John McCain: ImPerfect Storm & Brit Writer Sees McCain Victory - So do American Voters

Given the ecstasy of his own followers and the support he has had from the mainstream media in the United States, that event should have brought with it a sense of inevitability, an overwhelming tide of belief that he was now unstoppable: that the future belonged to him. It should, in short, have given him a real bounce in the polls. But it didn't. What he got was a very small spike.

The two polls taken immediately after Hillary's withdrawal speech (and her effusive expression of support for him) gave Obama leads so small as to be virtually within the margin of error.

Some of this could be put down to the disappointment of Clinton followers, which may be expected to dissipate over the coming months. But the other explanation is that Obama's support has peaked: that his coalition of the young, the urban liberal and the black community has already max-ed out at its highest point and is going nowhere from there.

We are having us some kind of storms here in the Midwest. Working men are fighting to put power back in the homes of working people. Many in Obama's camp are locked in with the Utility Giants here in Illinois. Billy Ayers' silver-haired Pappy was the CEO of ComEd. You say you wanna Revolution?

Every time a huge Public Utility (ComEd and Peoples Gas) gets its ears pinned back in Springfield by the State Legislature, corporate stooges like the over-paid fashionista ex-wife of Obama financial funder John Rogers - Desiree goes on TV and decries over paid Union Workers. ComEd has Illinois Senate President doing the boo-hooing for the profit devouring Utility and does not need Desiree - well, neither did John Rogers, but that is . . . another story. Desiree was a laugh riot a few years back when Peoples Gas was called on the carpet at City Council - she made the traditional blond look like a Phi Beta Kappan.

These 'over-paid Union stiffs,' like my pal Gino Ford, have not been home since Friday night. They are restoring power. They are skilled blue collar union tradesmen - And Women! They do not cause the rate-hikes, but they get blamed for them.

They earn their money, in the most exhausting and dangerous manner. They work with electricty - God's way of letting us know that you've gone too far: turn off the circuit before working with wire; don't commit murder in 1930's gangster movies; put the 9 iron down when the storm starts.

Electrical High Tower linesmen are not joined for beers after work by John Rogers, Emil Jones, Tony Rezko, or Desiree Rogers, let alone Senator Barack Obama. I have seen John McCain break bread and wind with blue collar men and women. John McCain, while a privileged son of an Admiral, has a deep and abiding respect for the trades and all working people.

Barack Obama gets along swell with academics and political players and that's nice.

A British Journalist, Janet Daley, records this fact and predicts a McCain Victory In November.

But it is also true that John McCain is not a market leader on economics. He, too, is from a privileged background. Interestingly, however, he seems more able to relate comfortably to ordinary working people than Obama.



This may well be a function of his background as a military officer who was conspicuously loyal to his men, having refused to abandon them when he was offered release from a Vietnamese POW camp.

And this brings me to what may still prove to be the most significant fact about McCain: he is a war hero. (Indeed, in this respect, he bears more of a resemblance to John Kennedy than does Obama.)

He has proved himself to be unflinching in danger and courageous under fire. When people (especially Americans, who still regard military bravery as an exemplar of virtue) come to choose the man to lead them through a crisis, that will count for a lot.

To European eyes (and to some American ones, too) this is an election to determine how America sees itself: can it elect its first black president? Can it present itself to the world in an entirely new guise - as a member of the modern European club of social democratic societies?

But to most Americans - the ones who are less beguiled by rhetoric and more concerned with financial survival, and those who need practical reassurance more than inspiration - this election will be about proven character and tested judgment.

Gino Ford is probably ass-dragging tired right about now, but certainly not bitter or clinging - he has a strong safety belt well-secured. At least the rain has put some gas money in his pocket. Gino Ford likes John McCain. Like me, Gino votes Democratic in almost all local races.

Janet Daley of the Telegraph ( U.K.) is sensitive to Gino Ford, unlike the loud-mouths on cable T.V. and radio - that's one good thing about a power outage.


Ms. Daley predicts a McCain Victory in November and so do I!

John McCain: Man Versus Afflatus: Secular ἐνθουσιασμός

The Democrats have extraordinary enthusiasm on their side.

There is a sour US mood, mostly directed at President Bush. John McCain has had to walk a fine line in terms of distancing himself from Bush, and has, so far, done well. Obama's challenge will be to sustain the mood of enthusiasm over the summer

Many polls have shown the race is dead even - but there are a lot of variables. Pew Polls, for example, have shown John McCain ahead on handling Iraq. The issue of national security will be seen as his strength.

However, there is less attention focused on Iraq at the moment. It's on the back burner and there is a steady simmer but the economy is the strongest issue.

Many Americans feel that the country has gone off on the wrong track, with inflation etc. There are certainly concerns over Barack Obama's inexperience.

Karlyn Bowman of the American Enterprise Institute.


John McCain calls himself ' a flawed servant.' You may say. John McCain is all too human - by his own admission. Huffington Post, MSNBC, Daily Kos, DNC, and Obamamaton Bloggers are a great source for McCain Pain.

To them ( especially daffy Chris Matthews and bloated baritone Keith Olbermann), Barack Obama is a secular god - a rock-star deity - an ubermensch (Superman) and so far the kryptonite has been working slower than a teenage boy with long driveway full of snow.

