MODERATES ARE FIRST

 

 

With so many front-runners, talk is veep
By: Jeremy D. Mayer
October 3, 2007 05:39 PM EST

While the nation’s attention is slowly being pulled to the contest for the presidency, political insiders have already begun handicapping the race for the vice presidential nomination.

With good reason — it’s one of the most powerful positions in American politics. True, the next vice president is unlikely to be half as powerful as Dick Cheney, but even half of Cheney is still more raw power than almost anyone else in Washington.

And the people running for the vice presidency also know this: The position may well be the key to the nomination as president in 2012 or 2016.

So who gets the Democratic nod for second place on the ticket?

Running for No. 1, Settling for No. 2

Hillary Rodham Clinton: Almost a lock, really. If anyone beats out the senator from New York for the Democratic presidential nomination, how could they possibly deny her the No. 2 slot?

Unless the reason she fails to get the nomination is a bad scandal, Hillary is almost mandatory for the (male) nominee to consider.

She has shown good debating and campaigning skills, and she would probably attract a little less fervent opposition from her haters if she were not at the top of the ticket.

And she’s a twofer: You also get Bill. Put Hillary on the ticket and you guarantee that the Democrats’ best politician and biggest draw will wake up every day and say, “What can I do to help?”

Barack Obama: The senator would excite black voters, but the question is, how much? Will it outweigh concerns about his youth, unpredictability and inexperience?

Also, he’s from Illinois, which the Democrats will carry almost automatically.

John Edwards: No. When he was on the ticket in 2004, the then-senator was a notable disappointment, unable to attack Bush-Cheney effectively and failing to carry even his home state.

Bill Richardson: No. One of the best résumés in American politics, but the concerns that kept him off the 2004 ticket are not gone. The rumors of problems involving personal finances and conduct are rampant. The first rule of VPs is similar to that of doctors: First, do no harm.

The others: The only one who makes any possible sense here is Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware. He has charisma and gravitas on foreign policy.

But does Biden put any states into play? Doubtful. Of course, nominating Ohio Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich assures the ticket of the crucial egomaniacal, left-wing leprechaun vote …

The Sitting Senators

Evan Bayh (Indiana): Bayh could possibly be the only man in America who looks more presidential than Mitt Romney.

And he would actually make the Republicans do something they haven’t had to do since 1964: worry about how Indiana will vote.

Jim Webb (Virginia): Webb has great cachet, since he is a former Republican and from a red state that is turning quite purple lately.

Webb would put Virginia in play and, as a decorated Vietnam veteran, former Navy secretary and father of a Marine currently serving in Iraq, he would also give the Democratic ticket instant credibility with the millions of military and veterans’ families in America.

One problem with Bayh is that picking him could potentially deplete the Democratic Senate majority. Indiana’s governor, Mitch Daniels, is a Republican, and he would appoint Bayh’s replacement.

And the first nine months of Democratic Senate control have demonstrated that every vote counts, as more bills than ever have been subjected to a supermajority (60 vote) requirement.

The Governors

Tom Vilsack (Iowa): Vilsack stepped down as governor in January to pursue a short-lived presidential bid of his own.

Iowa could be a battleground; along with New Mexico, it was the only state George W. Bush won in 2004 that he failed to capture four years earlier. Nominating Vilsack ends the discussion.

But like a typical governor, Vilsack has zero record on foreign affairs or national security. Obama, Clinton and Edwards will look for someone who has that.

Brian Schweitzer (Montana): By some accounts the most popular governor in America, and in a fairly red state, Schweitzer has been an unlikely hero to many Netroots activists.

As a rancher and a Westerner, he could put several states into play that Democrats haven’t won in decades.

However, he has the same problem as Vilsack: no foreign policy experience. Being an irrigation adviser in Saudi Arabia in the 1980s doesn’t cut it.

Eliot Spitzer (New York): If New York were Texas, this would make sense. But Spitzer would only make New York more of a landslide.

And Clinton can’t pick him, anyway, due to a minor technical difficulty in the 12th Amendment.

The Others

Wesley Clark: Like Richardson, the former NATO general looks great on paper.

