Barack Obama rips John McCain for his “country club economics” in this brand-new ad.
FLASH – 8 PM … ** JOE BIDEN: SECRET SERVICE DETAIL DISPATCHED TO THE SENATOR’S HOME. ABC News has just reported that a Secret Service detail has been dispatched to Delaware home of US Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Joe Biden.
Biden is who I’ve been expecting to be Barack Obama’s pick for vice president. The only reason for him to have Secret Service protection is if he is the Democratic vice presidential nominee or if he has received a very serious assassination threat.
** MAC’S GAFFES, UN-DOUSED. Oh, incidentally, regarding Team McCain’s furious full court press effort to douse the John McCain gaffes regarding his confusion about how many houses he and wife Cindy own and his contention that it takes $5 million a year to be rich? Not successful.
** VEEPSTAKES AGAIN. Well, unless Barack Obama is planning to send his famous message to millions on a Friday night, the day is passing without the the announcement of his vice presidential running mate. NBC’s Andrea Mitchell is reporting that Evan Bayh and Tim Kaine are out. This after the national media fluttered for hours about a purported “Obama/Bayh” bumper sticker discovered in Kansas City.
I looked at it, noticed it didn’t fit the Obama design matrix, and decided not to mention it. Which didn’t stop hundreds of others from going on for hours about it.
The pick certainly can’t be Governor Kaine. He has never been in the military and has no foreign policy experience. Prior to being Virginia’s first term governor, he was lieutenant governor and a mayor. Not really the background to deal with what I discuss in the column linked to below.
** NEW COLD WAR LEAVES VOTERS COOL BUT SHOWS OBAMA’S NEED. Given how tentative Barack Obama is in discussing geopolitics, his running mate is unusually important. But there’s some good news for Obama with regard to John McCain’s New Cold War rhetoric. If he and his team can engage successfully with the Vietnam War hero.
McCain’s hot rhetoric in the wake of the Russia-Georgia War — “We are all Georgians,” which of course hasn’t done a thing for Georgians — isn’t catching on. But McCain is still seen as the national security/geopolitics maven.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin’s plans are working and there are some bad repercussions for US policy coming down the pike. After a visit to Moscow by Syria’s president, Russia is getting a naval base in Syria. And sending a task force with an aircraft carrier and subs to the Mediterranean, all the better to bollix up US strategy in the Middle East. And oil power Kazakhstan, not to be confused with the Borat fantasy, is moving under Moscow’s umbrella. … New column from my other blog.
** VEEPSTAKES WATCH. Nothing much that’s reportable. The Obama camp is keeping a very tight rein on thanks. Atmospherics, and in many respects, logic, suggests Joe Biden has the edge. The big rumor about Hillary Clinton seems to be unfounded.
On the Republican side, Team McCain is also holding a tight rein. Mitt Romney had appeared to be the frontrunner, and was actually reported as the pick by a big media outlet. But is McCain going to pick the richest Republican politician as his running mate in the wake of his how-many-houses and it-takes-$5 mil remarks?
** NEW MEXICO POLL: OBAMA BY 6. The latest Rasmussen poll of battleground state New Mexico has Barack Obama leading John McCain, 47% to 41%. This is part of the Democratic strategy to take key Mountain West states away from the Republicans.
** MICHIGAN POLL: OBAMA BY 7. The new Detroit Free Press poll shows Barack Obama moving to a seven-point lead over John McCain, 46% to 39%. McCain has campaigned heavily in Michigan and has outspent Obama on TV advertising there. Obama’s edge is due to young voters, women, and people concerned about the economy. Michigan is one of three big states McCain is concentrating on in the midsection of the country, the others being Ohio and Pennsylvania.
John McCain’s brand-new attack ad, casting Barack Obama as a celebrity who doesn’t understand the financial strain on most Americans and wants to raise their taxes. McCain is under fire on all but the last point.
** NEW MAC ATTACK AD TRIES TO DOUSE THIS WEEK’S GAFFES. Here’s the script to John McCain’s brand-new attack ad, playing on national cable and in some battleground states:
Narrator: Celebrities don’t have to worry about family budgets, but we sure do.
We’re paying more for food and gas, making it harder to save for college, retirement.
Obama’s solution? Higher taxes called “a recipe for economic disaster.”
He’s ready to raise your taxes, but not ready to lead.
McCain: I’m John McCain and I approved this message.
McCain, as you know, is in trouble after saying he didn’t know how many homes he and wife Cindy own, and for saying that you have to make $5 million a year to be rich. The McCain campaign is in a full court press to try to douse the fire here, and has responded first by invoking the Vietnam War hero’s POW status, then with a series of attacks on Obama, including his ties to convicted Chicago developer/influence peddler Tony Rezko and ’60s domestic terror figure Bill Ayers, now a well-known professor.
If the Rezko stuff gets any traction, expect to hear about McCain’s past in the Keating Five.
