Year: 2008
Poll: Palin is a “Drag” on McCain Ticket
A new ABC News/Washington Post poll suggests that it just takes longer for some Americans to figure things out than others. And, heading into the only vice presidential debate, Sarah Palin is getting figured out. Now we know why the McCain campaign has kept her in purdah.
60 percent agree Palin is not prepared to be president, up 15 since last month
In advance of her debate against Joe Biden on Thursday, Palin now looks more like a drag than a boost to the GOP ticket: Thirty-two percent of registered voters say her selection makes them less likely to support John McCain for president, up from 19 percent last month…
Just 35 percent say Palin has the experience it takes to serve effectively as president, down a dozen points since early September; 60 percent think not, up 15. And just 46 percent think Palin “understands complex issues,” while 49 percent think she doesn’t — a poor assessment on this most basic qualification.
Biden, on the other hand, is doing great.
Biden’s ratings starkly contrast Palin’s: Seventy-five percent say he understands complex issues, 70 percent say he has suitable experience to take over as president if necessary and just 13 percent say his selection makes them less apt to support Barack Obama.
Even though Palin said, “It’s time that a normal Joe six-pack American is finally represented in the position of vice presidency,” (which begs the question of how a witchcraft-believing fundamentalist can be a six-pack drinker) people seem to think Joe Biden is that guy.
Palin does have one better rating, for her common touch: Fifty-eight percent of registered voters think she understands the problems of people like them. But as many, 57 percent, say the same of Biden.
Quote du Jour
“Nothing is illegal if one hundred businessmen decide to do it.”
— Andrew Young (1932 — ), author, civil rights activist, US congressman, mayor, U.N. ambassador
McCain’s 13-Bedroom McMansion is on the Market
Want to forget about our country’s (and possibly your own) worsening economic picture? Just take a stroll through one of the McCain’s McMansions. We’re not sure how many they own but we’ll have our staff get back to you on it.
And remember as you view this video that the McCains are just folks, not like those elite Obamas with their single house and one car.
The best part is that what Cindy’s daddy made possible could also be yours, assuming you want to heat and air condition 15,000-square-feet. It’s for sale but if you have to ask, you can’t afford it.
The Inexorable Spread of Wal-Mart Across America
Take your mind off the election for a minute and consider something truly depressing. A site called Flowing Data has a map that shows the gradual spread of Wal-Mart stores across the country. The animation begins slowly in 1964, but by the time it reaches the late ’80s and early ’90s … well, let’s just say that after you watch this, you’ll understand why John Zogby includes a “Do you shop at Wal-Mart” question in each of his surveys.
The Early Line 09/30
Obama/Biden 47%
McCain/Palin 41%
Undec 10%
– Obama holds a double-digit lead in battleground states. Among RVs surveyed in CO, MI, NH, NM, FL, OH, PA, VA, WI and NV, the IL Sen. leads 50-40%. One week ago (in the survey completed 9/22), he led 45-42%.
– Enthusiasm for the Dem ticket continues to outpace enthusiasm for McCain. 68% of Obama voters are enthusiastic about their candidate, while only 46% of McCain voters say the same. A week ago, that 22% gap was just 7% — 58% were enthusiastic for Obama and 51% were enthusiastic for McCain.
– The GOP ticket now holds the advantage among white women. McCain leads 46-40%, up from his 1% deficit a week earlier.
Quotes du Jour
What Senator McCain was able to do was to help bring all of the parties to the table, including the House Republicans, whose votes were needed to pass this.
— McCain campaign strategist Steve Schmidt on Meet the Press Sunday, taking early credit for getting House Republicans to support the bailout bill that actually failed in the House today. In the end, the bill failed a vote in the House of Representatives with a majority of House Democrats supporting the bill but two-thirds of House Republicans voting against the measure.
Senator Obama and his allies in Congress infused unnecessary partisanship into the process. Now is not the time to fix the blame. It’s time to fix the problem.
