David Guilbault

WORDS KILL

Let us be very clear.  No one is directly responsible for the murderous rampage this weekend of mentally unstable Jared Loughner but Loughner himself.

We have yet to learn what motivated this killer to shoot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords through the head and then spray rounds of deadly bullets into a crowd of her political supporters, leaving six dead and 14 wounded.  He, and he alone, is responsible and culpable for his actions.

But, that is not the point of the public debate that has risen from this tragic crime.

Bullets kill.  Words kill, too.

And, each of us, alone, is responsible and culpable for the words we use.

Our political debate, of late, has been filled with violent words.  Campaign slogans that tell voters to "reload" are unconscionable.  Political ads that use imagery that literally puts opponents in the "cross-hairs" of a gun are intolerable.   Appeals to the electorate to consider "second-amendment remedies" against politicians they disagree with in Washington are irresponsible.  These incitements, just noted, came from candidates who seek the power to lead this amazing country.

No, these words did not kill a judge, a congressional aide, a little girl, an elderly man and two elderly women in Arizona.  But, they have wounded the heart and soul of America.

We cherish our First Amendment.  And I would defend the right to mouth the most hateful of speech.  (Hate is always best countered with truth and justice, not censorship.)  But, those who espouse violence bear responsibility and culpability for the violent acts committed by those they have aroused.

This past campaign season saw the rise of the Tea Party.  We witnessed public rallies where members came with signs reading "We came unarmed, this time."  Or, "Support the economy, buy ammo.".

Some politicians on the Right and their media mouthpieces, Fox News and Conservative Talk Radio have played to the fears of these people.  They have stoked their anger by falsely and cynically demonizing the very institutions that we rely on to maintain the public good and trust - government and the media.  They have made anyone who disagrees with them "the enemy."  And, in any language or culture, the enemy, of course, is to be hunted and killed.

What has been described, meekly by the press, as "overheated rhetoric" is more heinous than that.  It is deceitful, deliberate and dangerous.  We live in unkind times.  I can tolerate the slimy, dirty language of politics which pollsters seem to believe brings electoral victories.  I can not, and will not, tolerate calls to violent actions, no matter how carefully couched by media manipulators.

The Right is busy today (purposely) missing the point.  They are repeating that the toxic rhetoric of the nation is not connected to the Arizona shooting.  That is absolutely correct.  Not directly.  But, it is a deceit to suggest that intentionally inciteful words have not bred hatred, a deterioration of honest debate and a demonization of "the other."

I will neither accept the tepid response that we just need to bring more civility to our politics.  Those that have used extreme language to rally political action and wrest power have to take responsibility and culpability for their words and the actions they have wrought.  Period.

Every political leader and pundit today should take a look at their own words, examine their own responsibility and culpability and own up to the potential destructive power of their language.

Yes, we have always been a violent nation.  We were born of revolution against a tyrannical king and committed genocide on the Indian Nation.  We fought each other in a bloody civil war over our evil embrace of slavery. We endured the assassinations of Martin, John, Malcolm, Bobby.  Can we never be better than that?  Yes, we can.  And, yes, we will.

The truth is the truth.  Bullets kill.  Words kill, too.

(I wrote the song below, "Better Look Both Ways", during the 2010 election season when I was worried and frightened by the angry mob mentality of the Tea Party.  The performance at Egan's Ballard Jam House is from Saturday, January 8th, the night of the assassination attempt on Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.  I always start my shows with this song.  This night it rang too true.)

 

 

HEALTH REFORM VILLAINS

I have not had much faith in the political leadership of House leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate leader Harry Reid in the health care reform debate.  Today, Pelosi, finally got some guts and laid the blame for our broken, greedy system at the feet of the real obstructionists of reform - the health insurance industry.  Some of her comments today:

Pelosi: Health Insurance Companies the Real Villains

"They are the villains in this. They have been part of the problem in a major way," Pelosi said of the insurance industry after her weekly press conference. "It's almost immoral, what they are doing," she said, referring to industry lobbying against a public insurance plan option. "Of course, they've been immoral all along. They are doing everything in their power to stop a public option from happening, and the public has to know about it."

The current system works so well for insurers that they don't even want subsidies, Pelosi claimed. "They've had a good thing going for a long time at the expense of the American people and the health of our country," she said, adding that it will be tough to keep them from getting their way. "This is the fight of our lives."

- Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House

WADING IN ON SARAH

In her column, "A Farewell to Harms", Peggy Noonan writes why Sarah Palin was (and is) bad for the Republicans, and the republic.

"In television interviews she was out of her depth in a shallow pool. She was limited in her ability to explain and defend her positions, and sometimes in knowing them. She couldn't say what she read because she didn't read anything. She was utterly unconcerned by all this and seemed in fact rather proud of it: It was evidence of her authenticity. She experienced criticism as both partisan and cruel because she could see no truth in any of it. She wasn't thoughtful enough to know she wasn't thoughtful enough. Her presentation up to the end has been scattered, illogical, manipulative and self-referential to the point of self-reverence. "I'm not wired that way," "I'm not a quitter," "I'm standing up for our values." I'm, I'm, I'm.

In another age it might not have been terrible, but here and now it was actually rather horrifying....

Here's why all this matters. The world is a dangerous place. It has never been more so, or more complicated, more straining of the reasoning powers of those with actual genius and true judgment. This is a time for conservative leaders who know how to think.

Here are a few examples of what we may face in the next 10 years: a profound and prolonged American crash, with the admission of bankruptcy and the spread of deep social unrest; one or more American cities getting hit with weapons of mass destruction from an unknown source; faint glimmers of actual secessionist movements as Americans for various reasons and in various areas decide the burdens and assumptions of the federal government are no longer attractive or legitimate.

The era we face, that is soon upon us, will require a great deal from our leaders. They had better be sturdy. They will have to be gifted. There will be many who cannot, and should not, make the cut. Now is the time to look for those who can. And so the Republican party should get serious, as serious as the age, because that is what a grown-up, responsible party—a party that deserves to lead—would do.

It's not a time to be frivolous, or to feel the temptation of resentment, or the temptation of thinking next year will be more or less like last year, and the assumptions of our childhoods will more or less reign in our future. It won't be that way.

We are going to need the best.

- Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal

NO GAY KISSING

Today is the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in 1969, which gave birth to the Gay Rights Movement.  In 1994, I produced a report on the 25th anniversary for "The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour."  It would be the only time in my career when I would experience censorship.

Manhattan was filled with homosexuals remembering and celebrating an historic moment.  They put on a Gay Olympics, concerts and rallies around New York City and a celebration of love in Central Park.

I was working for Time Inc. New Media, which had a contract with the NewsHour to produce reports for the program.  The video report I submitted looked at all the events of the weekend and was a comprehensive story on the state of gay rights in America at that time. 

In one scene a winning athlete got a congratulatory kiss from his partner.  Another sequence showed gay couples in the park doing what loving couples do all around the world - hugging, holding hands, resting their heads on their loved one's shoulder, brushing back their hair and kissing.  It was a montage of expressions of affection.