Meanwhile, the Democrats held a press event outside McCain’s high-rise Washington area condo.
** WHERE THEY ARE TODAY.
Barack Obama is in Chicago, off the trail.
John McCain is in Sedona, Arizona, off the trail.
** DARK KNIGHT AMERICA. My latest column. All the hyperpartisan spin aside, here is where we are in a deeper cultural sense. The Dark Knight ends up in much the same place we find ourselves today. Bereft of a clearcut hero. Having narrowly survived a fundamental assault against our essential selves. And wondering what comes next. … From my other blog.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in LA, where he is having private meetings and conversations, many around the chronic California budget crisis.
His recuperation from athroscopic knee surgery for a workout injury is proceeding without a hitch. So to speak.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.
While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, which I know as a former DemRussia advisor, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND U.S. ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. After crashing over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, crude oil is trading around $118 per barrel.
The drop of over $29 per barrel comes on acknowledgement that the weak US economy will cut future demand and the easing of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The Russian war with Georgia, confounding much speculation and reporting to the contrary, actually decreased the geopolitical risk premium. Though the repercussions may not.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum.
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| Comments (97) |
McCain is a very funny guy. He thinks $4Mil a year isn’t rich, but he relatest to the average guy. Haha.
Pretty good McCain ad.
Want to bet Obama knows how many homes he owns???
McCain becomes a bigger disappointment with each passing day.
That McCain ad is the Big Lie.
MCCAIN is the out-of-touch celebrity. Obama won’t raise our taxes.
What a totally bullshit campaign.
What is with this “Fred Beloit” having the last post on yesterday’s thread claiming to quote Bill but I don’t see the quote coming from anywhere on this blog or the other one. Beloit by the way is doing spin quoting a different Pajamasmedia blog that Russia brought on the conflict in Georgia, although I think several of the assertions are unproven:
http://www.newshoggers.com/blog/2008/08/friday-night-mu.html#comment-126680874
McCain and his boys know the old man screwed up. They sound afraid to me. That’s why they’re so angry.
I like those Michigan numbers!
An actual improvement for Obama.
That’s an interpretation.
>marcus waldron:
McCain and his boys know the old man screwed up. They sound afraid to me. That’s why they’re so angry.
Aug 22, 2008 – 9:18 am
A distraction.
>Dana:
What is with this “Fred Beloit” having the last post on yesterday’s thread claiming to quote Bill but I don’t see the quote coming from anywhere on this blog or the other one. Beloit by the way is doing spin quoting a different Pajamasmedia blog that Russia brought on the conflict in Georgia, although I think several of the assertions are unproven:
http://www.newshoggers.com/blog/2008/08/friday-night-mu.html#comment-126680874
Aug 22, 2008 – 9:18 am
They know that if that thing gets rolling it could be over for McCain.
>Capitol Boy:
That McCain ad is the Big Lie.
MCCAIN is the out-of-touch celebrity. Obama won’t raise our taxes.
What a totally bullshit campaign.
Aug 22, 2008 – 8:58 am
No bet.
>Sacramento Solon:
Want to bet Obama knows how many homes he owns???
McCain becomes a bigger disappointment with each passing day.
Aug 22, 2008 – 8:50 am
It’s a classic of the genre.
>Jonas Blane:
Pretty good McCain ad.
Aug 22, 2008 – 8:49 am
He is noted for his humor.
>Jack Aubrey:
McCain is a very funny guy. He thinks $4Mil a year isn’t rich, but he relatest to the average guy. Haha.
Aug 22, 2008 – 8:38 am
New Mexico, too!
McCain: “Who are you going to believe? Me? Or your lying eyes?”
lol
I agree — the McCain could be about himself. He doesn’t even know how much gas costs!
If someone could post that damn Las Vegas editorial they keep spouting off, I’d appreciate it.
If it’s an editorial, I’d like to go thru their others at see what else they said — like when they endorsed Bush.
Sorry – McCain “ad”
I like Ann’s take…
Mister Bradley, thought separated by two decades, do you think the American psyche will connect “The Keating Five” and the S&L crisis with today’s mortgage company meltdowns?
It’s a tenuous link to be sure, but it could make for a powerful attack ad to slam McCain.
“It’s a tenuous link to be sure”
Not really – another costly bail-out due to corporate greed combining with a lack of robust regulations.
Who’s the veep?
Incidentally, NWN passed 69,000 comments this week.
The debate formats selected sound like there will be opportunities for them to directly address each other and mix it up a bit. Could be lively.
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/08/presidential_de.html
thanks for the new ad — the tag remains. Liking this sweep of ads — reminds me of the political equivalent of the 101 Airborne!
Blurb on the Sacramento Bee site says that McCain will be in the River City on Monday…having a little fund raiser at a fancy downtown hotel. For some strange reason, he has no public events scheduled. Guess he just doesn’t want to mingle with the common folk.
would be nice if the cdp could get some foreclosure victims to that fundraiser
They do that kind of thing.
