that wealth and intelligence don’t matter as long as you have big tits. This is going to look great on the next Focus on The Family magazine cover.

I just cannot imagine this country electing a Vice President, one who would be much closer to being president than ever before with McCain being so old and having had cancer twice, who is just so unpresidential.

This isn’t a Vice President of the US.

This isn’t even the Vice President of the Piggly Wiggly!

Sarah Palin is making George Bush looked refined and dignified. I don’t want my daughters wearing a shirt that says this:

This is the same woman mired in abuse of power and ethics scandals, tied to big oil, self proclaimed ignorant on foreign policy, and is firmly against women’s issues like equal pay for women and abortion under any circumstances (including rape and incest). Plainly said, Sarah Palin is a disaster of a ploy by John McCain and the polls clearly show the American people see right through it. Sarah Palin isn’t change, she is George Bush’s long lost little sister.

And finally, Sarah Palin caps off a busy day of ruining John McCain’s campaign by dropping this little gem in a questionnaire regarding the pledge of allegiance;

Question: Are you offended by the phrase “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?

Palin: Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance.

Founding fathers? Bless her stupid little heart. I almost can’t bear to tell her that the pledge wasn’t around back then or that “Under God” wasn’t added until the 1950’s. Of course her Evangelical demographic won’t actually know this so it probably won’t matter to them, but it really is the icing on her crap cake.

A big thanks to “Sarah Barracuda” for single-handedly shredding John McCain’s chance at the White House.

You know, I’m almost convinced she is a mole for the Obama team. I wouldn’t be surprised to see her walk out on stage in the middle of a Presidential Debate, hit McCain over the head with a steel chair, and rip off her shirt revealing an Obama ‘08 t-shirt underneath. I can totally see Will.i.am’s “Yes We Can” playing over the loudspeakers, while the WWE’s Jim Ross cries out, “Dear God! That’s…that’s Barack Obama’s music!” as Sarah Palin and Barack Obama join hands in the middle of the stage and raise them overhead in victory.

On the other hand, I may have just had too much to drink on Labor Day. I guess what I am saying is that at this point, when it comes to Sarah Palin, nothing would surprise me. And if you are selecting someone who will be a heartbeat away from being President, that’s the last thing you want.

McCain knee-jerks so hard he breaks a hip

That’s really the only way you can possibly frame this choice of “Scandal Sarah” Palin as VP. Did McCain not remember what his campaign has been about?  See conservatives said that Biden undercut the theme of change, but they were wrong because it allowed for the experience to enact Obama’s change. McCain is running on experience and picking someone 30 years younger than him, who has only been governor for 20 months of a small state, well that not only hurts your message, it completely undermines every critique you’ve leveled at Obama.

I’m not even going to bother giving a lot of analysis here because this pick is so ridiculous as to be delusional. I sincerely question McCain’s judgment and I think this reflects on his abaility to lead. Are you telling me Sarah Palin is ready to face off with Iran and handle Iraq but Senator Obama is not?! Absolute bullshit. Not to mention the fact that Hillary Holdouts are not going to accept a pro-lifer. Not to mention that Sarah Palin is under ethics investigation. Not to mention that she is closely tied to Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens who is under indictment and that this just reminds voters about the Republican’s ethics problems lately. I mean this pick is a failure all around.

I know you will hear plenty from pundits telling you this was a bold choice and a game changer, but it isn’t the way they say it is. This is only a game changer insofar as it virtually guarantees Obama wins the White House now. This pick simply alleviates any Republican criticism against him better than anything he might have done himself. The idea that this woman can stand in a room and debate Joe Biden about anything other than the Iditarod is simply ludicrous.

In picking Sarah Palin, McCain has thrown a Hail Mary that was intercepted and run back for a touchdown by the opposing team.

Congratulations President Obama!

Mile high and then some: Obama on top of the world.

