Now that the voice of the people has been heard in the presidential elections it is time for that age-old tradition of sour grapes. All of the negative rhetoric of the McRage campaign is being vomited out in bitter rants and accusations. John McCain's very gracious and eloquent speech the night of the election did nothing to expunge the bitterness caused by all of his outrageous and desperate negative campaigning.
People are lamenting the divisiveness caused by the election. What has to be recognized is that it was not the election but the desperate actions of John McCain and of many leaders of the radically right that spewed endless hatred to advance their personal causes that has brought about and is salting the wounds in our nation. As the adage goes, "Those who live by the sword, die by the sword." Using a toxic message has poisoned the McCain election and may prove to be just as deadly to the many right-wing organizations that have published and preached the same bitterness.
Christianity the most positive message in the universe has once again been hijacked for the personal gain of certain people and their organizations. To take the threat of hellfire and brimstone to the voting ballot and tell a congregation or a supporter base that their eternal fate is at risk by how they mark the box for president is wrong, especially so when it is laced by out-right lies and venomous hate.
Get ready for all the rants from the "Right" or as a friend of mine likes to say "from the religious Wrong." Here is one such example in an interesting discussion board on SodaHead , asking the question "Did Barack Obama Buy the Election?"
My response: "Obama didn't win because of money or because of his race. He won because of his superior ideas and goals. He won because he struck a cord with the people of this country who want to see positive change. Our image in the eyes of the world has been sullied by the actions of the Bush administration. The Bush doctrine (IWRC) of pre-emptive war has caused vast mistrust of this country. We need a leader who can rebuild our image and once again put us in a position of respect not because we can drop more bombs but because we have a president who knows how to lead with diplomacy."
I confirm that I am a happy supporter of my President, Barack Obama.
One thing that stands out clearly in the 2008 Presidential election cycle is that the radically right believe deeply that they are the "true" Americans and also the "true" Christians." Sarah Palin told a crowd that she was happy to be speaking to a part of the country where "pro-Americans" lived. This implies that she must have been places in the US where "anti-Americans" live?
The religious radical right person believes that anyone who is not a part of their belief circle could not be a true Christian or a true American. They believe that anyone outside of their circle is a threat to the American/Christian way of life. And they do believe that the American way of life is definitely Christian. Their leaders in PAC groups and church groups tell them this again and again as they incite a mounting fear that has these people digging deep into their pockets to fork out hard-earned cash to these very PAC's and church groups. They must do so to ensure their freedom and their very way of life. If they do not, then those dirty, nasty, godless, child-eating LIBERALS will take away all their Bibles and guns and line them up in a train station to ship them off to a labor camp ready and waiting for all good right-wing Christians. So dig deep and give, give, give.
If you take the time to view some of the sites I have in my "Reading from Left to Right" section on this site you will find that LIBERAL is the vilest word in the right-wing lexicon. When anything goes wrong in their world, the LIBERALS are behind it. If they could pin Hurricane Katrina on the LIBERALS I am sure they would do so. After all, it must have been whipped up to make "W" look bad.
I recall that a member of James Dobson's staff was calling for torrential rain to fall on the last night of the Democratic convention. As it turned out, it was a beautiful starry night. However, the Republican Convention was greeted with a hurricane. Interesting if you believe that God is tossing these storms in judgement.
More of this is what I expect we will be seeing from the "right" wing:
The underhanded Democrat tactics of the 2008 political season are no less a declaration of war on the conventions and institutions of the American heartland than were the numerous Islamist attacks preceding 9-11. And anything short of a full and appropriate political and ideological counterattack from the right will guarantee its eventual defeat. - (November 13, 2008) The grim significance of the 2008 elections by Chris Adamo
What the Bible says about government and which also was written during Roman rule a government which was not a Christian theocracy:
Romans 13:1(Whole Chapter) [ Be Subject to Government ] Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.
A must read article from Cal Thomas: Religious Right R.I.P. This article embodies what I believe as a born again Christian who came to Jesus in the Jesus People revival of the 1970's. I have been so disheartend by the politization of the Church. I have hope renewed by this article from Cal Thomas. The Church needs to wake up and realize that politics is not a savior. The people of God have to live their beliefs from the heart each and every day and not think that getting in the muck and mire of politics is going to change anything. The country will only change in a positive way if the citizens walk and talk their faith rather than trying to legislate it.
My Response to Cal Thomas: AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!