A very successful military career will be a real asset in 2008, because Iraq and Afghanistan (if not Iran) will be very prominent on the nation’s agenda.

Clark comes from Arkansas, and Southern roots never hurt in Democratic presidential politics. He’s also not a bad speaker. The only negative here is a horrible presidential campaign in 2004, which left him looking like a flash in the pan.

So if I had to predict today what the second name on the Democratic line would be, I’d say Clinton, if it’s not Clinton at the top, and Clark or Webb, if Hillary does win the nomination.

Next week: I pick the Republican vice presidential nominee.

So as I read that article:

1. Hillary is inevitable (yes, I know they list her as one of the VP candidates, but reading the article as a whole, they don't really mean it).

2. Don't pick a progressive/liberal as VP 

It's hard to find the issue(s) which would force a party realignment right now.  Of course, that could change in a matter of minutes.  It takes more than something like Iraq.  It takes an issue, or issue set, which will activate a large number of people and which the two parties won't co-opt.

I think the potential exists for realignment, if that motivator can be found and someone considered "serious" (and there are many different ways someone can be "serious") will serve as the voice and focal point.  Perot actually might have forced such a realignment had he not acted strangely during the campaign.  He had found a hook, and the right time.

Unity 08 has the understanding that there is a dissatisfaction, but I don't think they understand what that dissatisfaction is.  They think people want something called "centrism".  I don't think that's really true, and being in the middle is never a motivator.

If there is a realignment, it is because someone will find a direction, not right or left, to take the country, hook it to a specific issue or small issue set that drives people to participate, and will pick the right time when the two parties aren't interested in co-opting the message (until it's too late).

from the prior thread

185.

audrey.nc
Thu, 10/04/07
9:35 am

Party Committees [state and county] are not allowed to make this endorsement. The offical party endorsement for a presidential candidate is made at the DNC convention.

How to become a voting delegate to the DNC Convention.

One Year from Today: http://www.blogforamerica.com/view/21965...

Stupidity:

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Halloween party dumped at school in Broomfield
By Kathryn Richert, The Daily Camera
October 3, 2007 BROOMFIELD - There won't be little ghosts and goblins at Kohl Elementary School this Halloween.

In a newsletter sent home to parents, Principal Cindy Kaier wrote that the traditional Halloween party celebrated in classrooms each year will be replaced by a fall party on Friday.

And because the party is focused on fall, not Halloween, children can't wear costumes.

Parents expressed frustration that they weren't included in the decision.

 

John wrote "Tom, can't indies vote in any Michigan primary?"

I’m not aware of it, although I don’t know any details regarding the Republican contest. The state party organization conducts the Democratic caucus, for which you must confirm your party affiliation in order to participate.

Susan...

I know that, for reasons of impartiality in the primaries they do not endorse. Out of defernce to the diversity of DFA, the same reason could apply.
Since we reserve the right to support Independent candidates, we have established that endorsing the Dem candidate is not mandatory. For DFA to endorse one of the two most "corporate" Dems seems to be counter to the reason for DFA.
If Gore were to enter, it would change the equation.

Susan Rowe, thank you for the great report on the Ballot signatures for Al Gore in Cali.  I received the same response of pure excitement at the thought, or already on board.   The neat part was so many folks doing their own initiative to call our for Al to Run.  A couple came up with their daughter holding signs and Kyoto Treat petitions.  And a couple painted on their shirts, R U N and their daughter was highlighted for her question being asked...they enjoyed the buttons I gave them later.  And I had people that wanted to shake my hands and thank me for my efforts.  It was an over all great night, besides the bad news on the climate that Al Gore just received the day prior.

 

I will give a full report of the evening.

 

 

Hi Folks,

Last night's thread, response to Seashell.  Sea, if Americans can't and won't write letters, won't take a stand and articulate it, the republic may not be worth saving.  "We have to make it easier for them..."  Hello!  Maybe that's just part of the problem, that everything has been made easier, including government and so there's no oversight, checks and balances, and no real representation of the We the People.