American Progressives have helped create the Obama Nation - that throng of Americans (voters and enthusiasts)which seems to fill every Obama event venue like a Leni Riefenstahl Spectacle.

Progressives grew out of the 19th Century tradition of religious enthusiasts and shed the God centered 'nonsense' for the secular welding of the world to their will.

Enthusiasm (ἐνθουσιασμός) root - en-theos = in God. An enthusiast is a person inspired by god. *see: Biblical inspiration - (inspiration Greek - θεοπνευστος - Theopneustos = literally God breathed) When the early Christians would see someone convert to Christianity there was this overwhelming joy that followed the gift of Salvation but they had a problem there was no word to describe this feeling so they combined the two words (in God) creating the word (entheos) from which we get the English word Enthusiasm.

Its uses were confined to a belief in religious inspiration, or to intense religious fervour or emotion. Thus a Syrian sect of the 4th century was known as the Enthusiasts. They believed that by perpetual prayer, ascetic practices and contemplation, man could become [inspired] by the Holy Spirit, in spite of the ruling evil spirit, which the fall had given to him. From their belief in the efficacy of prayer, they were also known as Euchites. Several Protestant sects of the 16th and 17th centuries were called enthusiastic. During the years immediately following the Glorious Revolution, "enthusiasm" was a British pejorative term for advocacy of any political or religious cause in public. Such "enthusiasm" was seen in the time around 1700 as the cause of the previous century's English Civil War and its attendant atrocities, and thus it was an absolute social sin to remind others of the war by engaging in enthusiasm. The Royal Society bylaws stipulated that any person discussing religion or politics at a Society meeting was to be summarily ejected for being an "enthusiast."[citation needed] During the 18th century, popular Methodists such as John Wesley or George Whitefield were accused of blind enthusiasm (i.e. fanaticism).

From Wikpedia.

The American Great Awakening which brought about the Abolitionist Movement, Womans Suffrage, Abortion Rights, Prohibition, Antiwar Activism and Gay and Lesbian Activism through the activism of William Lloyd Garrison, John Brown,Matilda Bradley Carse, Frances Willard, Margaret Sanger, Jane Addams and Roger Baldwin is root of the Progressive grip on the Democratic National Committee. Catholic politicians who 'personally oppose Abortion, Gay Marriage etc.' publicly worship at the altar of Progressivism.

These secular Inquisitors made the Dominican lads in Spain seem like Quakers.

Their descendants have held control of Democratic National Committee since 1972, when the McGovernites staged a coup of the Democratic Party. The Enthusiasts have called the tune and Barack Obama's Campaign dance like Isadora Duncan on Bennies!

Watch the scarf.

I'll take a 'flawed servant' one who has record of heroism, independence, courage and service: John McCain!

Click my post titel for Obama Enthusiasm

I Deleted My Previous Post: Juan Carlos of Tennessee Does Not Help Senator Obama

I was sent a link to the site operated by some one named, or calling himself Juan Carlos: Socialist for Obama. This may be dirty tricks being played on the Obama Campaign. In fairness, I deleted a previous post, because it does not seem likely that Senator Obama, given his sound counsel and political instincts would allow such a hate filled post.

Click my post title for that link.

John McCain: The Audacity of Truth - McCain Family Walks the Talk

I received an e-mail from Miss Vicki Hampton of Alabama which I post in Full.

My Parish, neighborhood - in largely Irish Catholic Democratic Chicagoese - st. Cajetan's has its former pastor and scores of its young men and women serving Iraq. There is hardly a tree on any block unadorned by Yellow Ribbons in support of the kids in harm's way: McGarry, Ford, Hayes, Burke, & etc. These are the folks our junior Senator, Barack Obama, snidely referred to as 'Bitter and clinging.' In 2001, Obama's pal Pastor Pfleger smeared our parish and all the others, St. Barnabas, Christ the King, St. John Fisher, St. Christina, St. Bede, Queen of Martyrs and Holy Redeemer with his broad race-baiting brush in a now forgotten bit of National Press coverage. None of my neighbors ever got so much as a smirk from Tony Rezko and more than enough contempt from Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn - most of cops around here remember them very well!

Here is why McCain will get many Democratic Voters.

This was an email message I got earlier from a friend of mine, so thought I would put it on here for all to read. I know for a fact that this is all true.

John McCain's Sons

Talk about putting your most valuable where your mouth is! Apparently this was not "newsworthy" Enough for the media to comment about. Can either of the other presidential candidates truthfully come close to this? .... Just a question for each of us to seek an answer, and not a statement.

You see...character is what's shown when the public is not looking. There were no cameras or press invited to what you are about to read about, and the story comes from one person in New Hampshire.

----------------------------------------

One evening last July, Senator John McCain of Arizona arrived at the New Hampshire home of Erin Flanagan for sandwiches, chocolate-chip cookies and a heartfelt talk about Iraq. They had met at a presidential debate, when she asked the candidates what they would do to bring home American soldiers - - Soldiers like her brother, who had been killed in action a few months earlier.

