John McCain

John McCain Pulls A Double, Reverse Maverick

Posted by on November 2, 2008 at 10:11 am. NO Comments :

Last night John McCain appeared on Saturday Night Live. He follows his running mate’s inexplicably lame guest shot on the program two weeks ago. The best that can be said is that he didn’t bomb as thoroughly as Sarah Palin. At least he participated in the sketches and had a few punch lines.

Still, it is a bit surprising that the jokes primarily centered on his being a cash-strapped also ran. That is generally not a theme that a candidate wants to present two days before an election. Neither is it advisable to reveal your campaign’s closing strategy, which McCain did when discussing the matter on the Weekend Update segment. Asked what he would do if his present strategy were to fail, he offered a couple of notable alternatives:

  • The Reverse Maverick: That’s where I do whatever anybody tells me.
  • The Double Maverick: I’d just go totally berserk and freak everybody out.

In reality, he has already resorted to both of these tactics.

He began his campaign two years ago with the Reverse Maverick as he abandoned many of his long-held positions to suck up to the Bush loyalists and the Christian right. Examples include advocating the Bush tax cuts that he had voted against in the Senate, adopting the Bush position on torture that he had previously opposed, and embracing evangelicals like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell who he once called “agents of intolerance.”

He rushed headlong into the Double Maverick with his selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate. That certainly freaked everybody out. In addition, his behavior in response to the Wall Street meltdown when he promised to suspend his campaign and postpone a debate (neither of which he did), was nothing if not berserk.

A third strategy mentioned on SNL was “The Sad Grandpa.” I can’t say that we’ve witnessed bona fide examples of that, but we have seen verified examples of a close off-shoot, “The Grandpa Simpson.”

Sarah Palin’s Constitutional Frights

Posted by on October 31, 2008 at 2:05 pm. NO Comments :

It’s five days before the election and Sarah Palin has still never held a press conference. But that hasn’t stopped her from bashing the media of which she is so fearful. And the story is getting even scarier.

Having a pet newspaper is apparently not enough for Palin. Now she’s afraid that any criticism of her is a violation of her Constitutional rights:

“If [the media] convince enough voters that that is negative campaigning, for me to call Barack Obama out on his associations, then I don’t know what the future of our country would be in terms of First Amendment rights and our ability to ask questions without fear of attacks by the mainstream media.”

No one is infringing on her right to call Obama out, and she does it every day. It’s pretty much all she does. But the fact that she thinks the First Amendment exists to protect her from the media, or anyone else who disagrees with her, is an appropriately scary notion to come up in a Halloween day interview. She is arguing that she be permitted to bark out all manner of scurrilous slurs with abandon. However, she regards it as unconstitutional for anyone else to exercise their own freedom of expression in response. What she is advocating is nothing less than the infringement of the First Amendment rights of her critics.

This is a recurring theme for Republicans. If they are accusing you of something, you can bet they are doing it themselves. The strategy is to identify their own faults and then accuse their opponent of engaging in them. The accusation doesn’t even need to be true. McCain’s campaign manager, Rick Davis, admitted to this tactic. So whether it be negative campaigning, voter fraud, or questionable associations, the McCain camp is knee deep in hypocrisy.

Update: Is this an example of an unconstitutional attack by the mainstream media:
Sarah Palin Got Pranked

A Cry For Approval From John McCain

Posted by on October 31, 2008 at 1:02 pm. NO Comments :

John McCain just released a new ad that features an endorsement from none other than Barack Obama:

More than anything else, this ad refutes McCain’s allegation that Obama doesn’t work across party lines. It shows Obama as collegial and open-minded. It ought to help persuade independents that Obama is a man of reason and fairness who will give credit where it’s due.

As for the issue the ad addresses, environment voters are probably already voting for Obama. Why support a maverick Republican on the issue when you can support a candidate and a party that has been championing it for decades?

Finally, you know you’re on thin ice when you have to rely on the endorsement of your opponent. If McCain really thinks that Obama is an inexperienced, untested, dangerous, risky, Socialist pal of terrorists, why is he so anxious to have his approval?

Thanks for the kind words, John. Please play this ad everywhere.

Barack Obama Uprising / John McCain Pushing Daisies

Posted by on October 30, 2008 at 11:27 am. NO Comments :

Last night Barack Obama aired a 30 minute advertisement showcasing the struggles and hopes of four American families, while summarizing the policies he has been articulating throughout his campaign. The ad was considered an expensive and risky proposition. Nothing like it had been attempted since Ross Perot’s economics lessons 16 years ago. So how did he do?