The Executive Producer of the NewHour called me to his office across town to tell me to remove the kissing scenes, as they might offend the sensibilities of the older PBS news audience.  I explained that both scenes were "normal" and central to the narrative.  He disagreed.  So, I compromised and said I would remove the congratulatory kiss, as not being completely germane to the athletic event, but that I would leave in the tender kiss at the love rally, as being completely appropriate.  He agreed.

So, I re-cut and resubmitted the finished video report to the NewsHour.

But, when it aired, the NewsHour editors had, without my knowledge or consent, removed the kissing scene in the park.  That meant that they had to extend the video to cover the narration that was under that part of the report.  So, they slow-motioned all the park scenes to fill the gap in the video.  What the audience saw was slowed-down video of all the tender moments, which made them look unnatural and unseemly, like they slow-mo criminals in their orange prison suits for the "perp walk."

Needless to say, I was outraged.  I worked as a news producer for 20 years at ABC News and was one of the founding Senior Producers of Cable News Network.  No one at either of those news organizations ever asked me to edit my report to satisfy the sensibilities of their audience.  I found it disturbing that the so-called liberal powers-that-be at the NewsHour at the time would censor their own reports to satisfy the perceived prejudices of their audience.

To this day, it still bothers me.

Anyway, Frank Rich has a fine op-ed piece in today's New York Times remembering an event that most straight people never heard of to begin with.  It's long past time to embrace human rights for all, all over the world.  A kiss to everyone from me.  Let your freak flags fly.

 

SICK TALK ON HEALTH CARE

The chief disinformation operative of the Republican party is leading a propaganda campaign against national health care reform.  He is Frank Luntz. 

He has crafted a 28-page talking points memo for Conservatives, called "The Language of Health Care 2009," to trumpet the dishonest accusation of a "Washington takeover of healthcare."  It is cynical, distorted, fear mongering self-interest at its worst.

Luntz advises opponents of universal health care to make the debate about "politicians," "bureaucrats," and "Washington," and to highlight "horror stories" about "government takeover."  He tells them to play on the fear the public has of "denied treatment."

Luntz writes, "The best approach is to empathize with the fear, anxiety and financial pain people are clearly feeling right now. So instead of dismissing their concerns, acknowledge them – up front – and then pivot to your solution. Some conservatives will undoubtedly find this distasteful. But failure to connect on a personal level at the beginning will lead to communication failure at the end."

Later he writes, "It is essential that “deny” and “denial” enter the conservative lexicon immediately because it is at the core of what scares Americans most about a government takeover of healthcare. Then add to it the source of that denial and you have the perfect anti-government, anti-Washington and anti-Democratic message."

So, you will hear this mantra repeated from Republican after Republican:

“No Washington bureaucrat or healthcare lobbyist should stand between your family and your doctor. The Democrats want to put Washington politicians in charge of YOUR healthcare. We can and must do better. Say no to a Washington takeover of healthcare and say yes to personalized patient-centered care.”

Of course, "personalized patient-centered care" is code for health insurance company control. That is the powerful industry Luntz and his cohorts are trying to protect.

Luntz and his associates are the premier manipulators of language for selfish, partisan ends.

Read one of his mission statements from their web site (emphasis is mine): 

Luntz, Maslansky Strategic Research

"Our focus is on language. We believe that every word you use matters.  Luntz, Maslansky is known across the nation for how we reframe issues.  From changing the “estate tax” to the “death tax,” “tax cuts” to “tax relief,” “global warming” to “climate change” – time after time we have succeeded in changing the course of the debate.  By focusing on how to communicate your message, Luntz, Maslansky helps you reframe the issue using your side’s words and messages.  Our unique research methodology allows us to precisely gauge public opinion and develop the most effective approach and language to take control of the issue.  We know how to change hearts and minds and motivate people to act."

from Luntz, Maslansky Strategic Research website

Their goal is to help "virtually every major industry" to distort their message and mask their true agenda.  Another quote from their web site:

"In the political arena, our CEO, Dr. Frank Luntz, is known for helping change the public vocabulary – he transformed the "estate tax" into the "the death tax," moved the public debate from "school vouchers" to "opportunity scholarships," and re-cast "drilling for oil" as "exploring for energy."  ...  In the corporate arena, Luntz, Maslansky currently works for clients in virtually every major industry: pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, energy, health care, transportation, sports, entertainment, travel and tourism, shopping centers, grocery stores, restaurants, food, and beverages."

If Frank Luntz is involved in a public campaign, you may assume the goal is to "pull the wool over your eyes."

And, so then, is his mission in the health care debate.

Photo Credit:  Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images

PRIMER ON NEOCONSERVATISM

An interesting viewpoint on the end of the neocons by Jonathan Clarke can be found on the BBC website.

 

SHEEEEEEEEEIT

Does anyone notice the similarity between the stories of crooked politician Clay Davis in 'The Wire' and Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich? I think Gov. Blago is hoping to walk away from his allegations smelling as sweet as Sen. Davis. "Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeit."

WORKERS STIFFED

Let there be no doubt that the modern Republican Party has never been a friend to workers.  Their interests lay with management.  Businesses that they are beholding to have done all they can to keep wages and benefits low.  Now, they are trying to scuttle the commitments they have made to pensioners.

The Big Three auto companies, in particular, are whining that they need relief from their 'legacy costs', contractual obligations for the long term well-being of their longtime labor force.  They're trying to poor-mouth their way out of financial contracts with their retired workforce.

In an article on the USA website today by DeWayne Wickham, he says a memo reveals the real motive behind Senate Republicans' opposition to the bailout of Detroit.  An unsigned 'Action Alert' says: "Republicans should stand firm and take their first shot against organized labor, instead of taking their first blow from it."

In the same edition a reader's letter to the editor notes that three of the senators opposing the bailout are from Southern states that are host to foreign automaker plants, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama, where workers have lower wages and fewer benefits than their counterparts at the Big-Three.

So, the message from the GOP continues to be clear - they are for higher profits for management, bigger dividends for stockholders and lower wages and benefits for workers.

CLUELESS GEORGE

George W. Bush is a buffoon.  He continues to believe and state that the essence of the presidency is to make the 'tough decisions', and that that, in and of itself, is leadership.  He has no understanding that you have to make the 'right decisions.'  Thank goodness his damaging presidency is coming to an end. He is giving a series of interviews as he exits the national stage. Good luck and good riddance.

SHOW HER THE DOOR

Alessandra Stanley, writing 'The TV Watch' New York Times article 'Rehashing '08 and Rehearsing, Perhaps, for '12' says Sarah Palin "is on a speed date with history, upending protocol as she goes."

Please, Ms. Palin, just go away.

“I’m like, ‘O.K., God, if there is an open door for me somewhere’ — this is what I always pray — I’m like, ‘Don’t let me miss the open door.’  And if there is an open door in ’12 or four years later, and if it is something that is going to be good for my family, for my state, for my nation, an opportunity for me, then I’ll plow through that door.”