I think DFA and athe precinct training and the local grass roots efforts are our only hope, but I'm also concerned with Generation X. There is so much cynicism and disaffection with governemnt.  What of their children?  Is it possible that in order to value anything there has to be effort, even sacrifice, and the consumer society insists we deserve rewards, we should be good to ourselves, we owe it to ourselves, etc.  Have we become as shallow, trivial, empty headed and entitled as our advertising, our media portrays us?

Rich, if there is to be a reallignment in the Democratic Party, it will only come when a majority insist upon it.  Instead of giving money, we should be giving our articulated thoughts.  Congress critters make more than enough money, have more than enough perks, and more than enough ties so they don't have to be responsive.

I'm not giving up, but I have to say, unless we can motivate the people of this country, we are indeed watching the decline and fall, and it doesn't have to be. 

my opinion: 1. no primary/caucus endorsement, 2. have a vote after the nomination/convention as to whether or not to endorse.

7. I sit corrected.

What I want to know is who are all these sheeple who are going to vote for Hillary?

Another good reason to be an ex-Democrat.

Governor Dean is in north Florida today.   Even the county chair was rude in the media to him.  My state embarrasses me.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1547

Oh, and attention loving Bill Nelson got his suit filed.   Not given much chance in the courts, but he sure got the media's notice.  This has become his passion.  I hate him, he stands for nothing really important.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1543

Pat, you are so right.  Folks don't want to accept responsibility, want someone else to do things for them.  So sad.

 BUT.......the good news, last night people were all doing their own individual part and we all came together with the common goal....it was so cool.  

 

bbl 

4. I have to agree with you Rich.

The issues of deap-seated corruption, unquestioning subservience to the Military-Industrial Complex, ditto the Israel lobby,ditto the health-care oligarchy, could be bundled together as a powerful reason for progressives to support a new party.

The problem is that the media will continue to support the "duopoly", refuse to cover these issues, and ignore or marginalize the proponents of reform until there are massive civil disturbances in favor of them, at which point George Bush (or Hillary Clinton) will declare martial law and emulate their Burmese colleagues.

11.

mprov -

that sounds reasonable and fair

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Democrats_drop_demand_for_documents_as_1004.html

Senate Democrats who bemoaned the White House's refusal to turn over subpoenaed documents in their investigation of the firing of eight US Attorneys won't block Bush's nominee for Attorney General, Michael Mukasey, despite the fact he won't promise to release the files

Leahey JUST promised he would do the opposite. He was one the few I had yet to give up on, but add him to the list. 

John wrote "What I want to know is who are all these sheeple who are going to vote for Hillary? Another good reason to be an ex-Democrat."

The most enervating moment of the last election for me was the Kerry rally in Michigan sparked by the announcement of his tidal wave victory in February, which was catapulted by his Iowa and New Hampshire victories. I don’t anticipate it will be different with Clinton, but I don’t know. I don’t know what’s bubbling beneath the surface in the early states.

I will add one thing, cognizant that it is a compliment to Sen. Clinton. I have attended public addresses both she and her husband have given. I am a sceptic regarding the policy positions of either, but the charisma and star power they project in a group setting is undeniable. People gravitate towards them in a room like metal shavings to a magnet. I won’t be voting for her in any caucus, but she’ll have no trouble harvesting votes. You are left with the definite impression that both Clintons are knowledgeable, intelligent, and capable of holding their own when you experience a personal appearance with them.

THE EMPIRE RULES!

http://www.currentinvective.com/wp/

The ongoing presidential campaigns are about who shall wear the crown and wield the sword of the empire. Unless there’s some sort of revolution, an emperor shall be selected and a court shall be assembled to carry out the will of the emperor and the imperial lords and ladies.

Despite occasional factional disputes, members of the imperial ruling class–Democrats and Republicans alike–have achieved remarkable consensus on the need to preserve the status quo, including the maintenance of a constant state of war and a disabling debt. They understand that they are defying the will of the people, and it is of no consequence to them. Their power has been purchased for them, and the money doesn’t flow if they upset the status quo.

The rich–for it is the rich who rule both parties–buy potential leaders for us peons to select from, and they also tell us what to believe. Occasionally we select somebody they can’t buy, but it doesn’t happen often enough to have any discernible effect. It’s a foregone conclusion that the emperor and court will be chosen from among candidates the rich have endowed.