The Obama-mercial was seen by 26.3 million viewers watching CBS, NBC and Fox, according to preliminary Nielsen ratings. This doesn’t take into account additional viewers on Univision, MSNBC and BET. The Hollywood Reporter’s analysis reveals that:

“The entertainment programming that usually runs in the slot on those three networks has averaged a cumulative 23.1 million viewers each week since the start of the season — 12% lower than the Obama ad total […] Obama improved NBC’s rating by 43% and CBS by 10% compared with last week. And keep in mind Obama was competing against himself.”

By all objective measures, the risk paid off in spades. The slickly produced special has been receiving positive reviews from everyone but Sean Hannity, who called it “embarrassing.” Ordinarily I would defer to Hannity’s assessment on embarrassment seeing as he is so well acquainted with it, but not in this case. The ratings domination of Obama’s ad was so complete that it totally destroyed McCain’s competing program, “Pushing Daisies.”

Wait a minute … Apparently Pushing Daisies was not a McCain production after all. Sorry for the error but with a title like that, how was I supposed to know?

Sarah Palin Pines For Pet Press

Posted by on October 30, 2008 at 1:38 am. 1 Comments :

Just when you thought that irony had reached peaks that would not be revisited for a generation or two, along comes a contender that exceeds all expectations. Sarah Palin is such a contender, and today she demonstrates why the great ones can never be counted out.

The latest fake controversy to be heralded by right-wing media is the so called “discovery” of an article that was actually published six months ago in the Los Angeles Times about Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi. Barack Obama was reported to have attended a party for Khalidi where some Palestinian guests made some incendiary remarks about Israel. Of course there is nothing tying Obama to the statements or the speakers, but that hasn’t stopped the press from latching onto the story and making irresponsible and unsubstantiated allegations.

At the front of the line is Fox News, where Brit Hume, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, etc., are already barking their patented phony outrage at Obama and the L.A. Times. At the crux of their complaints is their dismay that the Times will not release a video tape they have of the event. The Times issued a statement explaining that they received the tape from a source with an agreement that it would not be released. If Fox and its spokesmodels were actually journalists they would understand the concept of confidentiality and the privilege that exists between reporters and their sources. But we’re talking about Fox here, so an understanding of journalistic ethics may be too much to ask.

It’s not just Fox who is fanning the flames. John McCain and Sarah Palin have taken up the call and are using this affair to further pound on the press. This is where the irony comes in as Palin said this at a rally today:

“It must be nice for a candidate to have major news organizations looking after his best interests like that. Maybe some politicians would love to have a pet newspaper of their very own.”

This statement, coming from a woman who has coordinated her entire campaign with Fox News, is really a remarkable exhibition of chutzpah. She is herself a candidate with a major news organization looking after her interests. And she even has pet newspapers in Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post and Wall Street Journal. She and McCain have a relationship with a media company that is perhaps more intimate than any in history. And yet Palin is implying that Obama is being protected by the liberal L.A. Times who endorsed him for president. Did I mention that the Times has never before endorsed a Democrat for president? That’s right, despite having the words “Los Angeles” in the name, the Times has never been a liberal paper.

And by the way, Khalidi, that subversive professor that Obama was palling around with – he also received funding by a foundation that was chaired by, you guessed it, John McCain.

Ironic, huh?

The Fox Frame: October Surprise

Posted by on October 29, 2008 at 1:50 pm. NO Comments :

It is obvious to most honest observers that this is going to be a harsh year for Republicans. At the top of the list of victims, of course, is John McCain. His floundering campaign just gets more off track everyday. His aides are sending out resumes and looking to assign blame for their failure. Some have resorted to targeting Sarah Palin, who they have called a “diva” and a “whack job.”

But now they have adopted a more insidious strategic path that amounts to an “If you can’t beat ’em join ’em.” tactic. Talk about an October Surprise! With the help of Fox News, the McCain camp is now attempting to pass off their loser as a Democrat. They must believe that they can squeeze out a few extra votes by associating themselves with the party that is poised to sweep this year’s electoral contests.