- Sarah Palin to Greta Van Susteren

Photo Credit: Stephan Savola / Associated Press

NEW DAWN AT HAND

First Speech of President-Elect Barack Obama

"A new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down – we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security – we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright – tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope. For that is the true genius of America – that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow."

- President-elect Barack Obama, November 4, 2008

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you – we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years – block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand."

- President-elect Barack Obama, Nobember 4, 2008

CHANGE HAS COME

OBAMA WINS  - Racial Barrier Falls as Voters Embrace Call for Change
By Adam Nagourney/ The New York Times

"Barack Hussein Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday, sweeping away the last racial barrier in American politics with ease as the country chose him as its first black chief executive.

The election of Mr. Obama amounted to a national catharsis — a repudiation of a historically unpopular Republican president and his economic and foreign policies, and an embrace of Mr. Obama’s call for a change in the direction and the tone of the country. But it was just as much a strikingly symbolic moment in the evolution of the nation’s fraught racial history, a breakthrough that would have seemed unthinkable just two years ago."

PLEASE VOTE

Poster by Shepard Fairey

Photo Credit:  Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

PLAN FOR CHANGE

WASSUP 2008

AIR SICK

I don't usually don't cast any votes for local candidates.  That's mostly because I don't follow local politics as well as I could and don't want to cast an uninformed vote.  If I'm really frustrated with the state of the nation, however, I pull all the Democrat levers.  That's what I thought I would do in this election.

But, after a deluge of non-stop deceptive and slanderous TV ads from local candidates on both sides of the political spectrum, I think I won't vote for any of them.  So, Rossi, Gregoire, Reichert, Burner, etc., etc., you have all lost my vote.  Politicians should take a page from the Obama playbook and try and remain above the nasty fray at each and every opportunity.  Right now, I find all local candidates pretty disgusting.  Cases in point below:

SOUND JUDGMENT

NYT: BARACK OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT

Photo Credit: Scott Halleran/ Getty Images

PALIN'S PARTY DRESS

Apparently, poor, threadbare Sarah Palin from Wasila needs the Republican National Committee to dress her for the party.

$150,000 Wardrobe for Palin May Alter Tailor-Made Image

Photo Credit: Matt Rourke/Associated Press

 

CRESCENT AND STAR

I applaud Colin Powell for publicly confronting this country's misunderstanding, mistrust and demonizing of the faith of Islam.  This growing religious intolerance of Muslims is unacceptable and un-American.

Former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, a Republican, endorsed Obama for president on Sunday, praising Obama as a candidate who is "inclusive." Powell said he had heard members of his own party suggest that Obama is a Muslim.

"What if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country?" Powell said. "No, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim kid believing that he or she can be president?"

Powell made the endorsement on NBC's "Meet the Press" and went on to say that he was disturbed by recent attacks the McCain camp had lobbed at Obama.

"It troubled me. We have two wars. We have economic problems. We have health problems. We have education problems. We have infrastructure problems. We have problems around the world with our allies. So those are the problems the American people wanted to hear about, not about [1960s radical William] Ayers, not about who is a Muslim or who's not a Muslim," Powell told reporters after the endorsement.

"Those kinds of images going out on Al-Jazeera are killing us around the world," Powell continued. "And we have got to say to the world, it doesn't make any difference who you are or what you are. If you're an American, you're an American."

"That was over the top. It was beyond just good political fighting back and forth," he said. "And to sort of throw in this little Muslim connection, you know, 'He's a Muslim and, my goodness, he's a terrorist' -- it was taking root. And we can't judge our people and we can't hold our elections on that kind of basis."

INTELLECTUAL VIGOR

Today, on 'Meet the Press', former Secretary of State, Republican Colin Powell, decried John McCain's troubling judgments, campaign tactics and the Republican parties' polarizing right-wing religious intolerance and strongly endorsed Barack Obama for President.

He said that Obama was a transformational figure and  had the steadiness, intellectual curiosity, depth of knowledge, inclusive reach, definitive way of doing business, rhetorical abilities and the right approach to problems that made him ready on day one to be an exceptional President.

THE ROAD AHEAD

For the next week or so, I will be on the road in Connecticut and Pennsylvania working on a documentary project on HIV/AIDS and African-Americans.  I'll resume blogging upon my return to Seattle. In the meantime, you can follow the candidates' road ahead with this Electoral Map. Click in the drop down menu at the top right to choose different polling results.

THE GREAT SCHLEP

Oh, My God! This video from Sarah Silverman is too freaking funny. It's in support of Barack Obama and the Great Schlep, which 'aims to have Jewish grandchildren visit their grandparents in Florida, educate them about Obama, and therefore swing the crucial Florida vote in his favor'.  (Viewer discretion advised, contains expletives, and is politically incorrect.)

The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

McCAIN-PALIN MOB

Blogger Tim Russo of blogger interrupted has two sad and revealing videos about the McCain-Palin mob from the appropriately named town, Strongsville, Ohio:

I direct my readers once again to my blog entry, just plain stupid.

And here's John McCain, with sidekick Palin parroting in from her notes, getting their crowd to boo Rep. Barney Frank and Sen. Chris Dodd, whom McCain called 'co-conspirators'. He went on to call Barack Obama's pro-choice stance as 'radical, far left, pro-abortion'.

You can read more about McCain's angry supporters in a Washington Post story by Michael D. Shear and Perry Bacon Jr, 'Anger Is Crowd's Overarching Emotion at McCain Rally'.  Also, John Dickerson's post on Slate, 'A Republican Mob Scene'.

 

This desperate and dishonorable Punch and Judy show being staged by the McCain/Palin campaign has become despicable.

Photo Credit: Stephan Savola/Associated Press

BEYOND THE PALE

Today, Wednesday, October 8th, is the day.  Today we will learn the true character of John McCain and Sarah Palin.  For the past few days, they, and Gov. Palin in particular, have said unconscionable things about Barack Obama.  They have purposely and strategically implied that he is 'other', willfully painting a false picture of their opponent as dangerous, reckless, dishonest, foreign, unpatriotic, un-American and worthy of disdain and dismissal.

Sarah Palin said Obama 'is not a man who sees America as you see it'.  She said he is 'someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country'.  John McCain, in last night's debate, disrespectfully called Obama 'that one', dehumanizing him.  Any minority can recognize racial code when they hear it.

At Palin and McCain pre-debate rallies the crowds have reacted hatefully.  At one of Palin's rallies, when she tried to connect Obama to Weather Underground founder Bill Ayers, a crowd member shouted 'Kill him'.  At a McCain rally, when he asked who Obama really was, a man shouted 'terrorist'.  At another Palin rally, the crowd was loudly berating the press corps and one man shouted at an African-American network sound man to 'sit down, boy'.  Neither Republican candidate disavowed their supporters' bile.

Now, as both of them have been trounced in their respective debates and the polls are showing a widening lead by Obama, is a real test of their true selves.  Will we see even darker sides of their ambitions?