Mr. McCain did not bring cameras or press. Instead, he brought his youngest son, James McCain, 19, then a private first class in the Marine Corps about to leave for Iraq. Father and son sat down to hear more about Ms. Flanagan's brother Michael Cleary, a 24-year-old Army First Lieutenant killed by an ambush ... A roadside bomb.

No one mentioned the obvious: In just days, Jimmy McCain could face similar perils. 'I can't imagine what it must have been like for them as they were coming to meet with a family that ......' Ms. Flanagan recalled, choking up. 'We lost a dear one,' she finished.

Mr. McCain, now the presumptive Republican nominee, has staked his candidacy on the promise that American troops can bring stability to Iraq. What he almost never says is that one of them is his own son, who spent seven months patrolling Anbar Province and learned of his father's New Hampshire victory in January while he was digging a stuck military vehicle out of the mud.

Two of Jimmy's three older brothers went into the military. Doug McCain, 48, was a Navy pilot. Jack McCain, 21, is to graduate from the Naval Academy next year, raising the chances that his father, if elected, could become the first president since Dwight D. Eisenhower with a son at war.

----------------------------------------

I chose to share this with those who I believe will pass it on, to others who will pass it on. We hear so much inflated trash out there. How about a simple act of kindness .... And dedication to others placed above oneself?

Has anybody heard if Barack Hussein Obama has served in The American Armed Services?

This is for all you Barack voters.

From Barack's book, Audacity of Hope:

"I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction."

HE DID NOT SAY STAND WITH AMERICANS!!!!!

Click my post title for more on McCain.

John McCain: Doc Sauerberg Might Give Senator Durbin the Night Sweats

"More than most people, a senator lives by his words ... occasionally words fail us, occasionally we will fail words."

Senator Dick Durbin (D IL U.S. Senate) 2005 on reversing himself for statements condemning U.S. Armed Forces you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime — Pol Pot or others — that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners."

Senator Durbin became a stronmg advocate of Planned Parenthood's continued genocide here in America, after years of opposing Abortion as a Congressman.

Likewise, Senator Durbin reversed himself on the issue of sugar tarrifs:
"The sugar program depended on congressmen like me from states that grew corn," Durbin said, referring to the fact that, though they were formerly a single entity, the sugar market and the corn syrup market are now largely separate.

From Wikpedia.

Now, Senator Durbin. a lawyer, is confronted with a physician as his opponent.

Dr. Steve Sauerberd, MD from Chicago's western suburbs. I like what Dr. Sauerberg has to say on Abortion - dead set against it; reforming Health Care; and most of all Education.

Dr. Sauerberg just might give Senator Dick Durbin, the Daily Kos, Moveon.Org, Huffington Post and MSNBC Senator. Dr. Sauerberg, like John McCain, reflects the attitude of most Americans.

Here is Dr. Sauerberg's polar opposition to Senator Durbin - as stark a contrast as the one drawne beteeen Obama and MCCain:

Dick Durbin’s record on fighting for taxpayers is pathetic,” continued Sauerberg. “He consistently votes to raise taxes on the hard-working men and women of Illinois. Adding insult to injury, Senator Durbin then turns around and supports spending those tax dollars on special interest pork barrel projects all across the country.”

“Dick Durbin has turned Illinois into America’s ATM, as taxpayers here are forced to foot the bill for wasteful projects in other states. It’s shameful that Durbin has allowed our state to rank 5th worst on the return of federal dollars that we send to Washington,” said Sauerberg.

"As a graduate of the Illinois public school system and the father of two children who also went through the Illinois public school system, I understand how important it is that all our children receive a top-notch education. As your next Senator, I will work hard to strengthen our school system by taking more money out of the education bureaucracy and putting it directly into our children’s classrooms."
No unfunded mandates for our public school system. With lagging test scores in the public education system, drastic changes need to be made and evaluated in an open manner.

Increase the amount of education funding veterans receive when they return home.
Despite calls for action, I do not believe we should simply throw money at the problem. We need to evaluate from the top down to make sure education is being funded the best way possible."

I especially like Dr. Sauerberg's postion on Education. Click my post title for more on Dr. Steve Sauerberg.

John McCain: Choice, Part II: American Leadership, or 'Vote or die, motherf*, motherf*er, vote or die! '

Following close on the heels ( Ayers, Dohrn, Phleger, Wright et al.) of this morning's post, I turned to Huffington Post- Hollywood Squares and was delighted to find the return of Sean John ( redundant in Gaelic) Combs to the Life Political. Equal to Arianna's assortment of 3rd tier talents at HuffPo,the artiste subsequently named ????? - What Time is It? P-Something or P-Usually - soundly endorses Barack Obama. You can not make this stuff up -even drawing heroically on the stem of an engorged pipe full of dope!

What the heck? McCain has Abba.

Click my post title for the Huff Po Video ( easier than writing something) of young Master Combs' return to the Forum!

Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969[1]), known by his stage names Diddy, P. Diddy, Puff Daddy, and Puffy is an American rapper, record producer, actor, clothing designer and entrepreneur.