I have been waiting for a Christian of stature to say this for years!!! Thank you, Mr. Thomas.
It is time to stop fear-mongering and start walking in faith and in the steps of our Lord Jesus. As Christians we have the most radical change program in the universe and it doesn't rely on any politics but on God's boundless love.
We Christians must stop hating our neighbors... even if they are "gaybors" and realize God did not call us to judge but to love our neighbors as ourselves. This is exactly what Jesus taught without hesitation. Love wins out over all other actions. If not, then the work on the cross is ineffective.
God will never condemn you for sharing His love with everyone. We don't need religion in politics. What we need is the love of God shed abroad in the hearts of politicians. And of course, in the hearts of all people.
Jesus was a true Radical. His way of thinking and living was counter to all norms. He changed the world without employing politicians to do his work. He changed the hearts of people with God's love. He walked it, he talked it, he died for it, and he rose again so that we might live in the love of God. The Spirit of God descended on the disciples on Pentecost not with a torch to consume sinners and blast them from the planet, but with a flame to burn the chains of sin from their souls so that they could sing God's praises from a clean heart. And to empower them to take the message of God's love so that the chains of sin would be broken in all the world. God's love is not for an elite group. It is for all people.
If every church would make a vow to keep politics and voter coercion away from their pulpit and instead teach their flocks to love as God loves then the politics of this nation would be transformed without the help of even one religious political action committee. That's the revolution we need...the one where the people of God share his Love with everyone they meet. Our Christian faith was never meant to be a political base, but a base for the kingdom of the true living God.
Click photo for opportunity to order limited edition stickers from MoveOn.org.
I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.
I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.
Exuberant after the election, I returned home from my Congressman's victory watch party and found that there were several op-ed pieces already published online. Being inspired I wrote my own post about the election.
And then I shared the following in a email to my co-workers:
Two hundred and thirty-two years after Thomas Jefferson penned the words within the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness", we have elected an African-American as the 44th POTUS all the while many asked if our nation was ready for such a thing. So deeply run the scars of our inhumanity towards each other caused by slavery and the lack of respect for life that this injustice has wrought, we still today have to ask if we are ready for a black man to be president. Maybe it is fitting that this man, son of a white woman from Kansas "the Free State" in the heart of America and a black man from the distant shores of Kenya in the continent from which slaves were brought to this land, should unite us in the understanding that all people are indeed created equal. The blood of both races flows through his veins. How symbolic, how right, how just is it that Barack Hussein Obama II should be the first black man to stand in the office of President of the United States signaling the final breaking down of the wall caused by the injustice of slavery.
Many will still ask this question and we may see difficult times in future days as our nation absorbs the significance of this election. It is my prayer that we as a nation and as individuals live out the words Thomas Jefferson was so ardent to add to the Declaration and that we embody the sentiment, "We hold these truths to be self-evident..." Our nation is a beacon set upon a hill and the eyes of the world are upon us. May the "someday that we shall overcome" be this very one.
And in the spirit of his campaign the people answered, "YES WE CAN!"
I received many thankful and complementary emails but was also reported to HR and had to have a discussion with my manager.
I had been low-key at work about the election except for a single campaign button on my purse. We have a casual dress code and yesterday I was wearing an Obama campaign t-shirt I received for walking neighborhoods in Missouri to help get out the vote. I figured the election was over so this couldn't be seen as political campaigning. And I had brought in a poster of my president which I had also just pinned up in my cube. I admit that my computer wallpaper and screen-saver had screen shots from the Obama campaign site. After the conversation, of my own choice and not the suggestion of my manager, I put on a sweater and buttoned it up to conceal my Obama t-shirt, I removed my computer wallpaper and screen saver, removed my campaign button and I sadly took down the poster of my president. I felt truly sorry that my comments had caused offense.
I didn't think at the time that I wrote my comments that they would be offensive, but that rather I was pointing out the historic significance of the election outcome. I should not have sent it realizing that McCain supporters would have been very disappointed. That was something I overlooked in my excitement over this historic event and I do feel bad about that.
However it was brought up to my attention that the complaint had to do with someone who was very religious and that I should understand how deeply religious people would feel about my comments and the election outcome.
The sad thing, is that at that moment in the conversation, I did totally understand since I had previously read James Dobson's letter from 2012. It was not until this morning that it hit me that my email had nothing to do with religion. This was a bogus argument. I could be called up for sending a message over company email about politics and that would be fair, although I was not campaigning and the election results were in and I was speaking about our president-elect in terms of the historical significance of his election. I said nothing about John McCain at all and did not offer Barack Obama as the better candidate.