Tonight, Barack Obama was a mile high and on top of the world. In turn Obama elevated this country to a new level and may have altered the political landscape for decades to come. For months liberals have shouted from the roof-tops for Obama to fight back as McCain repeatedly painted him as a light-weight celebrity with no plans and no political chops. It turns out the chattering classes misjudged Obama. HE knew what he was doing even if we didn’t. I mentioned before that Obama may have been letting McCain punch himself out while no one was paying attention and lying in wait for the real season to begin. Tonight in Denver, with the eyes of the country on him, Barack Obama took McCain’s attacks and turned them around in 44 minutes, then delivered the knock-out blow.

This was a no-lose situation for Obama because McCain’s attacks featuring Paris Hilton inadvertently actually ended up lowering the bar for Obama, making it even easier to win over skeptics. I think the McCain camp is in absolute disarray now. McCain himself is cranky and lashed out at a reporter during an interview with Time Magazine this week. Reports continue to come in that there is an internal struggle over the VP pick. And now months of work by the McCain campaign have been leveled like Pompeii in an instant by another mountain eruption, only this one in the Rocky Mountains. McCain has been so busy painting Obama in a negative light that he hasn’t bothered to flesh out a platform for the American people grab on to and rally around, and now McCain staffers are floundering. Most telling was the response to Obama’s speech by McCain ball washer, Tucker Bounds,

“Tonight, Americans witnessed a misleading speech that was so fundamentally at odds with the meager record of Barack Obama. When the temple comes down, the fireworks end, and the words are over, the facts remain: Senator Obama still has no record of bipartisanship, still opposes offshore drilling, still voted to raise taxes on those making just $42,000 per year, and still voted against funds for American troops in harm’s way. The fact remains: Barack Obama is still not ready to be President.”

This is just a remarkably weak counter to one of the most inspiring and clutch speeches given in my lifetime. When Obama absolutely had to deliver, he hit it out of the park and left assholes like Tucker Bounds grasping at straws. Even notable conservative critics like Pat Buchanan and Bill Kristol gave it high marks and the best Tucker can come up with is the same tired refrains about experience? Not going to win anyone over because not only did Obama clearly answer those questions this week, but so did Hillary and Bill. Barack then went out and put a resounding exclamation point on it tonight at Mile High.

After pathetic attempts to steal Obama’s thunder by playing “coy” games about their VP announcement schedule, the McCain camp is about to lose the only thing that has ever gotten the media to pay attention to them–they are going to announce McCain’s VP selection tomorrow. This is bad news for Republicans because the choice is likely to annoy at least one faction of the party and possibly every faction if McCain gets his way. The real problem though is that after this is announced McCain is going to have a hard time holding on to the limelight, even with the Republican convention coming up. The VP buzz was the best thing to happen to Johnny Maverick because the most interesting thing about the McCain campaign has always been the promise of someone else. Now that promise is about to expire and the results are likely to yield such leftovers as Tim “who?” Pawlenty and rehashed Mitt Romney, a Mormon who is supposed to be strong on the economy but in reality is as elite as they come and is responsible to the loss of plenty of jobs.

The idea of either of these two going head to head with Joe Biden in a debate is laughable. If you think “Noun, verb, 9-11″ was eviscerating, wait until you see what Biden does to the likes of Romney. I couldn’t even watch Biden debate Pawlenty because it would be like watching Mike Tyson beating an old lady (which might be a pay-per-view event soon). Pawlenty would be a gift to the Democrats because he has even less experience than Obama and would nullify that argument completely if they put him within a heartbeat of the Oval Office. There is always the chance McCain picks Ridge or Lieberman, but that would be like Christmas in August for me so I am not even thinking about that yet. If they pick a pro-life VP this election is going to be a blow out for Obama. Is McCain that stupid?

Guess we will find out tomorrow.

John McCain’s campaign doesn’t own a dictionary

Resident John McCain fluffer Jill Hazelbaker went on Morning Joe on MSNBC to get us all atwitter over a new ad McCain is releasing tonight to counter Obama’s speech. This ad is really being pumped, but look at what Jill actually says;

“This is a historic ad. I think this is the first of its kind. Senator McCain is going to speak direct to camera to Barack Obama. I’m not going to give away many more details than that. But suffice to say it’s going to be a very exciting ad, and I think it’s going to get a lot of attention.”