If they knowingly utter one more single code word that would incite a disgusting mob reaction, they will show themselves to be fundamentally dishonorable.

In his blog, 'Has Sarah Palin Put a Target on Obama?', Thurston Clarke notes that 'the GOP's rhetoric is eerily reminiscent of the vile words that preceeded RFK's assassination'.

Speaking of verbal attacks against Robert Kennedy, he asks, "Were their attacks within the bounds of the rough and tumble of a political campaign, or did they cross a line? Did they risk pushing someone who was already mentally unbalanced over the edge, inciting an assassination? After all, if you believed that Robert Kennedy was “vicious and dangerous,” an American Judas, why not kill him before he became president?".

Today is the day, Mr. McCain and Ms. Palin.  You have both gone beyond the pale.  Today, you need to abandon your campaign of fear and hate baiting.  Look into your hearts.  Do the right thing.

Photo Credit: Chris Hondros/Getty Images

THE LITTLE MAN

It's the little man who belittles.  And John McCain, once again, in tonight's debate, showed himself to be a little man. He was smug in his demeanor and personally dismissive of his opponent, Barack Obama, whom he called 'that one'.

Unfortunately, under whatever rules the two candidates agreed to in this flawed town hall style debate, they were not given the opportunity to correct blatantly untrue charges, most of which came from John McCain.

It was unfair to the candidates, particularly to Barack Obama.  John McCain spent much of his time going past the allotted time and making false charges.  With no opportunity for rebuttal, Obama had to either answer the question with his policy position or answer the attack.  For the most part, he chose to answer the question.

Tom Brokaw should not have used the so-called discussion time to ask an amended question, but rather, he should have let the two candidates confront each other.

But, all in all, we got a good chance to hear the policies and see the stature of the two men.  Barack Obama came off, to me, as thoughtful, reasoned, deliberative and presidential.  John McCain came off, as I've said, as a desperate little man.

Photo Credit: Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

DIM-WITTED UNCOMMITTED

Tonight in Nashville, Barack Obama and John McCain face off in a town hall style debate.  They will share the stage with 80 uncommitted voters.

Uncommitted voters? How in the world, with only four weeks before the election, and the candidates crisscrossing the country for over two years, can anyone not have made up their mind between two distinctly different candidates?  Various tracking polls show up to 10 percent of the voting public still wondering who they support.

Have these folks really not been paying attention until now?  Are they really confused about the positions of each candidate?  Can they not see how either would affect their lives?  Or are they simply dim-witted?

Uncommitted voters, at this point, frustrate the hell out of me.

I think I understand most of the voting blocs in this country and their motivations for voting one way or the other - the religious right, classic liberals and conservatives, advocacy groups, labor unions, Neo-cons, military families, veterans, the poor and the wealthy.  They have points of view and self-interests that they try and align to the candidates' positions.

I even understand the 'just plain stupid' voters who can be easily manipulated by deceit and fear.

But, for the life of me, I can't understand how anyone can be undecided in a race with such stark contrasts between the candidates.  And it pains me to have to watch either candidate pander to them trying to get their needed votes.

Photo Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

FROM THE BOSS

Bruce Springsteen at a Vote for Change rally in Philadelphia:

"I've spent most of my creative life measuring the distance between that American promise and American reality. For many Americans, who are today losing their jobs, their homes, seeing their retirement funds disappear, who have no health care, or who have been abandoned in our inner cities, the distance between that promise and that reality has never been greater or more painful. I believe Senator Obama has taken the measure of that distance in his own life and in his work. I believe he understands, in his heart, the cost of that distance, in blood and suffering, in the lives of everyday Americans. I believe as president, he would work to restore that promise to so many of our fellow citizens who have justifiably lost faith in its meaning. ...

Our sacred house of dreams has been abused, looted, and left in a terrible state of disrepair. It needs care; it needs saving, it needs defending against those who would sell it down the river for power or a quick buck. It needs strong arms, hearts, and minds. It needs someone with Senator Obama's understanding, temperateness, deliberativeness, maturity, compassion, toughness, and faith, to help us rebuild our house once again. But most importantly, it needs us. You and me. To build that house with the generosity that is at the heart of the American spirit. A house that is truer and big enough to contain the hopes and dreams of all of our fellow citizens. That is where our future lies. We will rise or fall as a people by our ability to accomplish this task. Now I don't know about you, but I want that dream back, I want my America back, I want my country back."

 - Bruce Springsteen

FOUL CANDIDATE

In his recent stump speeches, John McCain is demonstrating a classic example of Freudian Projection, "A defense mechanism in which the individual attributes to other people impulses and traits that he himself has but cannot accept. It is especially likely to occur when the person lacks insight into his own impulses and traits."

Speaking in Albuquerque today, John McCain directly attacked Barack Obama's character.  McCain painted Obama as risky, touchy, secretive, dishonest, aloof, misleading, reckless and angry.  All of these are exactly the adjectives that describe McCain's fundamental personality.  It is, as I've said, classic psychological projection.

Larry Rohter, of The New York Times has a blog called 'Drilling Down on the Facts in McCain's Speech' that puts the lie to most of what McCain had to say about Obama.

Likewise, Sarah Palin, today and yesterday, has been out spreading untruths about Obama,  saying that Obama was 'palling around with terrorists'.  The New York Times also put the lie to that in their in-depth article exploring the relationship between Obama and Weather Underground founder, turned education professor, William Ayers.

"A review of records of the schools project and interviews with a dozen people who know both men, suggest that Mr. Obama, 47, has played down his contacts with Mr. Ayers, 63. But the two men do not appear to have been close. Nor has Mr. Obama ever expressed sympathy for the radical views and actions of Mr. Ayers, whom he has called “somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was 8.”

- Scott Shane, The New York Times

All of these attacks from the McCain campaign are of course coming as the voters' opinions of the two candidates are solidifying and the poll numbers between the gaining Obama and the declining McCain are widening.

Standing by salivating, already 'taking the gloves off', are all those Pavlovian Rovian attack dogs, like William Kristol, ready and willing to re-stir the Rev. Jeremiah Wright pot.

Hopefully, the thinking American electorate will see this dishonest guilt-by-association ruse for the slander it is.

It is now when we see the measure of the man. John McCain shows himself be a self-deluded, desperate, ambitious phony who will say and do anything to get elected, by hook or by crook.

The foul candidate that John McCain is describing, on the last legs of his lifelong ambition to be president, is himself.

Photo Credit:  Todd Heisler/The New York Times

RECKLESS AND DISHONEST

The Rolling Stone magazine website has an article about John McCain by Tim Dickinson called, Make-Believe Maverick.  The magazine says "a closer look at the life and career of John McCain reveals a disturbing record of recklessness and dishonesty'.  It's quite a read.

"This is the story of the real John McCain, the one who has been hiding in plain sight. It is the story of a man who has consistently put his own advancement above all else, a man willing to say and do anything to achieve his ultimate ambition: to become commander in chief, ascending to the one position that would finally enable him to outrank his four-star father and grandfather. ...