I myself am a deeply religious person. Of course that is irrelevant to the conversation except that was a reason given for my email being offensive, that a deeply religious person found it so. The stretch would be to say this comment of mine brought religion into discussion, "It is my prayer that we as a nation and as individuals live out the words Thomas Jefferson was so ardent to add to the Declaration and that we embody the sentiment, "We hold these truths to be self-evident..." Our nation is a beacon set upon a hill and the eyes of the world are upon us. May the "someday that we shall overcome" be this very one."
In any case, I am repentant for causing offense to any of my co-workers. I am also deeply grieved that the religious leaders of our nation have so vilified my president to the extent that many in our nation are afraid of their future under his leadership. That is the deepest offense of all.
I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.
New York Times, Thomas L. Friedman: And so it came to pass that on Nov. 4, 2008, shortly after 11 p.m. Eastern time, the American Civil War ended, as a black man — Barack Hussein Obama — won enough electoral votes to become president of the United States.
A civil war that, in many ways, began at Bull Run, Virginia, on July 21, 1861, ended 147 years later via a ballot box in the very same state. For nothing more symbolically illustrated the final chapter of America’s Civil War than the fact that the Commonwealth of Virginia — the state that once exalted slavery and whose secession from the Union in 1861 gave the Confederacy both strategic weight and its commanding general — voted Democratic, thus assuring that Barack Obama would become the 44th president of the United States. - Read more...
Slavery began in Virginia soon after the English colonists first settled in America around 1607 and lasted until the ratification of the thirteenth amendment to the US Constitution in 1865. Slavery was seen by many to be abhorrent as far back as the writing of the Constitution of the United States. That it was not abolished at that time, in a sad twist of fate which has caused much sorrow within our nation and has kept us from being truly great. In spite of the sentiment shared by many and expressed in Thomas Jefferson's words, acknowledging that "all men are created equal" slavery persisted as a compromise in hopes of forging a stronger union able to withstand the coming war for independence from England. And yet, after the war for Independence was fought and won, slavery persisted for nearly 100 years more.
President Lincoln, in his campaign of 1860, challenged this compromise and campaigned against the expansion of slavery. His electoral victory was followed by seven Southern states declaring succession from the Union. The bitter war that ensued between the States, the deadliest in American history taking the lives of over 620,000 soldiers and an undetermined number of civilians, ended in 1865 bringing the official end of slavery in the United States. However it did not end the inhumanity that resulted from slavery and was followed by the Reconstruction of the South and then the hateful "Jim Crow" years. Inequality and injustice remained the written law of the land for nearly 100 years more. Changing the slavery laws of the land at the close of the civil war did not change the hearts of the people.
This unsettled issue of racial equility bore fruit to the civil-rights movement initiated with 1954 Supreme Court case of Brown v. the Board of Education. The struggles born out of the duplicity of our beliefs and our refusal to live out the "truths" we "hold to be self-evident" violated our national conscience and the nation could not rest as long as we enslaved any of our citizens in the bonds of inequality. The unrest of the civil-rights movement strained our nation again to it's limits. The sorrows of that era included the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert Kennedy, and the Reverend Martin Luther King. Many brave men and women, black and white, fought the predominance of discrimination at the risk of their very lives. Many strides toward equality were made through dedicated efforts.
Some fifty years past the Brown v. the Board of Education case and two hundred and thirty-two years after Thomas Jefferson penned the words within the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness", we have elected an African-American as the 44th POTUS all the while many asked if our nation was ready for such a thing. So deeply run the scars of our inhumanity towards each other caused by slavery and the lack of respect for life that this injustice has wrought, we still today have to ask if we are ready for a black man to be president. Maybe it is fitting that this man, son of a white woman from Kansas "the Free State" in the heart of America and a black man from the distant shores of Kenya in the continent from which slaves were brought to this land, should unite us in the understanding that all people are indeed created equal. The blood of both races flows through his veins. How symbolic, how right, how just is it that Barack Hussein Obama II should be the first black man to stand in the office of President of the United States signaling the final breaking down of the wall caused by the injustice of slavery.