It’s not really that surprising that McCain wants to realign himself with the Kool Kidz. From the beginning his campaign seemed jinxed. In the primary, he ran out of money and had to continue with a skeleton staff that worked for free. Then the Republican convention in St. Paul was delayed due to Hurricane Gustav. Then he announces Caribou Barbie as his running mate. Then he is blind-sided by an economic crisis after admitting that he doesn’t understand economics. Then he says he’ll suspend his campaign (which he doesn’t really do) to work on a resolution to the crisis (which he doesn’t resolve) and won’t participate in a debate with Barack Obama until the crisis is over (but he debates anyway).

Every issue with which McCain sought to identify fell flat. In the beginning it was his vaunted national security and foreign policy experience that would propel him to victory, but that never took hold. Then it was energy independence. This was anchored by a proposal for a gas tax holiday and the ubiquitous and ignorant chant of “Drill, baby drill.” But oil and gas prices have come down on their own, without his phony initiatives. Now he is desperately ranting about Bill Ayers, Joe the Plumber, false allegations of voter fraud, and Socialism – even Marxism!

These are the wails of an expiring beast in the wilderness. It’s almost sad. At least we all have the prospect of Obama’s victory next week to cheer us up.

Fox VP: Sen McCain’s Quest For The Presidency Is Over

Posted by on October 25, 2008 at 10:16 am. 4 Comments :

A couple of days ago Ashley Todd, a John McCain campaign worker, reported to the police that she had been beaten and robbed by an African-American supporter of Barack Obama because of her political affiliation. The story was widely disseminated throughout the media with the help of the McCain communications team. There was just one problem with this story – It wasn’t true. Within 24 hours Todd confessed that she had fabricated the entire affair.

Before the truth was revealed, Fox News Executive VP John Moody published this on his blog:

“If Ms. Todd’s allegations are proven accurate, some voters may revisit their support for Senator Obama, not because they are racists (with due respect to Rep. John Murtha), but because they suddenly feel they do not know enough about the Democratic nominee.

If the incident turns out to be a hoax, Senator McCain’s quest for the presidency is over, forever linked to race-baiting.”

Moody doesn’t explain why voters would suddenly feel a lack of knowledge about Obama because a criminal unconnected to him was alleged to have done something horrible. But his remarks do confirm Fox’s obsession with associating Obama with all manner of evil, from radical preachers to domestic terrorists. The only real reason someone would revisit their support for Obama under these circumstances would be the reason Moody explicitly discarded. They are racist.

This is not the first time that Moody has demonstrated a gift for the ridiculous. He has previously said that terrorists were “thrilled” at Democratic victories in Congress. And there’s more.

Two days have elapsed and Moody has not posted anything to his blog since the article above. Therefore, we must assume that he is standing by his prediction that McCain’s campaign is over and is forever linked to race-baiting. I think the same thing can be said of Fox News, who eagerly promoted the false story when it broke.

Who Do The Troops Support? Don’t Ask Fox News

Posted by on October 21, 2008 at 3:44 pm. 3 Comments :

Yesterday Barack Obama received the endorsement of General Colin Powell. This is a significant endorsement from a respected public figure who is a Republican that has served as Secretary of State, National Security Adviser, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and he is a decorated veteran of the Vietnam war. And it was no ordinary endorsement. Powell was as effusive in his praise of Obama as he was dismissive of John McCain.

Immediately following his appearance on Meet the Press, the Republican smear machine cranked up their toxic rhetoric to belittle Powell with allegations of everything from naivete to racism. But that wasn’t enough to blunt the impact of Powell’s support for Obama. So Fox News is now promoting what they call “poll” that shows overwhelming support (68% to 23%) for McCain by members of the military. In the segment, Fox’s Megyn Kelly introduces the poll and leads off with some broad conclusions about its results:

“Well the Military Times is polling active service members on their pick for president, and it seems pretty clear from that poll who the armed services would like as a Commander in Chief.”

What Kelly fails to mention is that the “poll” is not a scientifically conducted survey designed to represent the views of the military community. It is merely an expression of preference by a self-selecting group of respondents who happened to return a questionnaire sent to subscribers to the Military Times. There was no attempt to create a sample group whose responses could be expanded to the military at large. There was no demographic targeting. This poll has no more relevance than an online poll that simply collects the responses of those who feel like clicking on it. But none of that stopped Kelly from casting the results as “pretty clear,” nor did it stop reporter Jennifer Griffin from surmising that…

“Democrats, in essence, have not made the inroads into the military vote that they hoped to in the last four to eight years.”


