Year: 2008

Facts Were the First Victims at the Debate

Buck Banks

According to the Associated Press, neither veep candidate showed much reluctance to stretch the truth in last night’s debate:

PALIN: Said of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama: “94 times he voted to increase taxes or not support a tax reduction.”

THE FACTS: The dubious count includes repetitive votes as well as votes to cut taxes for the middle class while raising them on the rich. An analysis by factcheck.org found that 23 of the votes were for measures that would have produced no tax increase at all, seven were in favor of measures that would have lowered taxes for many, 11 would have increased taxes on only those making more than $1 million a year.

BIDEN: Complained about “economic policies of the last eight years” that led to “excessive deregulation.”

THE FACTS: Biden voted for 1999 deregulation that liberal groups are blaming for part of the financial crisis today. The law allowed Wall Street investment banks to create the kind of mortgage-related securities at the core of the problem now. The law was widely backed by Republicans as well as by Democratic President Clinton, who argues it has stopped the crisis today from being worse.

PALIN: “Two years ago, remember, it was John McCain who pushed so hard with the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reform measures. He sounded that warning bell.”

THE FACTS: Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska led an effort in 2005 to tighten regulation on the mortgage underwriters — McCain joined as a co-sponsor a year later. The legislation was never taken up by the full Senate, then under Republican control.

BIDEN: Warned that Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s $5,000 tax credit to help families buy health coverage “will go straight to the insurance company.”

THE FACTS: Of course it would, because it’s meant to pay for insurance. That was like saying money for a car loan will go straight to the car dealer.

PALIN: Claimed she has taken on the oil industry as Alaska governor.

THE FACTS: Palin pushed to impose a windfall profits tax on oil companies and distributed the proceeds to the state’s citizens to offset rising energy costs. However, she has also sided with the industry on a number of issues. She sued the Interior Department over its designation of polar bears as an endangered species. That puts her on the same side as the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s chief trade association. She also supports the industry’s desire to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — a position at odds with McCain.

BIDEN: Said McCain supports tax breaks for oil companies, and “wants to give them another $4 billion tax cut.”

THE FACTS: Biden is repeating a favorite saw of the Obama campaign, and it’s misleading. McCain supports a cut in income taxes for all corporations, and doesn’t single out any one industry for that benefit.

PALIN: Said the United States has reduced its troop level in Iraq to a number below where it was when the troop increase began in early 2007.

THE FACTS: Not correct. The Pentagon says there are currently 152,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, about 17,000 more than there were before the 2007 military buildup began.

P. Diddy’s Wasilla Witch Project

Trish

Diddy does it again, with what we might call the Wasilla Witch Project (except Sarah Palin really does believe in witches). Puff Daddy has declared a state of emergency, because Monday, Oct. 6 is the deadline to register to vote.

Puffy recommends these sites to register, if you haven’t yet:

Listen to Diddy, boys and girls.

Register.

Then vote.

For Obama.

Quotes du Jour

Buck Banks

It’s like your brother got really drunk, wrecked his car and ended up in jail, and you went and bailed him out and on the way home you bought him a new car.

— Guy at the dog park providing a perfect analogy for the economic bailout package

Poll: The Early Line 10/03

Buck Banks

Obama/Biden 48%
McCain/Palin 42%
Undec 9%

– McCain’s image has rebounded among RVs. After seeing his favorable rating drop below 50% earlier this week, as well as his net rating fall to just +5%, McCain now has a fav/unfav of 53%/40%. The GOP nominee, however, is still well below Obama’s 58%/36% rating. One week ago, in the survey completed 9/25, the candidates were nearly even, with ratings of 54%/38% and 54%/39%.

– Among Indies, McCain is also doing better. After dipping to a net rating of -5% on 9/28, McCain is back to where he was one week ago. The AZ Sen. now has a fav/unfav among Indies of 57%/33% — last Fri., it was 55%/34%.

Golly Wha’dja Think About the Debate, Eh?

Trish

I thought Palin did fine, as long as you don’t worry about things she said making actual sense (or about having to listen to Lisa Loopner’s mother*). Case in point: she said she and McCain would cut taxes while increasing spending on infrastructure, education, and job creation. All righty then.

Biden, poor guy in such a horrible position, was wonderful. I want to marry him and have several more of his children.

But what did you think? Do tell, doggone it.


*You know, from Saturday Night Live.

Viguerie Immoderate About Ifill as Moderator

Buck Banks

bsspray.jpgMy favorite far-right whipping boy, Richard Viguerie, is all in a dither over Gwen Ifill moderating the veep debate tonight. He’s even got a petition drive going to try and have her tossed from the debate because she has a book about Barack Obama scheduled for publication in January.

Obviously, the ludicrous assertion that Ifill will somehow undermine Sarah Palin and therefore John McCain’s campaign in the debate tonight is not resonating with Viguerie’s fellow fringe elements, as he’s sent three e-mails to his list today. It’s mildly interesting to read his breathless rant against Ifill and his invocation of talking head and ambulance chaser Greta van Susteren as the last word on legal questions:

Dear Friend:

Gwen Ifill must be fired!