The myth of John McCain hinges on two transformations — from pampered flyboy to selfless patriot, and from Keating crony to incorruptible reformer — that simply never happened. But there is one serious conversion that has taken root in McCain: his transformation from a cautious realist on foreign policy into a reckless cheerleader of neoconservatism. ...

In fact, his own statements show that he has been on both sides of a host of vital issues: the Bush tax cuts, the estate tax, waterboarding, hunting down terrorists in Pakistan, kicking Russia out of the G-8, a surge of troops into Afghanistan, the GI Bill, storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, teaching intelligent design, fully funding No Child Left Behind, offshore drilling, his own immigration policy and withdrawal timelines for Iraq. ...

In the end, the essential facts of John McCain's life and career — the pivotal experiences in which he demonstrated his true character — are important because of what they tell us about how he would govern as president. Far from the portrayal he presents of himself as an unflinching maverick with a consistent and reliable record, McCain has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to taking whatever position will advance his own career."

For another reminder of Sen. McCain's misdeeds in the Keating Five Savings and Loan Scandal you can read Rosa Brooks' column, Keating Five Ring a Bell?, on the Los Angeles Times website, which recounts how 'McCain's past collides with the present Wall Street debacle'.

And the Obama campaign has produced a mini-documentary on McCain's involvement with Charles Keating called "Keating Economics".

Photo Credit: Todd Heisler/The New York Times

SEE HOW THEY RUN

With just a month to go to election day, you can expect the McCain/Palin campaign to get nasty.

The New York Times website is an excellent place to follow this presidential election race for the next month.  One page tracks the latest breakdown of states on the electoral map.  Another follows all the latest polls.

 

Slipping further behind in the polls, the McCain/Palin team has stepped up their dishonest smear campaign against Barack Obama.  Governor Palin has already begun the offensive, saying Obama is a radical who 'pals around with terrorists', referring to Obama's crossed paths with Weathermen founder Bill Ayers.

But, the Obama/Biden camp has hit back, pointing out John McCain's 'erratic' behavior on the economy and his need to distract the voters from the issues at hand.



Photo Credit: Damon Winder/The New York Times

SAY IT AIN'T SO, JOE

If Joe Sixpack and his ilk elect John McCain and Sarah Palin as the next president and vice-president of this country, it will mean the voters of this nation have lost their collective mind.

Photo Credit:  Todd Heisler/The New York Times

LINCOLNIAN TRUTHS

Wise and relevant quotes from Abraham Lincoln, pertinent to the failings of today's journalism, the belligerence of the Bush administration, the greed of corporate America, the dangers of misgovernment and the cynicism of politics:

"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts."

"Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed."

"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to  tremble for the safety of my country; corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in High Places will follow, and the Money Power of the Country will  endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the People, until  the wealth is aggregated in a few hands, and the Republic is destroyed."

"Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration."

"These capitalists generally act harmoniously and in concert, to fleece the people."

"Allow the president to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such a purpose - and you allow him to make war at pleasure."

"Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?"

"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disentrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country."

"What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried?"

"Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap -- let it be taught in schools, in seminaries,  and in colleges; let it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs;  -- let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and  enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave  and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars."

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

Photo Credit:  Matthew Brady

REHEARSED, NOT VERSED

Don't be fooled or swayed by Sarah Palin's performance last night in the vice-presidential candidate debate with Joe Biden.  Governor Palin is not versed on world issues.  She is rehearsed with pat and well-practiced answers.

All of the questions asked by moderator Gwen Ifill could have been anticipated by Ms. Palin's debate coaches.  There were no trick questions.  So, Governor Palin was ready for each of them.

Further, Ms. Palin made it clear she would only answer them as she had practiced them when she said: "I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear, but I'm going to talk straight to the American people..."

And so she took the opportunity to talk straight to the camera and hammered home the points she had been directed to make.  That was smart strategy.

On the other hand, when asked unanticipated questions by Katie Couric, like what newspapers she read or what Supreme Court decisions she disagreed with, Sarah Palin was at a loss for words.  This is not a person who has thought very long or very deeply about issues outside her own world of Alaskan politics.

The real Sarah Palin is undoubdedly a keen and clever politician.  What she is not, is knowledgable.

Editorial: The Vice-Presidential Debate - The New York Times

"Ms. Palin never really got beyond her talking points in 90 minutes, mostly repeating clichés and tired attack lines and energetically refusing to answer far too many questions.

Senator Biden did well, avoiding one of his own infamous gaffes, while showing a clear grasp of the big picture and the details. He left Ms. Palin way behind on most issues, especially foreign policy and national security, where she just seemed lost. It was in those moments that her lack of experience — two terms as mayor of a tiny Anchorage suburb and less than two years as governor — was most painfully evident. ...

When it came to domestic issues, Ms. Palin mainly relied on enthusiasm and humor, talking about hockey moms, soccer moms and Joe Sixpack almost as often as she used the word “maverick” to describe Mr. McCain or herself.

But she offered virtually no detail — beyond the Republican mantra of tax cuts — for how she and Mr. McCain would address the financial crisis or help Americans avoid foreclosure or what programs they would cut because of the country’s disastrous fiscal problems. ...

In the end, the debate did not change the essential truth of Ms. Palin’s candidacy: Mr. McCain made a wildly irresponsible choice that shattered the image he created for himself as the honest, seasoned, experienced man of principle and judgment. It was either an act of incredible cynicism or appallingly bad judgment."

LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME

Ok, I can't take it anymore.  Sarah Palin is one of those precious little darlings that just can't get enough attention, who has spent her life looking for the spotlight.  Now, as a bizarro world vice-presidential candidate, if she gives me that cutesy, aw-shucks wink one more time, I am going to retch.

Sarah Palin Plays the Flute | Viral | SPIKE.com

Sarah Palin, Hottie Sports Reporter | Viral | SPIKE.com

The Sarah Palin Wink | Viral | SPIKE.com

And here's the former Miss Sarah Heath in the swimsuit competition from the Miss Alaska pageant of 1984:

ANGRY OLD MAN

I have always suspected that John McCain is a man quick to anger.  He demonstrated some of that testiness in an interview with the editorial board of the Des Moines Register.

PALIN'S THOUGHTLESSNESS

Katie Couric is almost single-handedly revealing the 'thoughtlessness' of Sarah Palin.  In a series of interviews over this past week, Gov. Palin keeps showing that she really hasn't given national issues much thought.

It isn't that she is on the wrong side of most issues.  It's that she has little or no understanding of any issues.

 

Asked by Couric to name any Supreme Court decisions, other than Roe V. Wade, that she disagreed with, she couldn't name any.  Asked what news sources she relied on for her information, she couldn't name any.  Asked specifically what measures John McCain had taken against deregulation, she couldn't name any

Watching the good governor dance around the questions trying to grasp for any cogent thought that might be appropriate is painful.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Photo Credit: Todd Heisler/The New York Times

HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND

I was very impressed with the debate tonight between Barack Obama and John McCain as moderated by PBS's Jim Lehrer.  The questions were right, the time was sufficient and the answers were direct and revealing.

