The TN GOP Fires Political Bile At Michelle Obama

Tennessee Republicans released a video today featuring Michelle Obama’s statement a few months ago that she was proud of America “for the first time in her adult life.”(which she has clarified.) However, the Right-Wing Slime Machine cares little for nuance or fact and so the GOP has released a video featuring Tennessee Republicans saying how proud they are of their country inter cut with Michelle Obama’s statement. The GOP has said:

“The Tennessee Republican Party has always been proud of America. To further honor the occasion of Mrs. Obama’s visit, the Tennessee Republican Party has requested the playing of patriotic music by radio stations across the state, while Mrs. Obama has trouble being proud of the country where she earned degrees from Princeton University and Harvard Law School and then became a multimillionaire, her husband makes statements that belittle average Americans’ response to the difficulties of life.”

Of course this is a pathetic ad-hominem attack which in no way addresses how she would be as first lady and Barack would be as President, but then that’s the Republican strategy. They didn’t attack Kerry on the issues, they simply depicted him wake-boarding and slandered his patriotism. Don’t fall for this again. The Republicans are just trying to trick you into thinking that the Obamas aren’t patriotic when it’s simply not true.

The Obama campaign responded to the attack:

“This is a shameful attempt to attack a woman who has repeatedly said she wouldn’t be here without the opportunities and blessings of this nation, the Republican Party’s pathetic attempts to use the same smear tactics to win elections have failed in Mississippi, failed in Louisiana and will fail in November because the American people are looking for a positive vision of real change. “And if the Tennessee Republican Party has a problem with Senator Obama, maybe next time they’ll have the courage to address him directly instead of attacking his family.”

The Tennessee Republican party is especially pathetic as back in March they used Barack’s middle name and a picture of him in Kenyan garb in an attempt to play off people’s fear and make them think he’s a terrorist(playing off the xenophobia of Americans who are well-intended but don’t know any better.) The RNC said they reject these kind of campaign tactics when the release came out, but if they really did, don’t you think they could have done more to stop it?

Obama Responds To The Bush-McCain Slander

Senator Obama responded to the shameful attacks from President Bush and Senator McCain which he described as “dishonest and divisive” He called the McCain-Bush policy towards Iran a “naive and irresponsible belief that tough talk from Washington will somehow cause Iran to give up its nuclear program and support for terrorism.” Obama also called the Bush-McCain attack:

“exactly the kind of appalling attack that’s divided our country and alienates us from the rest of the world.”

Senator Obama also pointed out that John McCain and George Bush really aren’t in a good position to advise anyone about foreign policy:

“I want to be perfectly clear with George and John McCain, if George Bush and John McCain want to have a debate about protecting the United States of America, that is a debate I’m willing to have anytime, anywhere because that is a debate that I will win because George Bush and John McCain have a lot to answer for.”

Of course this is true given that Bush mislead the American people into the Iraq War(with McCain toeing the line and even believing the Mission Accomplished banner to be correct.) The Senator also pointed out that the McCain-Bush policy has lead to a de-stabilized middle-east and an empowered Iran.

There’s also the matter of Robert Gates. The President’s own Secretary of Defense supports negotiating with Iran. Does the President think he’s the modern-day equivalent to the Nazi appeasers? The President’s hero, Ronald Reagan negotiated with Iran. What does that make him? The American People will hopefully be able to see this for what it is. A shameful political attack by a mostly irrelevant President who has to resort to fear and hate because he can’t win on substance.

California Legalizes Gay Marriage

In a possibly historic decision, the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of equality rather than bigotry and declared that gay couples should be allowed to marry. It was only possibly historic because opponents of same-sex marriage are going to put the issue on the ballot in November and attempt to overturn the ruling. However, the California Supereme Court is primarily Republican and California’s Republican governor has said that he won’t support a ban.

Chief Justice Ronald George explained why he felt it was the right decision:

“In contrast to earlier times, our state now recognizes that an individual’s capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual’s sexual orientation,”

San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom echoed his comments and gave them a moral context:

“It’s about human dignity. It’s about human rights. It’s about time in California, as California goes, so goes the rest of the nation. It’s inevitable. This door’s wide open now. It’s going to happen, whether you like it or not.”

James Dobson, chairmen of the Conservative Focus on the Family however doesn’t believe that gay people deserve the same rights as heterosexuals:

“It will be up to the people of California to preserve traditional marriage by passing a constitutional amendment. … Only then can they protect themselves from this latest example of judicial tyranny,”

Bush Falls Back On A Republican Favorite: Fear-Mongering

In a rare moment of relevancy, President Bush made headlines today for a speech he gave in Israel which stated that those who would negotiate with America’s enemies are no different from those who appeased the Nazis. This is of course an attack on Senator Obama who has said he would be willing to negotiate with Iran(though the Bush White House denies that they meant this much like a 5 year old denies stealing from a cookie jar.) In his speech President Bush said:

“Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: ‘Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.’ We have an obligation to call this what it is - the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history,”

Of course, what Bush failed to mention was that the Senator he was referring to was a Republican.