He was originally known as Puff Daddy, later as P. Diddy (Puff and Puffy being often used as a nickname, but never as recording names). His nickname and stage name were then changed to Diddy (adopted in August 2005). He is still called P. Diddy in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, the latter after a legal battle with another artist, Richard "Diddy" Dearlove.[2]

from the ever useful Wikpedia

Here is the Anthem chosen in 2004 that helped John Kerry to Roll his campaign into the gutter! Hey, Should do it again!

Everybody, Sing, Now!

Posse: Vote or die, motherf*, motherf*er, vote or die!
P Diddy: Rock the vote or else I'm gonna stick a knife through your eye.
Posse: Democracy is founded on one simple rule!
P Diddy: Get out there and vote or I will motherf* kill you.
Posse: Vote or die, motherf*, motherf*er, vote or die!
P Diddy: Rock the vote or else I'm gonna stick a knife through your eye.
I like it when you vote, bitch! (bitch!)
Shake them titties when you vote, bitch! (bitch!)
I slam my jimmy through your mouth roof (mouth roof)
Now get your big ass in the pollin' booth.
I said vote, bitch, or I'll f* kill you!
Posse: Vote or die, motherf*, motherf*er, vote or die!
P Diddy: You can't run from a 38, go ahead and try!
Posse: Let your opinion be heard! You gotta make a choice!
P Diddy: 'Cause after I slit your throat you won't have a f* voice
Vote or die! Vote or die!

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Vote-or-Die-lyrics-South-Park/18A9D53C122E19D248256F5700099A4B


That's Gotta Bring America Together!

Arianna! Your Frame, Again!

John McCain: Choice: American Leadership, or 'Dreams of My Father Phleger'

The Chicago Tribune lays out the contrasts between the two Presidential Candidates: Republican John McCain an experienced independent American Leader and War Hero and Senator Barack Obama a Chicago Hyde Park political chameleon with a powerful gift for oratory. thus:

McCain, vowing to restrain government spending, wants to extend the Bush tax cuts. Obama, proposing new spending for health care, wants to boost taxes on wealthier Americans. McCain pledges to prosecute the war in Iraq to a conclusive victory. Obama promises to bring troops home in 16 months.

"These two individuals represent about as stark a choice as we've ever had in American politics," said Darrell West, professor of political science at Brown University. "Voters are going to get what Barry Goldwater long ago promised — 'a choice instead of an echo.' "

He added, "The biggest differences are age, race and philosophy ... Those are things that translate into different perspectives on public policy."

Even their campaign styles seem to come from different worlds. Obama electrifies large arenas, while McCain is far more comfortable in smaller gatherings. Possibly because of this, McCain on Wednesday challenged Obama to a series of 10 town hall-style campaign debates.

"What we haven't seen are these two candidates face-to-face with one another," said David Lanoue, chairman of the political science department at the University of Alabama and author of "From Camelot to the Teflon President." "Clearly, Obama is a very inspiring, eloquent speaker. … He is best behind a podium with a prepared speech. McCain is best in a person-to-person situation with no prepared remarks."

"I think there is another dimension, and that is whether Barack Obama is seen as an elitist candidate," said Herb Asher, professor of political science at Ohio State University. "McCain will try to wrap himself in the mantle of change and present Obama as the agent of the wrong kind of change. ... It's really going to be a chance for Barack Obama to fill in the rest of his biography."


Discontent unites
And the choice arrives at a time when Americans are unified in one thing: their discontent.

Seven in 10 Americans are dissatisfied with the state of the nation, the latest Pew Center survey has found, and 27 percent of those surveyed in mid-May voiced disapproval of the job Bush is doing.

"The fundamentals are certainly going in a Democratic direction," Pew's Kohut said. "But there are rather sharp sets of really well-defined positives and negatives for each of these candidates, which makes it a much closer race."

mdsilva@tribune.com

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-obama-mccain-differencejun08,0,3350838.story

The biggest differences are not age, race and experience - hardly. They are the people each man brings to his corner- for John McCain, Medal of Honor recipient Col. Bud Day and for Senator Obama, domestic terrorist Billy Ayers and Mike Pfleger.

More significantly, Barack Obama, whom I early tagged as a political chameleon, comfortably moved among any political opportunists who could also help him: Rezko, Billy Ayers, Bernadine Dohrn, Illinois Senator Emil Jones, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Alice Palmer, and Pastor Mike Pfleger.

Click my post title for more.

John McCain: Harold Ford VP, Part II - The Kos Nut-Bags Hate Him - He's Gotta Be Great!

Howling like the denizens of Monkey Island at Chicagoland's Brookfield Zoo - Daily Kos Kosovoans want to Swift Boat Harold Ford - again. Calling on the Tool Shed - MSNBC to dump Harold Ford. They seem more interested in tearing down the Democratic Leadership Committee:

For whatever reason, MSNBC has hired former Representative and Senatorial candidate Harold Ford as a political commentator. OK fine. He is at least as qualified as is pal, Joe Scarborough, to comment, which isn't saying much. However, this once promising but sure-losing DLC (Democratic Leadership Conference)gospel no more represents current democratic movement thinking than the man in the moon.

MSNBC would do well to find a more relevant and interesting commentator.