[Update – 1/20/09: Sorry. It appears that the original video with Megyn Kelly has been removed. However, Fox News did exactly the same thing two weeks ago with John Kasich guest hosting on the O’Reilly Factor]

This deliberate distortion is wholly the work of Fox News. The Military Times responsibly reported their methodology for the poll on their web site. It says in part that…

“Characteristics of Military Times readers may also affect the results. The group surveyed is significantly older than the military as a whole, and the survey group contains a higher percentage of officers than is present in the military.”

“Conversely, junior enlisted troops, women and racial and ethnic minorities made up a smaller share of the sample than of the military at large. While it is difficult to predict how those factors affect the results, those groups are generally regarded as more supportive of Democratic candidates.”

Fox News purposely left out this information because it didn’t advance their agenda. Clearly their intention is to inject an argument to mitigate the newsmaking endorsement by Powell. So Fox News went looking for something to counter the credibility that Powell has with the military and the general public. They found this survey that was actually published two weeks ago, and they have elevated it to a major story that has run multiple times throughout the day.

So who do the military really support? The non-partisan Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) released a report grading the candidates on their support for military legislation. Obama received a “B”, while McCain barely passed with a “D”. Perhaps a better measure is one where troops are putting their money where their mouths are. A survey last August by the Center for Responsive Politics revealed that…

“U.S. soldiers have donated more presidential campaign money to Democrat Barack Obama than to Republican John McCain, a reversal of previous campaigns in which military donations tended to favor GOP White House hopefuls.”

It’s no coincidence that Fox News began touting the two week old Military Times poll on the day after Powell’s surprise announcement. And it’s no surprise that Fox would deliberately distort the poll and its meaning. What continues to surprise me is that anyone still gives any credence to anything that Fox News reports.

Fox News Cancels New York Times

Posted by on October 20, 2008 at 4:22 pm. 4 Comments :

This past weekend, the New York Times published a profile of John McCain’s wife, Cindy. Included in the article were facts relating to Sen. McCain’s adulterous relationship with his future second wife, as well as Ms. McCain’s troubles with drugs. These are simply factual episodes that any responsible biographical piece would have to address.

Predictably, the McCain campaign was outraged and immediately began shouting about media bias and tabloid journalism. Whereupon the masters of tabloidism, Fox News, came to McCain’s aid by parroting his complaints and even helping to punish the Times by providing viewers with a telephone number they could call to cancel their subscriptions. This all occurred during a “news” broadcast, not the O’Reilly Factor.

The hubris of Fox News never seems to find it’s peak. It would be one thing for them to report on the controversial article and McCain’s response. They might even follow that up with their own views as to the presence of bias in the article. At this point everyone knows that Fox shamelessly inserts their opinions into their reporting, and since McCain has already declared war against the Times, it’s only natural that Fox, the network of the Republican National Committee, would follow suit. However, by participating in a effort to encourage the cancellation of subscribers to the paper, Fox is crossing a new line that is much further out in the sand than was previously drawn.

Aside from the obvious advocacy on the part of Fox News for the McCain candidacy, and their staking out a position on the paper’s coverage, Fox News has a vested financial interest in harming the Times. Fox News is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. which also owns Times competitors the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal. So this partisan interference in political affairs is also a brazen attempt to damage a competitor in the marketplace.

The many tentacles of the Murdoch empire continue to raise questions about monopolies and anti-trust. Is it proper for one News Corp. property to openly advocate that customers abandon a competitor of another property? If so, could NBC, which is owned by General Electric, broadcast appeals to their viewers to stop purchasing light bulbs or refrigerators made by their competitors? Could ABC, which is owned by Disney, run stories that advise people not to attend Six Flags Amusement Parks in an effort to boost attendance at Disneyland?

These are some of the easily anticipated problems with the sort of unregulated consolidation that has been rampant in the recent past, particularly in Republican administrations. If anti-trust laws aren’t taken seriously and vigorously enforced, the corporate chieftains end up controlling and manipulating markets to the detriment of competition and consumers. Barack Obama is on record in opposition to the Bush policy of ignoring, or advancing, corporate collusion, consolidation, and other anti-competitive activity:

“We’re going to have an antitrust division in the Justice Department that actually believes in antitrust law. We haven’t had that for the last seven, eight years.”

If Obama follows through on that pledge, we might begin to see some progress toward a truly open, diverse, and fair marketplace in the media and elsewhere. Regulations will need to be refined and some conglomerates will need to be broken up. Real reform in this area will be difficult to achieve, but it is essential if we want a system that provides a level playing field for everyone.