Okay, so let’s recap. John McCain’s very exciting ad is going to feature….John McCain! Looking directly in to the camera! And…talking! Wait–what the fuck? That’s not exciting at all. Has anyone here ever heard McCain speak? Do you people not remember the green background fiasco featuring such hits as “hehe…That’s not change we can believe in…*awkward smile, weird chuckle, full creep-out*”

How is this supposed to historic. Oh wait, I think I get it. It is historic because Obama is speaking between 10pm and 11pm and McCain is usually in bed after Jeopardy but is making an exception tonight. Oh, cranky, sleepy McCain is staying up late to scold the whipper snapper. Now I see the historic nature.

Memo to the McCain campaign, “exciting”? Honestly, why not try to set the bar lower so your candidate doesn’t look like such an out of touch old coot. There is zero chance that McCain is going to be actively involved in anything that even remotely resembles the word exciting, so let’s go ahead and retire that one. And your candidate while you are at it.

Exciting? The Princess Bride said it best;

*UPDATE: There’s been a leak of the ad and I can now tell you that the ad itself is McCain congratulating Obama on accepting the nomination on the anniversary of MLK’s I have a Dream speech. The ad is meant to cast McCain as generous and a gracious, but one has to question whether McCain is wise to invoke MLK given his persistent opposing of both a federal and state holidays honoring Dr. King. Either way, McCain goes on to say that tomorrow they will be back at it so this is a temporary cease-fire.

Exciting? Um…not exactly. I’m probably supposed to say that this is a nice gesture, but it really isn’t. This is just a piece of political theater and designed to make McCain seem magnanimous instead of cantankerous. The voters who already support McCain will like it and the voters who don’t won’t. This is a net zero for McCain. Hazelbaker cried wolf on this one and I expect the media to keep that in mind the next time she wants to roll out something…”exciting”.

I is a POW, I can has presidency?

Wow, more POW-mania on the loose from John McCain. Anyone who caught the Tonight Show Monday night saw John McCain play the POW card yet again while talking to Leno. John McCain is has become a cliche at this point. I’m tired of hearing about his “heroism” because whatever honor this man once had he has cashed in for his quest to win the White House. He cheapens what it means to be a solider and other POWs have spoken out against his politicizing his service. I’m tired of the coddling this crotchety old bastard is getting from the media and I’m not going to be part of it anymore. I am sick of everyone prefacing every debate by saying how honorable John McCain is, because that is just bullshit. Honorable men do not behave like John McCain and try to drag down their opponents the way McCain has by attacking him instead of standing up on his own platform and debating their plans and positions.

Thankfully most people see right through Exxon John and they aren’t buying it. No one is entitled to be President and being a POW doesn’t earn you the White House, nor does it shield you from legitimate criticism. You don’t get to attack Obama as elitist and then not expect us to turn the tables on you when you can’t remember how many houses you own. McCain jumped in the mud first by attacking Obama as a celebrity instead of talking about the issues. Now it is pay back time.

McCain is a joke. He can’t lead us in to the future because he is stuck in the past.He has become about as intelligible as an LOLCat. Or rather a POWCat. So I propose you make your own John McCain POWCat and post it here or post it in your own blog and give us the link. Here is mine…



I’m sure we will get some jackasses in here scolding me for daring to insult G.I. John, but let me save you the trouble; I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU THINK. [note: On second thought, while I still don't care, feel free to flame away. You Righties and your venomous diatribes are quite entertaining. So if you can stop jerking off to The Passion of the Christ long enough to hunt and peck out some of that patented Right Wing craziness then you go right ahead]

I look forward to seeing what you guys come up with!

“No way. No how. No McCain.” – Hillary Clinton

Reclaiming the issue of life from the “pro-life party”

This was the year I thought my sister and I would finally agree on a presidential candidate even though we are 2 years and 250 miles apart. She was born in Lancaster, PA and still lives in Pennsylvania. I was born in New York and still live there. But, we both spent all of our formative years together in the same house and yet we rarely see eye to eye on any issue. She is a devout Evangelical Republican who follows guys like disgraced Paster Ted “are you gonna finish that sausage” Haggard. I’m your typical latte sipping, arugula eating reformed Jew who is strongly progressive and supports the Democratic party.