We serfs might deny it, but bloodshed validates the imperial ruling class. The power over life and death is intoxicating to them. Ask a Bush. Ask a Clinton. Ask a Rockefeller. So revered are our leaders that ordinary families will sacrifice their children to glorify them. This knowledge is positively sublime. The rulers claim it ennobles all of us.

Debt worries our imperial rulers not at all. It’s not their debt. In fact, the debt enriches them, because they and their patrons are the recipients of most of the borrowed money, controlling, as they do, supplies of all the necessities of life, including money itself. Ordinary people pay with lifelong servitude accompanied by a degraded quality of life.

Ironically, the rulers are ever aware of what the people can’t seem to bring to consciousness: that they are seldom more than a hair’s breadth from the gallows, the assassin and, worse, defeat at the polls. When you see them in their careful coiffures and read the self-serving accounts of their exploits as statesmen, reminded, as you must be, of strutting sycophants, the cream of the empire in powdered wigs, resist the urge to laugh or look away. They are enemies of democracy, and they are dangerous enemies of republican government and the rule of law. They must be confronted and engaged. They must face rude justice.

11. mprov.  I agree with that.  But I did the last time around too, so that's no surprise I guess.

 

I'm of Governor Dean's position.  Get the participation and allow the voters to vote. 

s/b allow the voters to vote.  sorry, was cut off.

Here in Virginia, we barely have a dem party and the rethugs that are left. well they are the loons.

But if you are in my part of the state, where we are begging for DFA training, come on by and see our candidate.

Tonight!! Governor Mark Warner reception for John Miller!! (+) by: lgb30856Thu Oct 04, 2007 at 11:05:20 AM EDT [edit diary]
Tonight, Thursday, Oct 4, 2007, Governor Warner will be hosting a reception for Democratic candidate John Miller. The event will be at the Air and Space Center in Hampton , Virginia.

Particulars:

Governor Mark Warner reception for John Miller
Virginia Air and Space Museum
600 Settler's Landing Road,
Hampton, Va
Thursday, Oct 4, 2003
6:00 - 8:00 pm
$75 per person or $125 per couple
Students: $25
Business Attire
Make checks to: Friends of John Miller
P.O. Box 6113, Newport News, Va. 23606
www.johnmillerforsenate.com

lgb30856 :: Tonight!! Governor Mark Warner reception for John Miller!!mapquest info:

http://www.mapquest....

Looks like Florida doesn't like the rules that every other state has to go by.

Bunch of cry babies.

linda b, and others, this is for YOU!  (AND ESPECIALLY GOVERNOR DEAN :D)

 

Veteran Removes Illegal Mexican Flag, May Be Charged
Reno resident cuts down Mexican flag flying above U.S. flag after outcry

Infowars.net | October 3 , 2007
Steve Watson

A Veteran from Reno, Nev. has hit headlines after he took matters into his own hands yesterday and tore down a Mexican flag that was being illegally flown above a U.S. flag at a local business.

Local news station krnv News 4 had received calls yesterday afternoon from angry residents complaining about the Mexican flag. When the station sent a reporter to investigate the Veteran took the opportunity to make a statement in front of the cameras.

The man commented "I'm Jim Brossert and I took this flag down in honor of my country with a knife from the United States army. I'm a veteran, I am not going to see this done to my country. if they want to fight us, then they need to be men, and they need to come and fight us, but I want somebody to fight me for this flag. They're not going to get it back."

Watch it:

 

The hispanic store owner who witnessed the incident would not make comment on camera but told krnv over the phone that he was flying the flag as a mark of solidarity to the hispanic community. Pro-immigration protests have been ongoing in the area all weekend after raids were conducted by authorities in the area last week.

The store owner said he is an American citizen and did not know what he was doing was against the law. However, according to federal law it is illegal to fly any flag above the U.S. flag, and if flying more than one they must be on separate poles and be of an equal size.

The Reno police department has told krnv that Brossert will faces charges for theft if the store owner files a police report of what happened.

Similar incidents have previously been reported in Maywood, CA ., Tucson, Arizona , and Jupiter, Florida.