Howard Dean demanded that Senator McCain show himself to be a decent man with integrity and denounce the President’s hateful and inappropriate comments. The Senator from Arizona refused and showed his true colors, resorting to fear:

“This does bring up an issue that we will be discussing with the American people, and that is, why does Barack Obama, Senator Obama, want to sit down with a state sponsor of terrorism?”

McCain also brought up Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister who ceded part of Czechoslovakia to the Nazis, furthering Bush’s pathetic attempt at “Guilt By Analogy.”

Senator Obama wasn’t campaigning today but his campaign responded that:

“It is sad that President Bush would use a speech to the Knesset on the 60th anniversary of Israel’s independence to launch a false political attack, George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists, and the president’s extraordinary politicization of foreign policy and the politics of fear do nothing to secure the American people or our stalwart ally Israel.”

However, others such as Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee described the comments for what they were. Sen. Clinton said:

“President Bush’s comparison of any Democrat to Nazi appeasers is both offensive and outrageous on the face of it, especially in light of his failures in foreign policy. This is the kind of statement that has no place in any presidential address and certainly to use an important moment like the 60th anniversary celebration of Israel to make a political point seems terribly misplaced. Unfortunately, this is what we’ve come to expect from President Bush.”

Senator Biden said:

“This is bullshit, this is malarkey. This is outrageous, for the president of the United States to go to a foreign country, to sit in the Knesset … and make this kind of ridiculous statement. He is the guy who has weakened us,” he said. “He has increased the number of terrorists in the world. It is his policies that have produced this vulnerability that the U.S. has. It’s his [own] intelligence community [that] has pointed this out, not me.”

Senator Biden also later described the President’s tactics as a “long-distance swiftboating.”

The Democrats did the right thing, but John McCain has shown again that he’s not a “maverick”. He’s simply yet another fear-mongering Rovian Republican.

Edwards endorses Obama

Today Senator Obama received the endorsement of former Senator and former Democratic Presidential Nominee, John Edwards. The endorsement came at a great time for Obama as it will in all likelihood knock the story of his loss in West Virginia completely out of the headlines, or at the very least it will make them quieter. Senator Edwards criticized both Clinton and Obama but was harder on Clinton due to her ties to corporate America. A source close to the Clinton camp has told ABC News that:

“Clearly it’s upsetting. He brings the workers”

This could very likely be what Obama needs to convince uneducated whites that he’s not what his critics and slanderers say he is as before they were the Senator Clinton’s core constituency, they were Senator Edwards’ base and if anyone can make them see the truth(Obama is better than McCain for their interests), Senator Edwards can.

It’s worth noting however the Elizabeth Edwards didn’t fly out to Grand Rapids with her husband to endorse Senator Obama and has promoted Senator Clinton’s health-care plan so it may not be out of the question to see her endorse Senator Clinton now that her husband has publicly revealed his preference. Of course, Elizabeth’s endorsement in all likelihood won’t be considered quite as news worthy as John’s.

Hillary as Huckabee

The media has put a large spotlight on the fact that they believe Senator Clinton is staying in the race far beyond what reason allows. However, they treated a previously irrational candidate quite differently. Governor Huckabee stayed in the race for the Republican nomination even though it was blatantly clear he had no hope for the nomination, yet they simply observed and asked about it. However, now that Senator Clinton is the one who they believe has stayed in too long, the media is actively pushing the idea that she should drop out.

I do think the media is accurate when they say that she has no real hope of victory(as they were with Huckabee), but at the same time this contrast is interesting. There’s also a difference in reaction to Clinton’s insistence that she has a chance at winning to Huckabee’s. The former governor’s statement that:

“Folks, I didn’t major in math. I majored in miracles, and I still believe in those too.”

was treated as a funny statement from a candidate who was simply an underdog. However, with Clinton the media is harsher towards her instance that:

“I am even more determined than ever to carry on this campaign until everyone has had a chance to make their voices heard,”

which is treated as significantly less legitimate, which doesn’t make sense. Hillary may not be able to win, but her rationale(to take her at her word) is based on her honest belief that she’s the most qualified nominee, would be the best President, and that she owes it to her supporters to go the distance, even if much like her hero Rocky Balboa, she is beaten in the end. All Huckabee had was the hope that God would step in and end John McCain’s campaign.

The question of why is an interesting one and my guess is that much of the difference in treatment is based on the difference between how Hillary and Huckabee treated the media. Huckabee charmed the media with his good ol’ boy speech and his media savvy(see: The Colbert Report and SNL) while Hillary has for the most part been less accessible with a few exceptions such as her brief appearances on SNL, The Colbert Report, and her interviews with people like O’Reilly.

The Writing Is On The Wall…And It’s 50% Off.