After 8 years of George W Bush and the prospect of another 4 more under John McSame, I was positive my sister was beginning to come around, after all our little brother was still in Iraq and maybe we didn’t agree on everything, but one thing we both wanted was for our brother to come home. In the previous elections I could almost see her reason for opposing my preferred candidate, but with Barack Obama I was sure we had someone that appealed to us both. So you can imagine my surprise when I recently spoke to my sister about the upcoming election and found out that once again we’d be voting for different people for President. I was sincerely surprised, too. I thought that a man of faith like Barack Obama along side a guy from her home state, Joe Biden, would finally get her look across the aisle and support a democrat, after all, John McCain once referred to evangelicals like her as “agents of intolerance” and McCain has always never really been a strong opponent of abortion. So it stood to reason that McCain really didn’t offer much to so-called “value voters” such as my sister.

So I asked her, “why, after all of this and the prospect of McCain picking a VP who doesn’t share your beliefs, why wouldn’t you vote for Obama?” And my sister paused, inhaled deeply and said, “Honestly? Well your sister is a one issue gal. Oil, gas prices, war, all of it is background noise to me because I vote on one issue; abortion. I am voting for the candidate most likely to outlaw abortion.”

I had never heard my sister boil it down quite like that before, but I wasn’t discouraged because this shouldn’t have ruled out Obama…

Then, a funny thing happened on the way to the Saddleback forum; John McCain found God. And not just God, but a cross in the dirt story, a rabid anti-choice stance, and a new found appreciation for those “agents of intolerance”. The very people who were against John McCain found themselves wanting to believe this change, after all, the real goal isn’t to elect a president to the Religious Right, it is to take over the Supreme Court, and this is precisely what McCain shrewdly promised Rick Warren.

Hearing my sister’s take on McCain’s chat with Warren, I suddenly knew why McCain could get away with flip flopping and constant flubs; because these “values voters” don’t care about anything else like they do about abortion. They feel like it is their personal mission to save these “babies” from as they view it, “a holocaust”. Meanwhile the Religious Right has become so narrow-minded that this is the only issue they ever talk about. It is really impossible to get through to them. Abortion is so overriding to them that it is kind of like that stain in the Tide commercial that just talks over everything you say.

If the Democrats ever hope to win the White House again they need to face this issue and speak directly to those voters like my sister. Because as long as they are out there fired up and ready to go, all the other issues, while extremely important to everyone else, just become background noise to them. I’m am not at all suggestion the Democratic Party become anti-choice, not at all. Nor I am suggestion some half-assed pandering and faith-based politicking either. What I am advocating strongly is that the Democrats stop hiding and retake the moral high ground here. The Republicans have been lying to these value voters for years and it is time we call them on it publicly. There is no chance the Republicans will ever outlaw abortion because then they lose the power to gaslight voters. They need to keep the lights off and the voters afraid of the bogeyman. Abortion has been the Republican’s voting carrot they dangle in front of Americans for decades and now they’ve added Gay Marriage to the list (although not as successfully).

It’s time to stand up and hit back on their turf, and knock them down king of the hill-style. The Republican party platform stands diametrically opposed to the Gospel of Christ and it is time to loudly point this out. I’m a Jew but I am reasonably certain Jesus never said we need to “Drill here, Drill Now!” he talked about caring for those in need. We need to say to Americans, “Look, if you genuinely care about unborn babies then you need to care about the quality of life the mothers carrying them have. Those women need free universal health care in order to raise healthy babies…AND THAT SHOULD MATTER.”

We need to stand up and say, “If you care about the unborn then you need to do all you can to protect them by ensuring that we do not take on more wars and risk those lives here with a war with Russia or Iran or risking a nuke going off in an American city like former UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter suggested, which would kill far more unborn babies than abortion….AND THAT SHOULD MATTER.”

We need to get the word out there to those who believe life begins at conception and say, “If you want to protect those lives then you must have funding for programs to support those mothers and ensure they can work good jobs at a living wage, you need to provide schools for those children, and reduce the crime in those neighborhoods so those unborn babies you don’t want dead don’t end up victims of gang violence…AND THAT SHOULD MATTER.”