October 7-13 Boston Comedy and Movie Festival, featuring Lewis Black and Dennis Leary, plus many stand ups.

 

Want a good laugh?  Volunteers needed.  Wish I could go.  

http://www.bostoncomedyfestival.com/ 

 

Report: LA Deputies Held Arrest Contests

Associated Press | October 04, 2007

LOS ANGELES -- Sheriff's deputies have been competing in organized contests to see who could make the most arrests, who could impound the most cars and who could question the most gang members.

The contests were meant to boost morale and motivate deputies, but some observers are crying foul, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

One of the competitions, outlined in an internal Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department e-mail, was "Operation Any Booking." The object of the contest was to see who could arrest the most people in a 24-hour period.

"It's just a friendly

The store owner said he is an American citizen and did not know what he was doing was against the law. However, according to federal law it is illegal to fly any flag above the U.S. flag, and if flying more than one they must be on separate poles and be of an equal size.

This looks like a job for........the FIRST AMENDMENT!

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

(But seriously, when it comes to flags, most people are simply insane.)

 

Keep in mind, I’m not saying other candidates don’t. I believe Linda can attest from her own experience that Al Gore can electrify a crowd with his remarks. I also thought Howard Dean was great in person. He seemed direct, self-possessed, no-nonsense and smart. I thought he radiated obvious executive qualities.

8.

audrey.nc
Thu, 10/04/07
10:36 am

I agree


11.

mprov
Thu, 10/04/07
10:38 am

Fair indeed

26.

DANIEL ROONEY
Thu, 10/04/07
11:30 am


I saw this story on the news feed out of LA last weekend. They played it over and over. The Republican Party does not own the U.S. flag. I hope progressives are wearing their red, white and blue.

I don't own a flag.

I don't own a gun.

does that disqualify me from being an American ?

This looks like a job for........the FIRST AMENDMENT! it has nothing to do with the first amendment sitka. it more of a statment saying we have  takin over your country. so you think its ok? sick!!

What got me about the video of that nut cutting down the US flag was that he then wadded it up and held it over his head like a trophey. Those who claim to respect the flag the most are most often the ones who disrespect it the most.

31.
Susan Rowe
Thu, 10/04/07
11:59 am

Reply to this

26.

DANIEL ROONEY
Thu, 10/04/07
11:30 am


I saw this story on the news feed out of LA last weekend. They played it over and over. The Republican Party does not own the U.S. flag. I hope progressives are wearing their red, white and blue. you are mising the point susan its not about the republicans its about all of us.

on general betrayus

, October 04, 2007

The definitive piece on Petraeus
by A.J. Rossmiller · 10/04/2007 12:03:00 PM ET
Discuss this post here: Comment (0) · digg it · reddit · FARK ·  · Link

I don't often find myself linking to conservative magazines, but this piece by Andrew Bacevich is a fantastic analysis of General Petraeus and his recent efforts in Washington and in Iraq. Bacevich is a renowned military historian and professor of international relations. A self-described "Catholic conservative," he is also one of the most insightful critics of Bush administration international policy, and has been for years.

This past May, his son, a 27-year-old Lieutenant, was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq.

Bacevich has impeccable credentials, a keen understanding of military and diplomatic affairs, and, one has to imagine, an extraordinarily heavy heart. He gets right to the crux of the matter when it comes to the Political General:

[I]n presenting his recent assessment of the Iraq War and in describing the “way forward,” Petraeus demonstrated that he is a political general of the worst kind—one who indulges in the politics of accommodation that is Washington’s bread and butter but has thereby deferred a far more urgent political imperative, namely, bringing our military policies into harmony with our political purposes.

Petraeus has chosen a middle course, carefully crafted to cause the least amount of consternation among various Washington constituencies he is eager to accommodate. This is the politics of give and take, of horse trading, of putting lipstick on a pig. Ultimately, it is the politics of avoidance.

A political general in the mold of Washington or Grant would have taken a different course, using his moment in the spotlight not to minimize consternation but to stir it up to the maximum extent. He would have capitalized on his status as man of the hour to oblige civilian leaders, both in Congress and in the executive branch, to do what they have not done since the Iraq War began—namely, their jobs. He would have insisted upon the president and the Congress making decisions that wartime summons them—and not military commanders—to make. Instead, Petraeus issued everyone a pass.