Many will still ask this question and we may see difficult times in future days as our nation absorbs the significance of this election. It is my prayer that we as a nation and as individuals live out the words Thomas Jefferson was so ardent to add to the Declaration and that we embody the sentiment, "We hold these truths to be self-evident..." Our nation is a beacon set upon a hill and the eyes of the world are upon us. May the "someday that we shall overcome" be this very one.
And in the spirit of his campaign the people answered, "YES WE CAN!"
I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.
The RNC style committee ran for 5th Avenue out of fear of this: Sarah Palin's wardrobe on the campaign trail in Alaska.
Sarah Palin's wardrobe in run for Governor without the help of the RNC.
Sarah Palin's wardrobe, makeup and accessories have cost the RNC approximately $172,000 within a three month time span. You may say, "This is old news." You have already heard about this. "So what?" You may ask.
I did some math to put this in perspective. In order to keep Sarah Palin looking this good for four years in office as Vice President, if she kept spending at the same rate would be a whopping $2,064,000.
According to InfoPlease, the salary of the vice president in 2001 was $208,100 with a $10,000 spending allowance. Sarah's gross salary for four years is a measly $872,400 before taxes. It is likely to be between $600,000 and $500,000 after taxes. So where will the additional money ($1,500,000) come from? She should be able to get some nice tax deductions for donating her used clothing to charity, but that surely won't support her need to look the part.
We might just have to start a Sarah Palin Clothing Charity or our Veep might travel the world like this:
Click image for more Sarah fashion sense from the Daily Beast.
That was then and this is now. Please contribute to the "Keep Sarah Polished" charitable foundation.
I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.
John McCain runs on the message of Change saying he will bring change to Washington. He also continually points to Barack Obama's record. How about John McCain's record of supporting George Bush over 90 percent of the time while President Bush was running our country into the ground? The man who was most influential to George Bush during this time was Dick Cheny, vice president. Now Dick Cheny solidly endorses John McCain to continue the same failed policies. I have to ask. Where's the change?
This is the endorsement that John McCain has been ducking and running from to keep from revealing his strong association to the policies of George W Bush. You can run but you cannot hide from W.
I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.
McCain has ties to terrorists McCain has tried to tie Barack Obama to terrorism through his association with Bill Ayers because they both sat on the board of a charitable organization even thought Bill Ayers was a respected member of the community and a college professor by that time. If this is all it takes, then how does John McCain explain his actions when he knowingly accepted endorsements from people actively supporting domestic terrorism against medical doctors in the US?
I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.
In just four days we will know the outcome of the past two years of campaigning and assessing the candidates that hope to be presidient.
The biggest looming question is will the outcome be clear. Will we know on November 4th who has won or will there be a struggle, will there be claims of fraud, will the election be clear or will it appear to be stolen?
HBO is currently playing "Hacking Democracy" and "Recount" two very sombering films about what happened in 2000 and 2004 with the presidential elections. You can find them on the programming schedule or view On Demand.
The scariest colors of this season may not be orange and black but red and blue.
"We believe the problem will be solved when voting is no longer done on electronic voting machines."
"We favor paper ballots, counted by an optical scan reader. And when the paper ballots are counted, if the total is different from what the optical scan reader reports, the paper ballots’ total should be the official election result."
Part Two - No transparency in how electronic voting machines work. Companies hide their technology. Part Three - Independent company, tests and tests and tests until results please the manufacturer. They don't report on any negative results. Part Four - Diebold claims glitches in favor of Bush were not intentional Part Five - How acurate is the vote? Only as acurate as the coding allows. If that is kept secret, how can we trust our electoral process? We must demand transparency. Part Six - Current, official, and signed polled tapes found in bin destined to be shredded. Part Seven - in recount, precincts that didn't add-up properly were set aside and left uncounted Part Eight - Diebold influences purchasing decisions through campaign contributions to Republican party Part Nine - And the proof is in. Program code can switch the vote so convincingly that it is certified by election officials who believe it to be accurate.
A Spoof that is too close to true:
I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.
Voters in North Carolina may unwittingly not vote for president on November 4th. Why? Their ballot offers a single check box to vote a straight party ticket but you must separately vote for president by checking another box. Many voters who have used this ballot format in the past did not realize they had not cast a vote for president when they checked a straight ticket vote.
Not all states have a straight ticket voting option. The requirements for voting a straight ticket vary by state. In North Carolina you have to also vote for president separately when voting a straight ticket. In other states you only need to vote a straight ticket which includes a vote for president. In all states you can vote for each person separately. You are never required to vote a straight ticket in a general election.