Americans needs to know that if they support the rights of the unborn then we have a message for them, “It is time to provide prenatal care for these mothers so that we reduce the risks those unborn babies face. It is not enough to picket abortion clinics and then wipe your hands of this situation. No, if you want to advocate for the unborn then you need to elect leaders who will cut the taxes of the middle class families and who will take a way tax breaks for companies who send jobs overseas so that those unborn babies have parents who can keep their jobs and their houses and so that mothers of the unborn can eat right and afford the care she needs…AND THAT SHOULD MATTER.

We need to speak directly to these voters and clearly state, “If you care about the unborn it is time to follow through and care about them after they are born. You need to provide school lunch programs and after-school activities to ensure they are healthy and safe. You need to provide daycare programs for single mothers and you need to support the orphanages for those unborn babies you have saved but are now without parents. If you are going to advocate to protect the unborn then you owe them and you must elect a president who will help enact programs to care for them after they are born..AND THAT SHOULD MATTER.”

These are the issues the Democratic party was founded on and it is time we frame them in a way the values voters will understand. Republicans aren’t protecting the unborn, they are protecting their re-election funds and it is time we turn the lights on and watch the cockroaches scurry. It is time our leaders stand up and say, “I am pro-life…for the mothers, for the soldiers, for the civilians here and abroad who die every day due to the policies of this administration.” It is time we stood up and showed them what being “Pro-life” is really about and elect leaders like Barack Obama and Joe Biden who will bring the change we need to ensure those lives and the lives of us all are being protected.

If this election matters to you, if you care about these issues and you want to see the Democrats get 270 electoral votes this year and stop the reign of Bush/McCain, then I urge you to take action. Pass this message on to your friends and family. Write your congressional reps and senators and tell them we are tired of watching the Republicans steal the mantle of life and bludgeoning the Democrats with it so that they can enact the policies of death. I encourage you all to stand up and take back the issue of life boldly, because if we don’t, we face the specter of 4 more years of death courtesy of the “pro-life” camp. So write your own blogs, or hell, repost mine you have my permission, copy and paste away just spread the word. This is a message worth spreading.

We will not be shouted down anymore by those claiming to support life. Not this time. Not this election.

THIS TIME WE WILL GET 270!

POW!

It appears everyone is getting tired of McCain’s get out of jail free card and are beginning to call him out on it. On the same day Maureen Dowd writes that the McCain camp is in danger of overusing the POW card, John McCain himself invokes it dropping this little cherry on Katie Couric,

“I am grateful for the fact that I have a wonderful life,” McCain said. “I spent some years without a kitchen table, without a chair, and I know what it’s like to be blessed by the opportunities of this great nation.”

Oh John McCain, you silver-tongued maverick, you. I almost didn’t catch that sly rebuttal to Joe Biden’s kitchen table knock. So apparently instead of dealing with the substance of any criticism John McCain has decided to roll up in to a ball on the floor and scream “POW!” any time he is challenged. That’s pretty brave and heroic. Oops, did I just challenge the great war hero’s bravery? Well, yes, I certainly did. Any man who hides behind his wife’s skirt and then excuses everything with a dismissive reference to events that transpired 30 years ago is the exact opposite of a brave. John McCain isn’t heroic, he is a manipulator and a sell-out and it is disgusting to watch this man who really once was a maverick become just another partisan hack who cheapens his own tragic story by pulling stunts like this. Now maybe some of you think I am being a little harsh on the Senator, and for those people I would encourage you to do your homework because McCain wasn’t the only person telling us to expect more POW invocations. MSNBC is reporting that,

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.”

Underused it? Holy shit, if this is “underused” what will complete and total saturation look like? John McCain is starting to sound about as sane as Brad Pitt’s character in 12 Monkeys. Why the campaign continues to evoke this image of McCain as a POW I am not sure I get; are we supposed to elect him based on guilt? Or maybe McCain is so confused he thinks he is actually running for POW. Either way, I doubt sitting in a chair, rocking back and forth, and mumbling, “pow, pow, pow” over and over is an effective campaign strategy, but as Mencken said, “no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public”.