Like Hillary and Bill Clinton, Ford doesn't seem to realize that the DLC era is OVER. A new train has left the station and Ford is not on it. Can he not spot the revolution occurring under his nose? The revolution that just put Obama over the top was every bit as much a repudiation of DLC politics as it was a rejection of Bush. When people demand CHANGE they mean to change business as usual politics as well. Not to be too simplistic, but The Obama revolution is a grassroots movement empowering people vs. traditional politcs that yields everything to the lobbyists and special interests who currently run our coutnry.

Tuesday night Ford sucked up valuable airtime extolling the virtues of John McCain, suggesting that Obama needed to be more like HIM. Close your eyes and you hear Joe Lieberman. I could barely stomach it, a LOSING democratic candidate pontificating on what Obama needs to do to win an election in 2008.

These clowns crack me up - sort of.

Click my post title for the full Kos squealathon. Check out the comments section and get a clear indication of the charcter of Obama's surrogates.


It seems that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is getting a serious consideration for the McCain VP spot, but the more I see the intense opposition of nut-jobs to Harold Ford, I just know this guy's gotta be great!

John McCain: Harold Ford for VP!

Here is another Maverick - Harold Ford heads the Democratic Leadership Committee, which is under attack by the DNC forces holding the Democratic National Elections hostage since 1972. Harold Ford, former Congressman of Tennessee, just might be the McCain Campaign's key to unlock disenfranchised Democratic voters in the Battleground States. Harold Ford has worked across the aisle and voted with Republicans on issues important to Americans who are voting or leaning toward John McCain.

After, Harold Ford pointed out the intrinsic dynamite in McCain's Kenner Speech the other night which lighted the hot bulb under the padded derriers of MSNBC Tools, HUFFPO's Cavalcade of Losers, pencil-neck geeks without portofolio all over the media, I saw the worth of this tough-minded American.

Harold Ford, is young, politically and media savvy, African American, Joe Biden Articulate, independent minded, honorable and available.

Most of all, like McCain, Ford has been swift boated - aplenty. Harold Ford would be a big help getting Democrats and Independents solidly in McCain's Camp, but would probably have goofballs like Hannity and Rush swallowing tongues of fire.

They are already lighting hotfoots on McCain anyway - twist a pig's ear and watching him squeal. Win in November, Senator McCain, and give them goofs employment for four years.

The DLC is Obama's worst nightmare - consider.

It is the opinion of the DLC that economic populism is not politically viable, citing the defeated Presidential campaigns of Senator George McGovern in 1972 and Vice-President Walter Mondale in 1984. The DLC states that it “seeks to define and galvanize popular support for a new public philosophy built on progressive ideals, mainstream values, and innovative, non-bureaucratic, market-based solutions." [4]

The DLC has supported welfare reform, such as the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 [5], President Clinton's expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit [6], and the creation of AmeriCorps [7]. The DLC supports expanded health insurance via tax credits for the uninsured and opposes plans for single-payer universal health care. The DLC supports universal access to preschool, charter schools, and measures to allow a greater degree of choice in schooling (though not school vouchers), and supports the No Child Left Behind Act. The DLC supports both NAFTA and CAFTA.

The DLC has both supported and criticized the policies of President George W. Bush. The DLC opposed the partial birth abortion ban, the expiration of the 1994 assault weapon ban, the Clear Skies Initiative, and what they perceived as a lack of funding of the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program. In 2001 the DLC endorsed the idea of tax cuts for the middle class, but then opposed the tax cuts favored by Bush, which they said favored the wealthy. The organization supports some forms of Social Security privatization but opposes financing private retirement accounts with large amounts of borrowed money.

Recently, the DLC also urged Senate Democrats to vote against Bush's nomination of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court "on principle", but firmly opposed any filibuster of the nominee.[8]


[edit] 2003 invasion of Iraq
The DLC gave strong support for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Prior to the war, Will Marshall co-signed a letter to President Bush from the Project for the New American Century endorsing military action against Saddam Hussein. During the 2004 Primary campaign the DLC attacked Presidential candidate Howard Dean as an out-of-touch liberal because of Dean's anti-war stance. The DLC dismissed other critics of the Iraq invasion such as filmmaker Michael Moore as members of the "loony left" [9]. Even as domestic support for the Iraq War plummeted in 2004 and 2005, Marshall reprised his right-wing credentials and called upon Democrats to balance their criticism of Bush's handling of the Iraq War with praise for the President's achievements and cautioned "Democrats need to be choosier about the political company they keep, distancing themselves from the pacifist and anti-American fringe."[2]


[edit] Criticism
The DLC has become unpopular within many progressive political circles.

Some critics claim the strategy of triangulation between the political left and right to gain broad appeal is fundamentally flawed. In the long run, so opponents say, this strategy results in concession after concession to the opposition, while alienating traditionally-allied voters. For example, critics point out that liberal Democrat Michael Dukakis won a larger share of the vote in his presidential campaign (46%) than Bill Clinton in his first campaign (43%), despite Clinton's more centrist positions.

Others contend that the DLC's distaste for what they refer to as "economic class warfare" has allowed the language of populism to be monopolized by the right-wing. Many argue that the Democrats' abandonment of populism to the right-wing, shifting the form of that populism from the economic realm to the "culture wars", has been critical for Republican dominance of Middle America. (See, for instance, Thomas Frank's What's the Matter with Kansas.)