Make sure you understand your ballot before going to the polls. Many newspapers and libraries will provide a copy of the official ballot before the election. Your local election office will have a copy which you can access on their website or in the local office. Your political party office may also have a copy. I read mine online before going to the polls. It was very helpful.
Also beware of bogus mailers or phone calls that suggest you should vote after November 4th. A flyer is under investigation in the state of Virginia for posing as an official notice requesting that Democrats and independents voting for Democrats must vote on November 5th because of expected high-voter turn out. I think you would have to be high to fall for this ruse.
Read more about the North Carolina ballot. Read more about the Virginia flyer fraud.
I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.
Read the full healthcare plan for more information.
I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.
What will the Obama/Biden Tax Cut mean for you? It's easy to find an estimate of how the Obama/Biden tax cut affects your income taxes. Visit the Barack Obama campaign website and follow the very simple instructions. My family would save $1487 with Obama and $0 with McCain. That's change I can believe in.
I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.
I predict a seismic event greater than has been seen in political history when the circular firing squads take up arms to play the blame game. The Republican party will spew out bodies with volcanic force. I cannot imagine what the party will look like in 2012, but it will not be the same.
The GOP is dumping McCain: what prominent Republicans are saying these days. The Republican campaign strategy now involves sending their candidates to areas where everybody is a die-hard McCain supporter already. Then they yell about Obama until the crowd is so frenzied people start making threats. The rest of the country is supposed to watch and conclude that this would be an enjoyable way to spend the next four years.
Blame game: GOP forms circular firing squad: “If you really want to see what ‘going negative’ is in politics, just watch the back-stabbing and blame game that we’re starting to see,” said Mark McKinnon, the ad man who left the campaign after McCain wrapped up the GOP primary. “And there’s one common theme: Everyone who wasn’t part of the campaign could have done better.”
“The cake is baked,” agreed a former McCain strategist. “We’re entering the finger-pointing and positioning-for-history part of the campaign. It’s every man for himself now.”A circular firing squad is among the most familiar political rituals of a campaign when things aren’t going well. But it is rare for campaign aides to be so openly participating in it well before Election Day.
"thats the kind of people who really do cling to their guns and their faith."- Karl Rove
“Well, he's got a problem,” Rove replied. “[..]James Carville once famously referred to Pennsylvania as Pittsburgh on the west, Philadelphia on the east and Alabama in between. I think that was his way of sort of mimicking what John Murtha said. But it's a conservative part of the state. And then if you take the far southwestern corner, over there near Pittsburgh and the suburbs, that's coal country and that's the kind of people who really do cling to their guns and their faith.”
"I Cannot And I Will Not" Vote McCain- James Dobson
James Dobson: "Should John McCain capture the nomination, as many assume, I believe this general election will offer the worst choices for president in my lifetime."..."If these are the nominees in November, I simply will not cast a ballot for president for the first time in my life."
"Life as we know it will end if Obama is elected." - Steve Strang The evangelical bully pulpit is busy now trying to bully Christians to vote Republican using outrageous and irresponsible rhetoric. Along with "reigning in out-of-control spending" there is also a lot of reigning in of "off-the-ranch" christians who would dare ignore the pulpit and consider voting for Barack Obama.
Steve Strang, Strang Report: Life as we know it will end if Obama is elected. I was amazed that during the presidential debate this week Sen. John McCain didn't make the point that if Sen. Barack Obama is elected, life as we know it in many ways will end. America will be more socialized and have less free enterprise and freedom. ...Meanwhile, Christians seem almost asleep. There is no outcry! And there is a group of Bible-believing Christians who appear to have decided to overlook how dangerous Obama will be and plan to vote for him anyway. ...we must pray as never before. And we must work to wake up Christians. That is what happened late in the 2004 election—Christian leaders rallied believers, and as a result, George W. Bush was re-elected president.
Focus on the Family Action (James Dobson): Letter from 2012 in Obama's America The 2008 election was closer than anybody expected, but Barack Obama still won. Many Christians voted for Obama – younger evangelicals actually provided him with the needed margin to defeat John McCain – but they didn’t think he would really follow through on the far-Left policies that had marked his career. They were wrong.Read More...
Associated Press. Christian right intensifies attacks on Obama, by ERIC GORSKI and RACHEL ZOLL: Like other political advocacy groups, Christian right groups often raise worries about an election's consequences to mobilize voters. In the early 1980s, for example, direct mail from the Moral Majority warned that Congress would turn a blind eye to "smut peddlers" dangling pornography to children.