John McCain kept saying that Obama 'doesn't understand' this issue or that.  It was clear to me that Obama not only has a great understanding of today's world challenges, but also a mastery of how to confront them.

He sees the world as it is today, understands the lessons of history and can offer nuanced solutions from careful study, wise consultation and measured deliberation.

McCain, on the other hand, demonstrated the kind of single-minded certainty and stubbornness that has veered us severely off-track by the Bush administration over the past eight years.

My gut reaction?  A McCain/Palin presidency would frighten me.  I would feel insecure.  An Obama/Biden administration would give me confidence and hope.

Photo Credit:  Doug Mills/The New York Times

BAILIN' ON PALIN

In her well-reasoned and must-read column, 'Palin Problem', conservative columnist Kathleen Parker calls for Sarah Palin to remove herself from the Republican presidential ticket, calling her 'out of her league'.

'It was fun while it lasted.

Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League.

No one hates saying that more than I do. Like so many women, I’ve been pulling for Palin, wishing her the best, hoping she will perform brilliantly. I’ve also noticed that I watch her interviews with the held breath of an anxious parent, my finger poised over the mute button in case it gets too painful. Unfortunately, it often does. My cringe reflex is exhausted.

Palin filibusters. She repeats words, filling space with deadwood. Cut the verbiage and there’s not much content there.'

- Kathleen Parker

Photo Credit:  Todd Heisler/The New York Times

LISTEN UP, PLEASE

On July 23, 2007, I made the comment, block quoted below, on a variety of blogs that were posting simultaneous comments during a debate.

'All of this live, instantaneous commenting, reacting, judging, attacking, defending, parsing, sniping and analyzing is what is wrong with public and political discourse in these times. Thoughtful, considered opinions are the rarity. How about we all listen carefully to the candidates, watch their speeches, read their positions, study their backgrounds, consider their policies, understand their motivations, recognize their attributes and THEN offer our supporting or opposing judgments?'

- David Guilbault

I still feel we are all doing too much talking and not enough listening.  Let's try and withhold our commentary until John and Barack have had a chance to finish speaking to the voters tonight.

That said, you can follow the debate dialogue on the C-SPAN.org Debate Hub.

There is also coverage at the Online NewsHour's Vote 2008,  CNN's ElectionCenter 2008 and MSNBC's Decision '08 websites.

Photo Credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times & Mandel Ngan/Getty Images

FLY IN THE OINTMENT

John McCain, by forcing his and Barack Obama's unnecessary presences into the delicate, intense negotiations between the appropriate members of Congress and the Bush administration over what to do about our dire economic situation, has put a fly in the ointment.

It would be more helpful for him to keep in close consultation with the congressional leadership, as Barack Obama has done, and let them know where he stands on the various proposals as they are considered.

But, instead of taking a stand, John McCain is simply grandstanding.

McCain Leaps Into a Thicket

'Senator John McCain had intended to ride back into Washington on Thursday as a leader who had put aside presidential politics to help broker a solution to the financial crisis. Instead he found himself in the midst of a remarkable partisan showdown, lacking a clear public message for how to bring it to an end.

At the bipartisan White House meeting that Mr. McCain had called for a day earlier, he sat silently for more than 40 minutes, more observer than leader, and then offered only a vague sense of where he stood, said people in the meeting.

In subsequent television interviews, Mr. McCain suggested that he saw the bipartisan plan that came apart at the White House meeting as the proper basis for an eventual agreement, but he did not tip his hand as to whether he would give any support to the alternative put on the table by angry House Republicans, with whom he had met before going to the White House. ...

Still, by nightfall, the day provided the younger and less experienced Mr. Obama an opportunity to, in effect, shift roles with Mr. McCain. For a moment, at least, it was Mr. Obama presenting himself as the old hand at consensus building, and as the real face of bipartisan politics.

“What I’ve found, and I think it was confirmed today, is that when you inject presidential politics into delicate negotiations, it’s not necessarily as helpful as it needs to be,” Mr. Obama told reporters Thursday evening. “Just because there is a lot of glare of the spotlight, there’s the potential for posturing or suspicions.”

- Adam Nagourney & Elisabeth Bumiller/The New York Times

Talks Implode During Day of Chaos

'The day began with an agreement that Washington hoped would end the financial crisis that has gripped the nation. It dissolved into a verbal brawl in the Cabinet Room of the White House, urgent warnings from the president and pleas from a Treasury secretary who knelt before the House speaker and appealed for her support. ...

When Congressional leaders and Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, the two major party presidential candidates, trooped to the White House on Thursday afternoon, most signs pointed toward a bipartisan agreement on a grand compromise that could be accepted by all sides and signed into law by the weekend. It was intended to pump billions of dollars into the financial system, restoring liquidity and keeping credit flowing to businesses and consumers. ...

But once the doors closed, the smooth-talking House Republican leader, John A. Boehner of Ohio, surprised many in the room by declaring that his caucus could not support the plan to allow the government to buy distressed mortgage assets from ailing financial companies.

Mr. Boehner pressed an alternative that involved a smaller role for the government, and Mr. McCain, whose support of the deal is critical if fellow Republicans are to sign on, declined to take a stand. ...

Mr. McCain was at one end of the long conference table, Mr. Obama at the other, with the president and senior Congressional leaders between them. Participants said Mr. Obama peppered Mr. Paulson with questions, while Mr. McCain said little. ...

The talks broke up in angry recriminations, according to accounts provided by a participant and others who were briefed on the session, and were followed by dueling news conferences and interviews rife with partisan finger-pointing.'

- Herszenhorn, Hulse & Stolberg/The New York Times

Watch McCain's interview with Katie Couric. He keeps telling us this is a severe situation, as if any of us doesn't already know that, while just a week ago he described the economy as fundamentally sound. The man is clueless.

Watch CBS Videos Online

RUNNING AND HIDING

John and Sarah are doing all they can to avoid facing their opponents Barack and Joe in a debate. McCain keeps canceling campaign appearances, because his presence is apparently urgently needed at one crisis or another - hurricanes, economic meltdowns.  And Palin is just plain unavailable.  Well, John, we just ain't buying it.  We know a dodge when we see one.

So, dear John, the nation demands that you man-up and show us where you stand. Stop running and hiding. Stop playing politics with the economic crisis. Get on your plane and go to Mississippi. Barack Obama, the press, the Commission on Presidential Debates and the American voters are waiting to hear from you.

Oxford, Miss., September 24, 2008 - “The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) is moving forward with its plan for the first presidential debate at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss. this Friday, September 26.

The plans for this forum have been underway for more than a year and a half. The CPD’s mission is to provide a forum in which the American public has an opportunity to hear the leading candidates for the president of the United States debate the critical issues facing the nation.

We believe the public will be well served by having all of the debates go forward as scheduled.”