Still other critics believe the DLC has essentially become an influential corporate and right-wing implant in the Democratic party. Marshall Wittmann, a former senior fellow at the DLC, former legislative director for the Christian Coalition, and former communications director for Republican senator John McCain, and Will Marshall, a vocal supporter of the war in Iraq, are among those associated with the DLC who have right-wing credentials.

Finally, detractors of the DLC note that the DLC has received funding from the right-wing Bradley Foundation as well as from oil companies, military contractors, and various Fortune 500 companies.


[edit] 2004 Presidential Primary
In May 2003, as the Democratic primary of the 2004 presidential campaign was starting to pick up, the organization voiced concern that the Democratic contenders might be taking positions too far left of the mainstream general electorate. Early front-runner Howard Dean, who attracted popular support due in large part to his anti-war views despite his reputation as a centrist governor of Vermont, was specifically criticized by DLC founder and CEO Al From. From's criticism of Dean was also likely due to the former governor's opposition to the war in Iraq, which most party centrists, including From, endorsed. Dean's claim to hail "from the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party" (a phrase originally used by Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota) has been interpreted by some as subtle criticism of the DLC and the New Democrats in general. Indeed, Dean once described the DLC as the "Republican wing of the Democratic Party." [10] The DLC countered that Dean represented the "McGovern-Mondale wing" of the Democratic Party, "defined principally by weakness abroad and elitist, interest-group liberalism at home."

Senator John Kerry won the Democratic primary and chose primary contender Senator John Edwards as his running mate. Both Senators are members of the Senate New Democrat Coalition, and the DLC anticipated that they would win the general election. In a March 3, 2004 dispatch, they suggested voters would appreciate Kerry's centrist viewpoints, imagining voters to say "If this is a waffle, bring on the syrup." [11]


[edit] 2008 Presidential Primary
In the Democratic primary in 2008, Senator Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton are both prominent members of the DLC, while presumptive nominee Senator Barack Obama opposes the DLC - in 2003, he discussed why his positions against NAFTA, the War in Iraq, and in support of universal healthcare were at odds with the DLC, saying that "...these positions make me an unlikely candidate for membership in the DLC. That is why I am not currently, nor have I ever been, a member of the DLC." [12]

John McCain: Harold Ford Got It Right - McCain Set the Bar Too High for Obama Last Night

The entire Soros Information Industry is trying to gut former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford. The Democratic Leadership Committee Chair, Ford warned the Obama campaign to study McCain's speech and learn something. The MSNBC Tool Shed giggled and Oafed.

Huffington Post - Hollywood Squares the political train set for coked out movie and TV has-beens, convicted check kiter Progressive theorists and all manner of trendy goofball has its collective panties in a twist because only Harold Ford realizes the power of John McCain's speech.

Atlantic fop-journalist Matt Yglesias - no relation to the singer - spits out this:

I thought it was strange that Harold Ford's on MSNBC right now deliberately sabotaging the Democratic Party, lavishly praising John McCain and McCain's speech. Then I remembered that Ford took over as head of the DLC so boosting the GOP is part of his job.

Well, Cupcake, here is what is very clear to most Americans and Harold Ford tried to wise you dummies up a bit:

Both Senator Obama and I promise we will end Washington's stagnant, unproductive partisanship. But one of us has a record of working to do that and one of us doesn't. Americans have seen me put aside partisan and personal interests to move this country forward. They haven't seen Senator Obama do the same. For all his fine words and all his promise, he has never taken the hard but right course of risking his own interests for yours; of standing against the partisan rancor on his side to stand up for our country. He is an impressive man, who makes a great first impression. But he hasn't been willing to make the tough calls; to challenge his party; to risk criticism from his supporters to bring real change to Washington. I have.

When members of my party refused to compromise not on principle but for partisanship, I have sought to do so. When I fought corruption it didn't matter to me if the culprits were Democrats or Republicans. I exposed it and let the chips fall where they may. When I worked on campaign finance and ethics reform, I did so with Democrats and Republicans, even though we were criticized by other members of our parties, who preferred to keep things as they were. I have never refused to work with Democrats simply for the sake of partisanship. I've always known we belong to different parties, not different countries. We are Americans before we are anything else.

I don't seek the presidency on the presumption I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save my country in its hour of need. I seek the office with the humility of a man who cannot forget my country saved me. I'll reach out my hand to anyone, Republican or Democrat, who will help me change what needs to be changed; fix what needs to be fixed; and give this country a government as capable and good as the people it is supposed to serve. There is a time to campaign, and a time to govern. If I'm elected President, the era of the permanent campaign of the last sixteen years will end. The era of reform and problem solving will begin. From my first day in office, I'll work with anyone to make America safe, prosperous and proud. And I won't care who gets the credit as long as America gets the benefit.

I have seen Republicans and Democrats achieve great things together. When the stakes were high and it mattered most, I've seen them work together in common purpose, as we did in the weeks after September 11th. This kind of cooperation has made all the difference at crucial turns in our history. It has given us hope in difficult times. It has moved America forward. And that, my friends, is the kind of change we need right now.

Thank you.