"Everyone uses fear in the last part of a campaign, but evangelicals are especially theologically prone to those sorts of arguments," said Clyde Wilcox, a Georgetown University political scientist. "There's a long tradition of predicting doom and gloom." Read more about the outrageous scare tactics targeting Christian voters. Circular firing squads are starting to form in the blame game.
Ben Smith, Politico: Palin allies report rising campaign tension. Four Republicans close to Palin said she has decided increasingly to disregard the advice of the former Bush aides tasked to handle her, creating occasionally tense situations as she travels the country with them. Those Palin supporters, inside the campaign and out, said Palin blames her handlers for a botched rollout and a tarnished public image — even as others in McCain's camp blame the pick of the relatively inexperienced Alaska governor, and her public performance, for McCain's decline.
Blame game: GOP forms circular firing squad by JONATHAN MARTIN & MIKE ALLEN & JOHN F. HARRIS 10/23/08 : One well-connected Republican in the private sector was shocked to get calls and resumes in the past few days from what he said were senior McCain aides — a breach of custom for even the worst-off campaigns.“It’s not an extraordinarily happy place to be right now,” said one senior McCain aide. “I’m not gonna lie. It’s just unfortunate."
And now let's talk about the erosion of freedom we have experienced in the past 8 years of Bush. This will give you pause to think and it will be a lingering affect of George Bush. We can't have four more years of erroding freedom. Our country is now militarized in violoation of our constitution with miliatry troupes our our own soil to police our own people. The Pre-election Militarization of the USA.
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Hockey Mom Idol has hit Celeb Status. When does a Hockey Mom cross the line into celebrity status and cease to be a small-town gal just out there fightin' for the little guy and tryin' to reign in that run-a-way spending also? Ya' know, it has to be all about job creation and the health care.
Would it be on that magical day she spent over $4,000 on make-up consultations and applications? Or maybe the day she took Todd shopping for a few things for a mere $4,902 at Atelier, a stylish men's store? It could have been finding that darling $92 romper and matching hat with ears for baby Trig at Pacifier, a Minneapolis baby store. Was it when she confused "Drill, Baby, Drill" with "Shop, Baby, Shop" on a whopping $75,062 shopping spree at Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis followed by one for $49,425 from Saks Fifth Avenue? And all of this money on a Governor's salary? Oh no, it came directly from the Republican National Committee's campaign funds.
Sarah Palin was introduced at the GOP convention — in what's been widely reported to be a $2,500 Valentino jacket — as a "regular hockey mom," who boasted of having put the Governor's luxury jet on Ebay and firing the personal chef from the Governor's mansion. Alaska's taxpayers were sold on her "mavericky" fiscal conservatism. She taught America that the only difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull is lipstick.
A price tag of over $4,000 for make-up adds up to a whole lotta lipstick. The RNC assures us that all of these purchases belong to the RNC. So, what was that line about if you put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig?
I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.
I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.
I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.
Sarah Palin is traversing the country...hitting the hot spots that she considers "pro-American" and spewing the negative message that John McCain will not speak. She is the dirty messenger delivering the power-blows McCain will not so that he can preserve an unsullied image.
John McCain said recently he is proud of the people that come to his rallies. He says they are patriotic Americans except for just a few on the fringe. Reportors have walked among them and asked them what they think. Unless the media hit the bull's eye on the fringe McCain crowd, then there are more than Senator McCain realizes that condone violence against Senator Obama. Repeatedly random people from the McCain/Palin rally stated he was a "one person terrorist cell," a "muslim", a "commie-faggot", a "terrorist".
Is Palin leading the cause or merely warming them up? This is dangerous territory and very frightening that in this day and age there are so many in the "white is right" crowd.
If violence results from these rallies in the coming days, McCain and Palin should bear much of the responsibility.
I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.
Just how far backwards do we want to go? This is dangerous language and is inciting people to terrible actions.
I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.
Has Sarah Palin visited your city? Have you checked your loyalty to the USA? She recently stated that she enjoys visiting "pro-American" parts of the country.
I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.
Women's rights, animal rights, religious freedom are all in jeopardy from a McCain Palin presidency. Our country, land that we love, we take a dark and dangerous turn if McCain/Palin take over. How far backwards do we want to go? Do we want to undo the civil rights movement? Do we want to reverse the rights women have fought many years to achieve? Do we want our scientific understanding of the balance of nature to be overturned to cruelty and ignorance? ***
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I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.