The entire piece is simply -- and rightly -- devastating.

Bacevich goes on to explain the most intellectually indefensible argument of Petraeus's testimony: after an (ostensibly) effective surge, supposedly fueled by increased troop levels, he didn't move to exploit the advantage. If the increase was really helping us "win" the war, an honest position would have been to ask for more troops. Exploit the advantage, if indeed there is one. Bacevich explains,

There is only one plausible explanation for Petraeus’s terminating a surge that has (he says) enabled coalition forces, however tentatively, to gain the upper hand. That explanation is politics—of the wrong kind.

Given the current situation as Petraeus describes it, an incremental reduction in U.S. troop strength makes sense only in one regard: it serves to placate each of the various Washington constituencies that Petraeus has a political interest in pleasing.

Indeed. It's really amazing that he has gotten such a pass on all of this; history, I think, will not be so kind.

Labels: Bush administration, general petraeus, Iraq

This looks like a job for........the FIRST AMENDMENT! it has nothing to do with the first amendment sitka. it more of a statment saying we have  takin over your country. so you think its ok? sick!! 

The Supreme Court has spoken clearly on the flag and free speech. That's why Republicans try to manipulate people like you every year with a flag amendment.

And nobody has taken over this country --  but nuts who think a flag means more than the freedoms it represents keep trying to. Fortunately the Constitution has stopped them so far.

 

2.

S. Jackson
Thu, 10/04/07
9:53 am

That reads straight out of the DLC playbook. It is farce.....

32.
* rdorgan
Thu, 10/04/07
12:02 pm

Reply to this

I don't own a flag.

I don't own a gun.

does that disqualify me from being an American  no juat a slave. get a gun.

And nobody has taken over this country --  but nuts who think a flag means more than the freedoms it represents keep trying to. Fortunately the Constitution has stopped them so far tell that to the people who has die for it not me.

this is funny. the right wing nut running against the dem got caught putting her campaign sign on a boat in the james river. it was ok with when running it up and down the river. but some guy anchored it on federal property and that is against the law.

when the ycontacted the stall campaign to take it down, they said they didn't know who did this. just a grassroots supporter..

and they also held a rally outside our campaign hq and then said the campaign knew nothing about it even tho  the campagn manager was heading it.

it brought so much publicity that we took in more money that day than ever before.

right wing rethugs. putz's.

http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/newport_news/dp-news_stallsign_1004oct04,0,7994627.story

does that disqualify me from being an American  no juat a slave. get a gun.

Just what my 6 year old needs around the house.

Never owned a gun. Never will.  That's for slaves to the gun manufacturers and their NRA mouthpieces.

tell that to the people who has die for it not me. 

They've died for the freedoms represented by the flag. It would be an unforgivable tragedy if they died for just a flag. 

Indy wrote "That reads straight out of the DLC playbook."

I guess.  S. Jackson is Scoop, our resident moderate once known as Fact Checker.

3.

...

With so many front-runners, talk is veep
By: Jeremy D. Mayer
October 3, 2007 05:39 PM EST

...

+++

"ya can't get there from hearah"

without posting a link

Huron John
Thu, 10/04/07
10:58 am

THE EMPIRE RULES!

"Occasionally we select somebody they can’t buy, but it doesn’t happen often enough to have any discernible effect. It’s a foregone conclusion that the emperor and court will be chosen from among candidates the rich have endowed."

... well, today in Chattanooga TN our guy, John Wolfe, will be against a completely 'power structure' fellow, and two spoilers thrown in for the 'minority vote' (both with strong conservative ties) in the TN State Senate race. (open by the corruption guilty plea of the former)

His opponent magically was given nearly $300,000 dollars by powerful and rich prominent folk, a good many Republican, for this primary lasting just a few weeks.

John has about 10% the money to compete at this point.

typo - 3.  ... With so ...   s/b - 2. ... With so ...

"ya can't get there from hearah" without posting a link

Political propaganda is one area where links don't matter to me. I just disregard it like I do the Obamaspam.