Harold Ford would be a powerful candidate in 2012. John McCain will have a tough time keeping such a smart and tough man out of the White House.

Sorry, Father Pfleger. You'd Like Us to Hate You, But We Can Not Oblige. Ignore, Yes!

Father Pfleger has the Chicago Sun Times, which helped create the character screaming all over You Tube, going flat-out to help save his Public Life.

Instead of going to the Catholic Parishes that Pfleger routinely smears as racist and offering a true apology, The Real Pfleger sniffled to his flock that he has received 3,000 hateful e-mails ( Is that All?) over his disgracefully racist rant at Trinity. He said he has received 'Death Threats,' which he should have reported to the Chicago Police Department - that group of brave men and women that he calls a 'systemically racist' army of occupation.

The Chicago Sun Times, a dying fool itself. offers this from Pastor Pfleger's Apology.


Hate me if you will. Hate my imperfect presentation. Hate my imperfect dramatization. Hate my imperfect articulation. I have never presumed to be anything but imperfect, but I pray I can still beat the drum of justice, even if sometimes I am off beat.

Thank you.

No Thank You, Father. You are finally out in the Public Eye, as the Man in Full.

We have always understood. You have made a career of scooping everyone that I love and respect in your convenient net. No Fisher of Men - Just a Poacher.

To make your life simple, your ministry, your enterprise, your agenda, your celebrity, your hubris, you have made me and my children, my parents, my brothers and sister, my extended family, my neighbors, my heritage, my moral foundation, my history, my identity and my Church as racist and two dimensional monsters.

I know other priests who have worked as hard as you for poor black people and with as much success in meeting their spiritual and temporal needs, but without the snap and fizz you demand in the Public Eye. They minister and that is tough and unsexy work.

You spit and vilify, get the media and attention necessary and run away for awhile. Works for you, until now.

Now, your sad and divisive methods are out in full. Endgame.

You ask us to Hate You. Sorry, I can not oblige. I ignore you.

John McCain: Electoral Map Looks Shaky, But Good for Mac! Senator, Don't Let The DNC Define the Campaign.

Senator McCain will get Democratic voters to support him - a great many Democratic Voters. According to Bob Novak's Electoral Map, it appears that McCain could scratch out a win -at this time. His problem is with Conservatives.

It seems to me that allowing the DNC to define the Campaign has made the McCain campaign team skittish with regard to Lobbyists.

From Novak:

Sen. John McCain, however, still does not appear organized to take advantage of Democratic disarray. His biggest problem may be failure to realize that the Republican coalition is not fully united behind him. The most recent defectors are lobbyists expelled from his campaign who are not happy about their treatment. We continue to hear complaints from evangelicals, economic conservatives, and other critics of McCain. The refrain continues from conservatives that maybe the country and the GOP need four years of Obama.

John McCain defined the Presidential Campaign last summer with his bold defense of the Surge in Iraq and No Surrender in the Global War on Terror.

Senator, that knocked Dean and DNC back on its heels - keep them there. The Surge has worked. Here is what DNC surrogates have to offer America.

"If the greatest command is to love, than the sin against love must be the greatest sin against God who IS love and who calls us to love one another. So that this greatest sin against God, racism, it's as natural as the air we breath." Father Michale Pfleger

Father Pfleger has a full color front page in Chicago Sun Times, which devotes itself to Obama's interests and America's most hated suspect Drew Peterson.

Father Pfleger, Tony Rezko, Jeremiah Wright, Billy Ayers, Bernadine Dohrn are stars in Obama's crown.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/06/rev-pfleger-ame.html

Democratic voters do not read Huffington Post, watch MSNBC, Dana Milbanks, or listen to Air America - those are DNC Progressives. Democrats have kids in Iraq and Afghanistan; Democrats drive back-hoes; Democrats pay double the tuition - taxes for failed Public Schools and Catholic/Private School tuitions; Democrats understand Straight Talk.

Senator McCain, Define Your Campaign - we will be with you! Unite America.

Democrats will support you.

John McCain: It's Crowded Under Obama's Bus! Get on the Straight Talk Express!

It is very, very crowded under Senator Obama's Bus!

1. Bitter Clinging Working Class & Gramma

2. Rev. Jeremiah Wright

3. Father Mike Pfleger

4. Trinty United Church of Christ

5. Billy Ayers

6. Tony Rezko

7. Bernardine Dohrn

8. Hillary Clinton

9. More to Come - Click my Post Title for more from Larry Johnson

10. Most Americans

11. Alice Palmer - added at 9:56 AM 6/1/08: H/t- Mr. John Rubery - Hawkeyed Reader, Thinker, Marathon Runner, Drinker of Imported and Specialty Domestic Malted Grain Beverages, and Patriot.
YIKES!!!

Calm Down, Folks. All is OK

The Straight Talk Express driven by Senator John McCain is driving the speed limit in all States -Con No Problemos!

John McCain: Bud Day Speaks of Service to a Cause Creater Than Oneself & Barack Obama Distances Himself from Friends and Quits His Church

ABARDEEN, S.D. (AP) Barack Obama is resigning a 20 year membership in Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ. It comes in the wake of inflammatory remarks by former Reverend Jeremiah Wright and a flap over derisive remarks by a visiting pastor last week targeting Hillary CLinton.