PRETTY LITTLE HEAD

Good, golly, gosh.  Mommy Sarah has just been so darn busy in big New York City the past couple of days filling up her pretty little head with all that worldy stuff from all those smitten foreign leaders.  But she took time from her busy schedule of avoiding the press corps to sit down with another mommy, Katie Couric, to talk about all she has learned.

She gave naive answers to serious questions.  Sometimes she even scrunched up her cute little nose, like she was explaining something to a child.  In one answer, she actually said 'our next door neighbors are foreign countries'.

Please God.  No John McCain.  No Sarah Palin.  Mercy, please.

MAN WITH A PLAN

Barack Obama has outlined core principles for the legislation being considered to address the current economic crisis (see below), which he urges Senator McCain to support.  They seem pretty sound.  And you can read the highlights of his overall economic plan on his website.

'I believe that several core principles should guide this legislation.

First, there must be oversight. We should not hand over a blank check to the discretion of one man. We support an independent, bipartisan board to ensure accountability and complete transparency.

Second, we need to protect taxpayers. There should be a path for taxpayers to recover their money, and to turn a profit if Wall Street prospers.

Third, no Wall Street executive should profit from taxpayer dollars. This plan cannot be a welfare program for CEOs whose greed and irresponsibility has contributed to this crisis.

Fourth, we must help families who are struggling to stay in their homes. We cannot bail out Wall Street without helping millions of families facing foreclosure on Main Street.

Fifth, we both agree that this financial rescue package should move on its own without any earmarks or other measures.

We have different views about the need for other action, but this must be a clean bill.

This is a time to rise above politics for the good of the country. We cannot risk an economic catastrophe. This is not a Democratic problem or a Republican problem – this is an American problem. Now, we must find an American solution.'

- Barack Obama

RUNNING ON EMPTY

Keeping her busy with private little geography lessons from foreign policy experts and world leaders, the McCain campaign handlers are doing all they can to keep Sarah Palin hidden, because every time she speaks to the press she reveals more about how little she knows.

Katie Couric asked Palin, in an interview on the CBS Evening News, to name any examples of John McCain pushing for more regulation of the financial markets in his 26 years in Congress. Pushed off her talking points, the good and folksy Sarah said "I'll try to find ya some and I'll bring 'em to ya'. Maybe she'll bring cookies, too.

On the second day of her foreign policy tutorials, Kate Zernike of The New York Times writes, Governor Palin met with leaders of Georgia, Ukraine, Iraq, Pakistan and India and engaged 'in small talk about her looks and New York City.'

Photo Credit: Brian Snyder/Reuters & Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

SCARY LADY

I am becoming increasingly frightened that Sarah Palin will become president of the United States. And so is the editorial board of The New York Times .

'As we watched Sarah Palin on TV the last couple of days, we kept wondering what on earth John McCain was thinking.

If he seriously thought this first-term governor — with less than two years in office — was qualified to be president, if necessary, at such a dangerous time, it raises profound questions about his judgment. If the choice was, as we suspect, a tactical move, then it was shockingly irresponsible. ...

This nation has suffered through eight years of an ill-prepared and unblinkingly obstinate president. One who didn’t pause to think before he started a disastrous war of choice in Iraq. One who blithely looked the other way as the Taliban and Al Qaeda regrouped in Afghanistan. One who obstinately cut taxes and undercut all efforts at regulation, unleashing today’s profound economic crisis.

In a dangerous world, Americans need a president who knows that real strength requires serious thought and preparation'

- The New York Times

But, on a lighter note, Tina Fey is spot-on as Sarah Palin:

DIMMER SWITCH

Last month I wrote about people in this country who are 'just plain stupid'.

I wrote:

'Let's live in the truth.  The truth is that too many people in this country are just plain stupid.  They are ill-informed and easily misled.  They buy into simplistic perversions of the facts.  They know too little, think too little and they listen to those that know how to influence their little minds.  They can be made to be fearful and hateful and, thus, politically useful.  They are dangerously ignorant - and they vote.' - David Guilbault

I felt bad making and sharing that observation.  But, columnists are now also starting to come clean about the dumbing-down of the American electorate.

Case in point, Bob Herbert's Op-Ed piece in The New York Times, 'She's Not Ready'.

He wrote:

'While watching the Sarah Palin interview with Charlie Gibson Thursday night, and the coverage of the Palin phenomenon in general, I’ve gotten the scary feeling, for the first time in my life, that dimwittedness is not just on the march in the U.S., but that it might actually prevail.

Ms. Palin may be a perfectly competent and reasonably intelligent woman (however troubling her views on evolution and global warming may be), but she is not ready to be vice president.

With most candidates for high public office, the question is whether one agrees with them on the major issues of the day. With Ms. Palin, it’s not about agreeing or disagreeing. She doesn’t appear to understand some of the most important issues. ...

Ms. Palin’s problem is not that she was mayor of a small town or has only been in the Alaska governor’s office a short while. Her problem (and now ours) is that she is not well versed on the critical matters confronting the country at one of the most crucial turning points in its history.' - Bob Herbert

After watching Sarah Palin's interview on ABC News, The New York Times, in its editorial 'Gov. Palin's Worldview',  took the position that Sen. McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as a potential Vice President, and even President, was 'shockingly irresponsible'.

'It was bad enough that Ms. Palin’s performance in the first televised interviews she has done since she joined the Republican ticket was so visibly scripted and lacking in awareness.

What made it so much worse is the strategy for which the Republicans have made Ms. Palin the frontwoman: win the White House not on ideas, but by denigrating experience, judgment and qualifications.

The idea that Americans want leaders who have none of those things — who are so blindly certain of what Ms. Palin calls “the mission” that they won’t even pause for reflection — shows a contempt for voters and raises frightening questions about how Mr. McCain and Ms. Palin plan to run this country.' - The New York Times Editorial

When are the voters going to stop electing plain folks just like them and start electing the best and the brightest again to lead our nation in troubled times?

COUCHED IN DECEIT

John McCain went on 'The View' today probably thinking he was going to have a lightweight, happy, chatty little session.  Instead, right from the get-go he had to face tough, direct and unflinching questioning from Barbara Walters, Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg.

But, he couldn't or wouldn't answer Barbara's repeated question on what exactly he and his running mate are going to reform in Washington. He denied that his ads are filled with lies, in spite of reports to the contrary from non-partisan watchdog groups.

(You can read about all the lies that the McCain campaign has been spreading recently about Obama in an article by Michael Cooper and Jim Rutenberg of The New York Times called, 'McCain Barbs Stirring Outcry as Distortions'.)

And he fell back on his reflexive stump speech lines, even stumbling over his now, over-rehearsed, self-serving response about how his POW experience inspired him "to serve my country in a cause greater than self interest."

Cindy McCain, introduced by a fawning Elisabeth Hasselbeck in the third segment, also mouthed the practiced talking points to say that her husband always puts 'country first'.  She refused to answer Barbara's question about how many houses they have.

When asked how he was going to bring young people up to technological speed in this country, he said he'd ask his kids about it, go visit where young people are, start a website and tell them to 'put America first'.