Watch John Edwards take on Clinton 2.0 on Olberman, and decide for yourself who is ready to lead. Especially precious is that the FBI investigation of Blackwater is being guarded by......Blackwater! Edwards has a lot to say about ending the outsourcing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzkkyyadMP4

I guess.  S. Jackson is Scoop, our resident moderate once known as Fact Checker.

These days, the term "moderate" has moved so far to the right as to be unrecognizable as such. 

44.

Tom Bearse
Thu, 10/04/07
12:22 pm

Yes...Scoop Jackson who he admires was a Senator from my home state of Washington. He was a war hawk and a perfect DLC candidate before the DLC existed. So my comment stands.

Watch John Edwards take on Clinton 2.0 on Olberman

Everybody's seen Edwards -- ad nauseum since 2003. Democrats didn't want him back then and they don't want him now. You'd think it would have sunk in with him already.

We can talk and talk and talk but the Manchurian Candidate and the Mexican flag in Reno tell me it's all over. The rich and powerful will always be so and there's nothing we can do about it. The world is going to get smaller and smaller and there won't be any countries or borders and we'll only have one currency and one 'standard of living.' And it won't be too painful. Europe is a lot easier to navigate since they made the EU. It's just that we find ourselves on the cusp of an era. With Leahy caving, welll, I cave too. But keep your hands off my gun.

Law sinks floating campaign signThe campaign barge for Tricia Stall should be out of the water — or at least off its anchor — tonight.

A campaign sign for Tricia Stall floats in the James River about 100 feet from the shore near the Lion's Bridge in Newport News. (Heather S. Hughes, Daily Press / October 2, 2007)

BY KIMBALL PAYNE | 757-247-4765

NEWPORT NEWS - For a few weeks a fishing boat pulled a handmade campaign sign up and down the James River touting Republican Tricia Stall.

is that a handmade sign? no. too funny.

With Leahy caving, welll, I cave too.

Makes you wonder who really chairs that committee.....

 

54.

...

But keep your hands off my gun.

+++

"Anni(e)low Get Your Gun"

(maybe in Florida ya need a gun, I don't know)

oh well, speaking of guns, it's ole Charlton Heston's 83rd birthday today:

http://www.kentuckypress.com/images/0813124085.jpg

Approval of Bush, Congress hits new low
By ALAN FRAM, Associated Press Writer 16 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Public approval for President Bush and Congress has sunk to the lowest levels ever recorded in The Associated Press-Ipsos poll.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071004/ap_o...

53.

Sitka
Thu, 10/04/07
12:40 pm

Another one of your "substantive" posts, I see. Maybe you ought to only speak for yourself, not millions of others. I'm assuming you didn't even bother to look, but hopefully others will be more open-minded. Take a look....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzkkyyadMP4

That's all I'm providing. Take a look and decide for yourself rather than listening to the negativity here on every candidate.

 

My Evening with Al Gore and his Slide Show Presentation

As many of you know, last night was Rio Rancho’s Al Gore Live Presentation with his slide show, “An Inconvenient Truth”. Besides the important information about the Climate Crisis, our desire to show support for Mr. Gore to be our President was in full swing.

We arrived at the Santa Ana Star Center over an hour before the event was scheduled to start. Unfortunately the police said they were given orders no signs be on property. Given so many expected this to be “the place” to be, we had many other candidates, Presidential and Senate, present that were pushed to the sidelines as well. We stood on the sidewalk facing the entrance armed with buttons, fliers and displaying our banner. I don’t know if Mr. Gore had a chance to see us, but the people sure did. It was great to hear-pretty much everyone wanting a Gore Presidency. Almost everyone we asked if they wanted a button was thrilled to put one on. Of course we weren’t getting many walking by us, being we weren’t in front of the door, so I sent Bruce with a bag of them to pass out in front of the entrance. He walked back within minutes that they were gone instantly 3 times.