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John McCain "understands" and cares about "Joe the Plumber." He should hire Joe to work on the 10 or so houses the McCains own.
Barack Obama has a real plan for the economy. Where is John McCain's plan? I think he is writing it right now...live on TV.
John says he knows how to save billions of dollars. So why is he asking ME to bailout the people that ran up their credit cards and over extended themselves on the house loans?
McCain just loves to misrepresent the facts. Three million dollar projector? Right... think he got that wrong.
McCain will balance the budget in four years. He voted for the Bush budgets. Now he says he can clean it up.
Fox News even disputes McCain's add claiming that Barack Obama would raise taxes on families making 42,000 a year. McCain's eyes popped. Whoops. Gotcha.
McCain has the scares to prove he opposed the Republican party. They must have been tough that 10% of the time he didn't vote with Bush.
Schaeffer is hitting hard with the question about dirty campaign ads. McCain is dodging the question saying that Obama dodged the town hall format. Now he brings up Congressman John Lewis. He is misrepresenting the comments of Lewis yet again. He is trying to put Obama on the carpet, but he didn't say any of the "kill him", "terrorist", "off with his head", "treason" comments that are being shouted out at McCain and Palin rallies.
Obama says a poll finds 2/3's of those polled saw John McCain's campaign as being negative. He also calls out McCain on his negative ads and says that not having town hall debates is no reason to go nasty. The public wants to hear about answers to the economy, health care, and energy, and how the American people can send their kids to college.
McCain is whining about Obama ads, but Obama ads hit the facts about McCain's policies while McCain ads smear Obama.
Obama is now bringing up Congressman Lewis whose comments were unsolicited by the Obama campaign. His point was that we have to be careful about how we deal with our supporters. McCain and Palin did nothing when the threatening remarks of their supporters. Obama and Lewis both put out statements that he had gone to far. McCain is grandstanding.
McCain ads say Obama "pals around with terrorists." McCain says he is proud of those that come to his rallies. He is they are great citizens and patriotic. He won't stand for them being denigrated. He wants Obama to repudiate Lewis's comments.
Obama is taking the high road to bring the discussion back to the issues of what actually effects the American public, not smearing the candidates.
Now McCain is pulling out Ayers and Acorn. What is Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers, professor of education in Chicago. Obama was eight years old when Ayers was in the Weathermen terrorist group. Ayers was on a board that Obama also happened be on the board of. Ayers is not in anyway connected with the Obama campaign. Acorn was paying people to register voters. Some of those employed were putting in fraudulent forms. Obama campaign had nothing to do with that. McCain is grandstanding again to create a fear-factor about Obama.
What people will you two bring into the government? Your running mates - Obama why would the country be better off if your running mate became president?
Biden has some of the best foreign policy credentials of anyone. He has never forgotten where he came from in Scranton, PA. He fights for the little guy, in economic policies, passing the land mark crime bill. He fights on behalf of families. He and I both agree is that we have to re-prioritize and give tax breaks to small business and families, get us off foreign oil and help families educate their children.
McCain - Palin is a reformer and a roll model for American women. She gave money back to taxpayers, she was a reformer for oil, she is a reformer through and through. She is a breath of fresh air that will sweep out the old cronyism. She understands special needs families. I am proud of her. She has united our party.
Obama - is she qualified to be president. That will be up to the American people. She is a capable politician.
McCain - Biden is qualified but he has been wrong in many foreign policy votes...then McCain goes on to name several items he feels Biden was wrong in.
Obama was only complimentary of Palin. McCain was negative about Biden.
Reduce our dependence on oil: McCain - nuclear plants, wind, tide, solar, natural gas, clean coal technology...7, 8, 10 years we can eliminate our dependence.
Obama - in 10 years we can reduce our dependence so we don't have to import from middle east or Venezuela. We are mortgaging our children's future. We should look at off shore drilling. We only have 3 - 4 % reserves but use 25%. This is why we must diversify our energy usage. NAFTA - I believe in fair trade but for far too long, USA has held that any trade agreement is a good agreement. We have got to have a president who is going to be advocating for American business.
McCain is splitting hairs on Obama's words. He says he admires Senator Obama's eloquence. He points out that Obama said we could "look" at offshore drilling. McCain says we should drill now, not look at drilling.