A store near Washington D.C. has put all of the merchandise related to Hillary Clinton on a 50% off sale. It’s not exactly a hard measurement of the electorate, but it does serve as effective symbolism for the math. NBC News has estimated that Senator Clinton would have to win 91% of the remaining delegates(which is nearly impossible) to regain the pledge delegate lead that she lost oh so long ago. Of course, Senator Clinton is determined and ignoring that fact and the question is, why?

Some have suggested that Senator Clinton believes she can still win the nomination. It’s certainly a possibility, though I don’t think it’s the most likely. What seems most likely to me is that while she may hope some catastrophe comes along to destroy Senator Obama, Clinton understands that she will most likely not be the nominee and is hoping for one of three things. The first is to be appointed to a high post in the Obama administration such as Secretary of State or Vice President. The second is that Obama will lose and she’ll be able to rise from the ashes. The third is that this process can lead to her becoming the Speaker of the House.

I think the first is the most likely, but even if it’s one of the others I’m positive that Senator and President Clinton will campaign for Obama if and most likely when he is officially the Democratic nominee. There has been talk suggesting that the Clintons would be too angry and their egos too brusied to campaign for Senator Obama. I don’t buy it for a second. The Clintons have three reasons to campaign for Senator Obama, all of which serve their self-interest. The first is that if they help Obama get elected he might put them in a position of power. The second is that the best way for Bill Clinton to repair his standing within the African-American community is to help the first African-American President get elected. The third is that as mentioned above, it would help Hillary rise again in 2012 as it would show that she has loyalty to something higher than herself(the Democratic Party), as the President is supposed to(The Constitution.)

Will the impending Clinton victory change anything?

Recently almost all of the political analyst/commentator/blogger/pundit has echoed Tim Russert’s statement that Obama has won and the primaries are over:

“We now know who will be the Democratic nominee.”

However, tomorrow Senator Clinton is projected to win West Virginia by up to 60% . In terms of perception this could be significant, but West Virginia only has 28 delegates. My guess is that after West Virginia we’ll see one of two storylines emerge within the media.

1. Hillary Clinton is “The Comeback Kid” and that this overwhelming victory gives Senator Clinton a great argument for the Superdelegates because you need white voters to win(ignoring that Bill Clinton never won the white vote.)
2. A twist on the “Comeback Kid” where Hillary tries to depict herself as such but the media doesn’t buy it and so it comes off looking like desperation on her part.

I could easily be wrong, but I can’t see the media missing a chance to use the Comeback Kid moniker again even though the math makes her victory nearly impossible.

Obama responds to McCain’s Fearmongering

Senator Obama’s campaign responded earlier today to Senator McCain’s use of the Rovian accusation that a vote for Obama is a vote for Hamas:

“This is offensive, and I think it’s disappointing, because John McCain always says, ‘Well, I’m not going to run that kind of politics,’ and then to engage in that kind of smear, I think, is unfortunate, particularly since my policy toward Hamas has been no different than his. For him to toss out comments like that, I think, is an example of him losing his bearings as he pursues this nomination. We don’t need name-calling in this debate.”"

McCain’s campaign responded by leveling the accusation that the Obama campaign was playing ‘the age card.’ Of course, there’s nothing about age in the statement that McCain is “losing his bearings” and it makes the McCain campaign seem as though they think McCain may be too old to handle the stresses of the Presidency.

It also completely ignores the substance of Obama’s rebuttal(the fact that Obama has condemned Jimmy Carter’s negotiations with Hamas and believes that Hamas is a terrorist group that shouldn’t be talked to until they recognize Israel and cast down their arms) and shows that while Senator McCain may claim he’s attempting to run a substantive and civil campaign, he in fact is no better than George W. Bush in terms of his dirty tactics. Of course, this shouldn’t be surprising since Karl Rove is an informal advisor to the McCain campaign, despite the fact that Rove is the very man who slandered McCain back in 2000.

The general election has begun.

Rush Limbaugh Attempts to Spin Away the Threat of Obama

Drug Addict, hypocrite, and general bigot Rush Limbaugh has attempted to spin away the threat that even he understands Senator Obama presents to John McCain:

“I now believe he would be the weakest of the Democrat nominees, I now urge the Democrat supereldegates to make your mind up and publicly go for Obama. Barack Obama has shown he cannot get the votes Democrats need to win – blue-collar, working class people, he can get effete snobs, he can get wealthy academics, he can get the young, and he can get the black vote, but Democrats do not win with that.”"

For months Mr. Limbaugh has been stumping for Hillary Clinton with the ultimate goal of death and destruction through riots at the Democratic Convention in Denver. This of course reveals Limbaugh’s lack of morals as anyone who would call for the death of innocent people just to win an election is pathetic.

It’s not going to change a thing given that the superdelegates are completely aware that Limbaugh has been encouraging his followers to sabotage democracy and waste the votes that people have fought and died to defend.