— Sen. John McCain, quoted in Time magazine
Dr. Democrat On the Economy
Dear Dr. Democrat:
I’m confused by this whole economic bail-out deal. How did we get here? What can we do to fix it? Should I be burying my cash in coffee cans in the backyard?
Befuddled in Biloxi
Dear Befuddled:
The coffee can idea is probably not a great long-term solution due to the risk of forgetting where you buried the cans.
The “root cause” of the problem we’re facing is not monetary policy. It’s the fact that we’ve outsourced our manufacturing to Japan, China and the Third World. We don’t make anything. We just reassemble debt into portfolios and provide services to each other.
The solution to this is a gubmint incentivized program to make the U.S. the world’s leader in green technologies. This is an idea I’ve been kicking around for a while. I call it the “Los Angeles” project, which refers to the Manhattan project, the program rushed into existence during World War II to create the nuclear bomb. The objective is not to solve all the energy problems at once but to pick one or two major components — say, cruise ships, trains or airlines — and put $1 billion or whatever into finding a new energy source for that large-scale fossil fuel consumer. A part of the deal with taxpayers for funding the research would be that every component in the new technology would have to be manufactured in the U.S. for set period of time.
The cause of the present crisis is deregulation of banks that allowed them to make unsecured housing loans and then sell that “toxic paper” over and over. We were a good loan bet when we bought our condo in 1999, and our mortgage was sold five times in the first five years. In that same period, our condo doubled in value, even though we have not fixed a single broken tile or done anything other than repair leaky faucets.
There is no upside to letting the U.S. banking system fail. Personally, as a “regulatory capitalist,” I believe that markets that misbehave need to be spanked. It’s time for the mortgage industry to go to the woodshed. And when we’re done with that whuppin’, we should haul the health insurance industry in while the paddle is still warm.
Republicans have gamed the system, as usual, by calling any effort to regulate “socialism.” They don’t mind socialized fire-rescue, law enforcement, education, libraries and military. But regulating financial services and health care is the first step to communism. Right.
What we as a society should learn from this, as Barack Obama said, is that trickle-down economics does not work. (This is a lesson we learned already, at the end of the first Bush administration.) What works is balanced regulatory capitalism.
Timeline: Wheels Come Off McCain Campaign in Lead-Up to Debate
Bush’s bailout speech on Sept. 24 was eerily similar to his speech on invading Iraq in 2003
After a disastrous week leading up to the debate last Friday, and now that polls reflect what was plainly obvious that night — that Barack Obama won the debate against John McCain — it is time to officially declare that the wheels have come off the McCain campaign. Here’s a tick-tock of the slow-mo train wreck:
Plan A Didn’t Pass — Time for Plan B
This has been making the e-mail rounds, but it’s kind of fun to think about:
I’m against the $85 billion bailout of AIG. Instead, I’m in favor of giving $85 billion to America in a We Deserve It Dividend.
To make the math simple, let’s assume there are 200 million bona fide U.S. Citizens 18+. Our population is about 301 million +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200 million might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up.
So, divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion. That equals $425,000. My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It Dividend.
Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let’s assume a tax rate of 30 percent. Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25.5 billion right back to Uncle Sam. But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500 in their pocket. A husband and wife would have $595,000.
What would you do with $297,500 or $595,000?
Pay off your mortgage — housing crisis solved.
Repay college loans — what a great boost to new grads.
Put away money for college — it’ll be there.
Save in a bank — create money to loan to entrepreneurs.
Buy a new car — create jobs.
Invest in the market — capital drives growth.
Pay for your parent’s medical insurance — health care improves.
Remember, this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces. If we’re going to redistribute wealth let’s really do it … instead of trickling out a puny $1,000 (“vote buy”) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.
If we’re going to do an $85 billion bailout, let’s bail out every adult U.S. citizen over 18.
As for AIG — liquidate it. Sell off its parts. Let American General go back to being American General. Sell off the real estate. Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.
Here’s my rationale: We deserve it and AIG doesn’t.
Sure it’s a crazy idea that can never work. But can you imagine the coast-to-coast block party!