Thanks, Solon.
>Sacramento Solon:
Blurb on the Sacramento Bee site says that McCain will be in the River City on Monday…having a little fund raiser at a fancy downtown hotel. For some strange reason, he has no public events scheduled. Guess he just doesn’t want to mingle with the common folk.
Aug 22, 2008 – 11:16 am
The 101st Airborne?
>Brasky:
thanks for the new ad — the tag remains. Liking this sweep of ads — reminds me of the political equivalent of the 101 Airborne!
Aug 22, 2008 – 11:07 am
Maybe the debates will be more interesting.
I still think Obama should have done some joint town halls with McCain.
>Dana:
The debate formats selected sound like there will be opportunities for them to directly address each other and mix it up a bit. Could be lively.
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/08/presidential_de.html
Aug 22, 2008 – 11:02 am
Unknown.
But atmospherics suggest Biden.
>Len:
Who’s the veep?
Aug 22, 2008 – 10:39 am
Perhaps he meant tenuous because this is an ahistorical culture.
>Brasky:
“It’s a tenuous link to be sure”
Not really – another costly bail-out due to corporate greed combining with a lack of robust regulations.
Aug 22, 2008 – 10:27 am
Sadly, I think that case can be made.
>Vladimir Bierko:
Mister Bradley, thought separated by two decades, do you think the American psyche will connect “The Keating Five” and the S&L crisis with today’s mortgage company meltdowns?
It’s a tenuous link to be sure, but it could make for a powerful attack ad to slam McCain.
Aug 22, 2008 – 10:22 am
I’ll check into it.
>Brasky:
I agree — the McCain could be about himself. He doesn’t even know how much gas costs!
If someone could post that damn Las Vegas editorial they keep spouting off, I’d appreciate it.
If it’s an editorial, I’d like to go thru their others at see what else they said — like when they endorsed Bush.
Aug 22, 2008 – 9:59 am
Very nice.
>Ann:
McCain: “Who are you going to believe? Me? Or your lying eyes?”
lol
Aug 22, 2008 – 9:52 am
“The 101st Airborne?”
Mors Ab Alto — Death from Above — is a motto associated with 101st.
I thought that was the Starship Troopers. lol
at least it’s not the Eagles.
“Mitt Romney had appeared to be the frontrunner”
If Meat is going to be the nominee, what are his constraints on spending his fortune since McCain accepted campaign limits?
I like the Eagles better.
Brasky:
at least it’s not the Eagles.
Aug 22, 2008 – 12:06 pm
“I like the Eagles better.”
Their record of successful air assaults is less than stellar…
Georgia shows the need for a foreign policy expert on the ticket – you can forget about governors.
A military combat veteran doesn’t appear to be in the cards. Too bad.
The Eagles are responsible for many assaults on the air.
Brasky:
“I like the Eagles better.”
Their record of successful air assaults is less than stellar…
Aug 22, 2008 – 12:47 pm
It has be Biden. Since Obama needs a geopolitics expert. A guy who isn’t shy.
Perhaps.
Thanks.
>Ann:
The Eagles are responsible for many assaults on the air.
Brasky:
“I like the Eagles better.”
Their record of successful air assaults is less than stellar…
Aug 22, 2008 – 12:47 pm
Aug 22, 2008 – 3:00 pm
Tim Kaine wouldn’t make much sense, even with his state.
>Brasky:
Georgia shows the need for a foreign policy expert on the ticket – you can forget about governors.
A military combat veteran doesn’t appear to be in the cards. Too bad.
Aug 22, 2008 – 2:38 pm
I don’t think they’ve ever parachuted into a stadium …
>Brasky:
“I like the Eagles better.”
Their record of successful air assaults is less than stellar…
Aug 22, 2008 – 12:47 pm
It looks like Carol Migden is really going the extra mile to cement her reputation for volatility. From the Sac Bee:
Sen. Carole Migden’s Capitol staff was sent home on Thursday afternoon and told not to report to work on Friday, after the San Francisco Democrat was heard berating them from the hallway.
Enedina Hidalgo, the director of personnel for the state Senate, overheard Migden screaming, according to a witness to the event. The source said she entered the office while the senator was not present on Thursday, informing the staff of their rights.
Soon after, Hidalgo returned to Migden’s office with Tony Beard Jr., the chief sergeant-at-arms of the state Senate. They told the staff to pack up their belongings and escorted them out of the building, the witness said.
Everyone’s being very hush-hush in the Senate, but do you have any additional insights Bill? Granted it’s kind of gossipy, but speaks to the actions of the Senate.
He couldn’t spend it directly on the campaign.
He might be able to donate to the party or other “independents.”
>Brasky:
“Mitt Romney had appeared to be the frontrunner”
If Meat is going to be the nominee, what are his constraints on spending his fortune since McCain accepted campaign limits?
Aug 22, 2008 – 12:13 pm