The moderator of a presidential debate is supposed to be objective. He or she is supposed to play fair, not be an advocate or cheerleader for one side. Yet Gwen Ifill – the moderator of tonight’s vice presidential debate – has hundreds of thousands of dollars riding on the outcome of the election.

Ifill has a book, The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama, coming out next year – on Inauguration Day!

According to former Clinton aide Dick Morris, who has had several best-selling books, Ifill stands to make $350,000, perhaps much more, if Obama is elected and the book is a best-seller. If McCain wins, her book will probably go straight to the remainder bin. She will probably make nothing, or nearly nothing.

She has a fortune at stake.

No one with a $350,000 interest in the outcome would be allowed to be a judge in a legal case or an official at a sporting event. Lawyer and TV journalist Greta van Susteren says that, “In law, this would create a mistrial.”

Can you imagine someone being allowed to officiate at last year’s Super Bowl if he had a book coming out on Super Bowl Sunday entitled Dynasty: The Age of the New England Patriots? Of course not. The other team would not have allowed it. Neither would the NFL.

It’s bad enough that most of this year’s debate moderators are liberals who are openly hostile to conservatives and Republicans – Sarah Palin, especially.

We must not allow Gwen Ifill to make a mockery of this debate by “moderating” despite her obvious conflict.

Fla. GOPs Call Double-Top-Secret Meeting on McCain Trainwreck

Buck Banks

mccainsign.jpgLeaders of Florida’s Republican party have their panties in a twist over recent polls showing Barack Obama leading John McCain in Florida, what was once a solidly red state but is seemingly getting purpler by the minute. The St. Petersburg Times is reporting that following the results of four polls released Tuesday, state GOP leaders hightailed it to Tallahassee:

With some grass roots organizers complaining about coordination problems with the campaign, Republican Party chairman Jim Greer gathered top officials at the state headquarters in Tallahassee on Tuesday afternoon. He swore the group to secrecy.

When asked about it by the St. Petersburg Times, Greer confirmed the meeting. He largely declined to discuss what was said, but sought to play down any strife.

Over the course of an hour, described by some as tense, Greer offered a forceful assessment of where McCain stands in Florida and what needs to be done to win in a battleground state that could decide the election.

“I have a responsibility to make sure things are done right, and we win these campaigns,” Greer said. “I’m sure everyone in the room understands that I take that responsibility very seriously.”

The situation for Florida Republicans does sound extremely dire:

Complaints range from not getting yard signs quickly enough to knowing who will speak at events and overall manpower coordination.

At least if Obama carries the state, McCain can always point to a dearth of yard signs as the reason for the loss. That, and his boneheaded moves on the economic crisis and his boneheaded pick for veep and his general maverickyness.

The problem is, this state is turning. With new voter registrations running two to one Democratic, a robust and active state and local Democratic Party and general disaffection with the ruling party, Florida is simply not so Republianish as it used to be.

Of course, then we have to actually allow voters to vote and then we have to actually count the votes correctly … so McCain still has a chance to steal the election in Florida, á la George Bush in 2000.

Poll: The Early Line 10/02

Buck Banks

Obama/Biden 47%
McCain/Palin 42%
Undec 10%

– The WH matchup remains unchanged since yesterday. Obama has now led the Diageo/Hotline tracking poll by 5%+ for a full week.

– The majority of RVs believe the failure of Congress to pass the bailout bill on Mon. will impact their personal financial situation. 60% think it will have “a great deal” or “somewhat” of an effect on them in the next few months.

– Among Obama voters, 63% say a great deal/somewhat; among McCain voters, it’s 57%. Meanwhile among Dems it’s 66%, and among GOPers, it’s 58%.

– Looking to tonight’s debate, RVs continue to rate Biden higher than Palin. 47% have a favorable impression of the DE Sen., and 32% have an unfavorable impression. Palin scores a fav/unfav of 45%/40% — just 1/3 the net positive rating of Biden.

Here’s How to Reduce the Cost of the Bailout: Withdraw from Iraq Now and Save $120 Billion Next Year

Jon Ponder

February 2008: Bush denies that the Iraq occupation is a drag on the economy

John McCain has been lecturing us for months about how well things are going in Iraq. The metrics back him up. Violence is down, whether because of the Surge or by use of a new top-secret weapon. Just yesterday there was a report from Baghdad that U.S. commanders were transferring control of the 100,000-strong Sons of Iraq militia to the Iraqi military.
Why not force George Bush to some responsibility for two of his messes — Iraq and the economy — on his watch?

It costs us about $10 billion a month to stay in Iraq, and since we can’t afford to pay it out of the Treasury, we borrow every penny from the Chinese and others. In 2009, we’ll charge an additional $120 billion dollars onto the next generation’s credit cards to pay for the occupation — on top of the new $700 billion we’re charging them for the Wall Street bailout.

If Iraq is stable, and if the financial debacle facing us is as bad as George Bush says it is, it seems pretty clear that we can no longer afford to stay in Iraq.

There’s another, more karmic reason to withdraw immediately. Two years ago, Bush slipped up and accidentally told the truth about his “exit plan” for Iraq. “We’re not leaving,” he said at a news conference in August 2006, “so long as I’m the President.”

Shunting the post-withdrawal collapse of Iraq onto the next president fits George Bush’s lifelong pattern of screwing things up and leaving his messes for others to fix.

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