Obama, "We need to understand a good fair trade agreement and stand up for American business." We need to get loans to automakers so that they can move in the direction of producing highly fuel efficient cars, wind turbines, solar panels creating new jobs to drive our economy for the future.
McCain - Obama doesn't want to accept free trade agreements with Venezuela but would sit down without pre-agreements with the leaders of Iran.
health care coverage - Obama. This is the issue that will break your heart over and over again. If you have health insurance, you can keep your plan. We will try to lower costs so that those costs are passed on to you. If you don't have insurance we will provide you the option to buy into the same pool as Congress has. We negotiate for no precondition limitations, will negotiate for low pharmaceuticals. Will cost some money up front, but will make families healthy and will provide long term budget savings to government budget.
McCain - We need health care records online, more community health centers, walk in clinics, physical fitness and nutrition programs in schools, employers give bonuses to employees who belong to gyms. But Obama will fine small businesses who do not adopt his health care plan. He will set up health care bureaucracies.
Obama - here is Joe's fine: $0. Small businesses will be exempt. Large businesses provide health care or someone has to do it. Average family pays an extra $900 per year because of uninsured people. McCain's plan says he will give you $5000. That might work for young healthy people, but not older people. The average policy is $12,000. His plan will tax your employer based health care benefit.
McCain says 95% will receive more under his plan. Except for those that have gold-plated plans. People will be able to choose their own plan. Senator Obama wants government to do the job. I want Joe, you to be able to do the job.
Obama, with McCain's plan there is a real risk that you will lose your employer based health care plan.
McCain - Roe v Wade should be overturned. Obama you believe it shouldn't. Would you ever appoint someone to the supreme court that disagreed with you.
McCain - I would not have a litmus test. I would find the best people who have a history of sticking to the constitution. I don't believe someone who supports Roe v Wade would fit that definition.
Obama - this will be one of the most consequential decisions of the next president. I believe that Roe v Wade was rightly decided. I would not have a litmus test. I believe that women with their families, spiritual advisers and doctors are in the best position to make this decision. I will look for judges who have an outstanding judicial record and who have an understanding of what people go through.
McCain - we have to change the culture of America for life. Obama voted against a law that would provide medical aide to an infant who survived abortion. He voted present on the Illinois floor when partial ban abortion came to vote.
Obama - if it sounds incredible that I would vote to withhold life saving treatment to an infant it is because it was...the bill would have undermined Roe v Wade. There was also a law in the books that provided for the care of infants that survive abortions along with the Hippocratic oath that physicians take. There was not an exception for saving the life of the mother.
There surely is some common ground where we should come together to help prevent unwanted pregnancies through education, providing more options for adoption and also help young ladies that want to keep their babies.
McCain - here he goes with his eloquence again. You heard Obama mention "health of the mother" that has been pushed to the limits by the pro-abortion movement.
Obama - Education. We have got to get our education system right. We need more money and reform for schools. Early child education. We need an army of new teachers with higher pay and professional development but give them higher accountability. Community service for college credit of $4000 every year. Parents have to turn off TV and video games and instill a thirst for knowledge.
McCain - civil rights issue..open schools...but what is the advantage of sending kids to failing schools. Charter schools provide better answers and competition that upgrades charter and public schools. Throwing money at it will not solve the problem. We must improve education. College loans more available. Full student loan program for in-state and adjust to inflation.
Obama - tradition of local control of schools. but federal government must step up and help local schools do what they need to do. No child left behind had the funding left behind and local governments had to pick up the tab. Focus on early child hood education. I support charter schools which foster competition and improve quality. But vouchers will not be the answer to improve schools. We can't talk about programs and not explain how they will be funded.
McCain - vouchers are what brought remarkable improvements to the Washington, DC school system. Vouchers are a good and proven system.
America needs a new direction. I have record of standing up to my party, the other party. I have been a careful steward of your tax dollars. We have to stop the spending that has mortgaged your children's futures. All of our promises are based on whether you can trust us. I have spent my entire life in service of our nation and putting my country first. I have been proud to serve and I hope that you will give me the opportunity to serve you again.
I want to thank Senator McCain and Bob for moderating. I think we all know America is going through tough times. The biggest mistake we could make is to accept the same failed policies we have had over the past eight years and expect a different result. WE are going to have to invest in the American people again. It will require all of us to come together and to renew a spirit of sacrifice and responsibility. I will work every single day tirelessly for you if you elect me.
I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.