Photo Credit: Steve Fenn/Reuters

THE PUPPET CANDIDATES

There they are, John and Sarah, the bubble boy and girl of politics, insulated on the campaign trail from the truth seekers, spouting overly-practiced, dishonest lines about their 'maverickism' and spreading outrageous lies about their opposition.  Pull their strings and both of the Rovian dolls will distort on cue.

No matter what they are asked, no matter where they go, no matter what the voters are really worried about - like their jobs, homes, education, health and security - from here until election day, you will hear the Republican puppet candidates repeating these rehearsed lines over and over.

McCAIN:

'All you've ever asked of your government is to stand on your side and not in your way. And that's what I intend to do: stand on your side and fight for your future.'

'I've fought the big spenders in both parties, who waste your money on things you neither need nor want, and the first big-spending pork-barrel earmark bill that comes across my desk, I will veto it. I will make them famous, and you will know their names.'

'I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them. I will open new markets to our goods and services. My opponent will close them.  I will cut government spending. He will increase it. My tax cuts will create jobs; his tax increases will eliminate them.'

'You well know I’ve been called a maverick, someone who marches to the beat of his own drum. Sometimes it’s meant as a compliment; sometimes it’s not. What it really means is I understand who I work for. I don’t work for a party. I don’t work for a special interest. I don’t work for myself. I work for you.'

PALIN:

'In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers.  And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.'

'I pledge to all Americans that I will carry myself in this spirit as vice president of the United States. This was the spirit that brought me to the governor's office, when I took on the old politics as usual in Juneau when I stood up to the special interests, the lobbyists, big oil companies, and the good-ol' boys network.'

'The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, raise payroll taxes, raise investment income taxes, raise the death tax, raise business taxes and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars.'

'There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you in places where winning means survival and defeat means death and that man is John McCain.'

McCAIN & PALIN:

'Let me just offer an advance warning to the old, big- spending, do-nothing, me-first, country-second crowd: Change is coming.'

NO BLINKING OR THINKING

Sarah Palin tells ABC News' Charles Gibson that she is ready to attack our enemy without blinking, and presumably, without thinking.

'In order to stop Islamic extremists, those terrorists who would seek to destroy America and our allies, we must do whatever it takes and we must not blink, Charlie, in making those tough decisions of where we go and even who we target.' - Sarah Palin

The transcript is here.

ITCHING FOR A FIGHT

I am uncomfortable every time I see a group of Americans chanting USA, USA, USA!  It mostly embarrasses me.  That's because it usually isn't a show of humble pride, but, too often, a rabid display of ignorant  jingoistic overwrought blind nationalism.

It especially pains me when I see crowds burst into the chant when a political leader rails against our enemies - real and perceived.  The instantaneous, hateful response frightens and worries me.

Gone are the peacemakers of the world, those who can stand up to and disarm potential threatening despots with tough strategic diplomacy, an understanding of how to influence world power structures, a grasp on the levers of economic sanctions and the moral high ground.  In their place are the bullying Neo-con belligerents who shoot first, ask questions later and know how to incite the patriotic mob.

The most powerful audience reactions at this week's Republican convention were when they heard calls to kill - when an enemy was simplified and demonized.  That's when they leapt to their feet and raised their voices in anger and false, prideful patriotism.  Their voices shouted, 'USA, USA, USA!'.  Their faces read 'Kill, Kill, Kill!'.

The right-wing rulers of this country have become too quick to war.  And the electorate has become too quick to comply.

The Republican delegates and their candidates all looked and sounded like they were itching for a fight - any fight - every fight.  In fact, calls to fight was the crescendo to the McCain acceptance speech.

McCain Acceptance Speech

'Fight for what's right for our country.  Fight for the ideals and character of a free people.  Fight for our children's future. Fight for justice and opportunity for all.  Stand up to defend our country from its enemies.  Stand up for each other; for beautiful, blessed, bountiful America.  Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. Nothing is inevitable here. We're Americans, and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.  Thank you, and God bless you.'

Beware the so-called 'strong' fighting leaders who provoke potential adversaries and antagonize peaceful allies. They claim to be defending freedom.  But, too often, they are practicing preemptive aggression.

They know how to push all the right patriotic buttons to get the masses to support overbuilding the military-industrial war machine to wield its might around the world at the cost of our nation's blood and treasure.  To do that, they have to make the voters 'proud' to be mighty.  Pride comes before the fall.

They will keep us in war and lead us into more.  They cloak themselves in the flag, under the guise of protecting our national security.  In fact, they are belligerent and dangerous.  Thy are not peacemakers.

Speaker after speaker at the Republican convention rattled their sabres.

'There's one purpose that John McCain understands, Republicans understand, that overrides everything else.  John McCain will keep us on offense against terrorism at home and abroad.' - Rudy Giuliani

'Did you hear any Democrats talk last week about the threat from radical, violent Jihad? Republicans believe that there is good and evil in the world. Ronald Reagan called-out the Evil Empire. George Bush labeled the terror-sponsor states the Axis of Evil. And at Saddleback, after Barak Obama dodged and ducked every direct question, John McCain hit the nail on the head: radical violent Islam is evil, and he will defeat it' - Mitt Romney

'Maybe the most dangerous threat of an Obama presidency is that he would continue to give madmen the benefit of the doubt. If he's wrong just once, we will pay a heavy price. John McCain will follow the fanatics to their caves in Pakistan or to the gates of hell. What Obama wants to do is give them a place setting at the table.' - Mike Huckabee

'I know John McCain.   I have seen him with our wounded veterans, far away from the cameras.  I have seen his eyes fill with tears of gratitude for their service. He knows the cost of war in a deeply personal way, and as both a son and a father of warriors. He knows that our liberties and our freedoms only come with the sacrifice of brave men and women. John McCain will bring our troops home with victory and with honor. He will not negotiate with brutality and he will never shrink from calling evil and aggression by their names' - Carly Fiorina

'What we need most is not more party unity in America but more national unity! Especially at a time of war, we need a President we can count on to fight for what’s right for our country -- not only when it is easy, but when it is hard.  When others were silent, John McCain had the judgment to sound the alarm about the mistakes we were making in Iraq. When others wanted to retreat in defeat from the field of battle, when Barack Obama was voting to cut off funding for our troops on the ground,  John McCain had the courage to stand against the tide of public opinion and support the surge, and because of that, today, our troops are at last beginning to come home, not in failure, but in honor!' - Joe Lieberman

'This man, John McCain is not intimidated by what the polls say or by what is politically safe or popular. At a point when the war in Iraq was going badly and the public lost confidence, John stood up and called for more troops.  And now we are winning' - Fred Thompson

'Our nominee for president is a true profile in courage, and people like that are hard to come by. He's a man who wore the uniform of this country for 22 years, and refused to break faith with those troops in Iraq who have now brought victory within sight.  And as the mother of one of those troops, that is exactly the kind of man I want as commander in chief. I'm just one of many moms who'll say an extra prayer each night for our sons and daughters going into harm's way.' - Sarah Palin

Photo Credit: Ron Edmonds/Associated Press