The people were very excited about Gore for President. And the only one person who displayed skepticism that he would run and didn’t want a button, came up to me after the presentation to say “I changed my mind, can I still have a button”. But people who were not even part of the “official Draft Gore” were still all on the same page and were doing their own individual part. It was so exciting. I had a couple with their daughter coming up with signs and petitions to join the Kyoto Treaty. And another couple inside painted R U N down their shirts. And yet another couple in front of us were too from Santa Fe and excited to hear there was a movement. And because the buttons we made have the website’s address, www.algore.org on it, it is easy for them to officially get involved.

After arriving at our seats and realizing there was an opportunity to hit the folks up sitting in the front of the stage that Mr. Gore would be speaking on, I walked over to ask if anyone wanted buttons. If they weren’t already wearing them (as we saw them on the chests everywhere we looked) more asked for them. Then the folks on the side that saw and heard I had buttons all started yelling out that they wanted some and I started getting “we need 5 over here”. I had to excuse myself to return with them as I ran out. When I returned with more buttons, the people asked if they could shake my hand to thank me for my work, and one man yelled out “I love you”.

Mr. Gore was absolutely incredible. He was so energetic, passionate, strong and funny. He opened up with some humor, before giving the facts. But he carefully alleviates the tension from the intense information he is sharing, with a slight break of humor every once in a while. The information and facts he shares, just rolls off effortlessly with intense passion being displayed when the news gets deep. The standing ovations he received when entering paled in comparison to when he finished his presentation. I don’t think any of us wanted to sit down.

The information Mr. Gore shared in his presentation was u-pdated with current information. So I must say how disturbing it was, after thinking I saw and heard the information before from the movie, to see and hear the latest news, including the fact that he highlighted information for our state. Most troubling was the fact that with everything happening, we are indeed running out of time. As he clearly stated, we are speeding up the warming at an alarming rate. We went from 100 years time to act, down to 50. Then after the long awaited study, it showed so much damage that we had as little as 34 years. Last month new information came out saying the rate is advancing so much with the melting of arctic ice, that we now had only 23 years before the tipping point. Well, after last weeks news that twice the size of England melted and then the size of Florida disappeared, Mr. Gore just received word the day prior that our tipping point may be as early as in 7 years. 7 years. I started to cry.

Mr. Gore said he believes we can solve this still, but we need to act with urgency and he is asking for citizenry activism. Get involved. Go online and find out what we can do to help. He also made clear that we must restore our democracy.

The evening ended when he was to take questions from the audience. At this point I figured if I got kicked out, it would have been worth it, so I took my banner, opened it up and dropped it hanging from our legs. I know it was seen, because Fran saw it sitting on the opposite side of the Center, and I noticed people in their seats pointing to the banner giving a “thumbs up”. I can only hope a pause from Mr. Gore was him having a glimpse of it. Because, after all, it is time, Time for a COOL change with Mr. Gore.

The final questions of the evening were of a young girl and boy, ages 12 and 13. They both wanted to know if this would be solved, by whom and, “do I and my children have a chance”. That pretty much said it all, what is on the mind of their generation. Then the little girl added “good luck in winning the Nobel Peace Prize”. Mr. Gore bowed his head with that and then responded that it is our responsibility to solve this for them and their children. And he hopes they will ask the question of how we managed to solve this. I do too.

Upon leaving from the very emotion filled presentation, I had the chance to find that little girl and give her a button. I hope that will help give some added hope that we will solve this crisis for her.

Thank you Al Gore.

58. Yeah, thanks rdorgan -- Happy Birthday Charlton. Guns are the only thing that keep us from being overrun by the bad guys. My gun is for shooting my dog, cat and myself before the bad guys take over the world, if necessary. Or in the event of a nuclear war -- all kinds of reasons for keeping a gun. Altho I've lived in the city too and had the opposite point of view -- San Jose when gangs proliferated. (This will sound racist-maybe IS racist, but those gangs weren't Anglos I don't think-'Nortenos and Surenos')

fast and furious --

another new front thread has just zoomed ahead

Maybe you ought to only speak for yourself, not millions of others.

"If the 2008 Democratic presidential primary or caucus in your state were being held today, for whom would you vote?"

John Edwards 13%

Apparently, I do. 

http://www.blogforamerica.com/view/22455...

Mr. Gore was absolutely incredible.

That goes for you too, Linda. 

new o con