I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother – a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.
Seantor Barack Obama 2008

Throughout his life, John has fought for what he believes is right for the United States. He lives to serve causes greater than himself. He is running for president not to be somebody, but to do something.

That is courage. That is leadership.

John McCain is battle tested — in combat and in Washington. We served with John and know the truth: There is no better man to lead us through the challenging times our nation faces today and on to our best days that lie ahead.

Col. Bud Day 2008

John McCain: Chicago My Daily Observer Report & I got . . . got Boo-zed in Greendale, WI

I attended John McCain's Town Hall Meeting in Greendale, WI and asked a question about school choice to which Senator McCain articulated his Education agenda for his Presidency that embraces school choice,including vouchers and home schooling.

Click my post title for my report to Chicago Daily Observer - Chicago's Best Source for News and Commentary.

Strange. I mentioned that I was a Chicago Democrat and folks in the audience boo-ed me. It was noted today in the report by GREG J. BOROWSKI of Milwaukee Journal Sentinal

While the event was billed as an open forum, with no questions barred, the crowd Thursday was clearly in McCain's corner.

The only boos came when Pat Hickey stood up and identified himself as a Chicago resident and a Democrat. He quickly noted to applause: "There are a lot of us supporting Senator McCain."

Hickey, a teacher at a private school in Chicago, asked McCain about school choice, which McCain supports.

Other questions ranged from college affordability to the appointment of Supreme Court justices. All brought familiar responses.

One woman questioned McCain on the war and its cost to the economy.

"It's succeeding," McCain said of the war. "I can look you in the eye and tell you it's succeeding

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=756569

When I sat down I said, 'Hey, I'm for McCain.' The lady next to me offered with pitying eyes, 'It's not that you are a Democrat, Honey, but never wear a plaid sport coat when you're wearing striped britches.'

Duly noted, Ma'am.



McCain Photo by Marie T. Sullivan: Chicago Daily Observer Arts and Culture Editor

John McCain: Hugo Will Bully Lugo - Paraguay a Keystone in Democracy

While Americans ( Norte Americanos) up here in the Great Forty-Eight, with Alaska and Hawaii of course, parse gotcha phrases, gerundives and sentences,Rezko, Ayers, Wright, & etc., there is some serious history taking shape in South America.

Paraguay elected a Marxist Liberation Theology ( dish watered by Rev. Wright) and former Catholic Bishop Fernando Lugo as its President. Paraguay holds the energy keys to Brazil in the form of Hydro-Electric Power. Brazil has resisted the ministrations of Hugo Chavez who nationalized Venezuelan natural resources. Brazil and Paraguay are eye-ball to eye-ball over surplus electric power. Fernando Lugo seems close to Chavez.

Paraguay is the tipping point in the South American 'Pink Tide' that has swept Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina and other South American nations and seriously threatens Columbia.

The candidates for President need to address this coming flash point in the struggle for Democracy - Paraguay will be huge.

Here is a Wikpedia Sketch of President Lugo:

Fernando Armindo Lugo Méndez is a Paraguayan politician who won the April 2008 presidential election and is therefore president-elect of Paraguay.

A Roman Catholic bishop, he is associated with the Socialist International through the APC-coalition's Revolutionary Febrerista Party. He had requested laicization in order to run for office. However, the Holy See refused the request on the grounds that Bishops could not undergo laicization, and also denied him the requested canonical permission to run for civil elected office.[2] Subsequently following his declaration of candidacy, the Holy See imposed on him the penalty of suspension from the discharge of the ordained ministry, but did not dismiss him from the clerical state.[3]

John McCain is the only candidate with a clear policy on Latin America and directly points to the impact Paraguay will have on stability and peace in our Western Hemisphere.

Click my post title for some good background on this issue.

John McCain: Barack Obama - Post Turtle

This tale from Texas lore comes from Chicago Law Dog Michael Brennan, Esq.!

While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75 year old Texas rancher, who‘s
hand was caught in a gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a
conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to
Obama and his bid to be our President.

The old rancher said, 'Well, ya know, Obama is a 'post turtle'.'

Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a 'post
turtle' was.

The old rancher said, 'When you're driving down a country road and you
come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a 'post
turtle'.'

The old rancher saw a puzzled look on the doctor's face, so he
continued to explain. 'You know he didn't get up there by himself, he
doesn't belong up there, he doesn't know what to do while he is up
there, and you just wonder what kind of a dumb ass put him up there.'


Mel, over at Larry Johnson's No Quarter explains - click my post title!

Off to see Senator John McCain at Martin Luther High School in Greendale, WI - get some Straight Talking to there.

John McCain: Welcome Democrats! Back McCain; Fix the DNC and Party Later.

Dean has had his way with Democrats. Now, Democrats can fight back.

Larry Johnson's No Quarter has acted as a government-in-exile for Democrats scorned by the Obama Myth, but expected to cast happy ballots for the Junior Senator from Illinois. Hillary ran a vigorous campaign with the help of patriots like Larry Johnson. Now Dean and Barack Obama want them to shut-up, get in line and vote in November. They will Laddie Bucks!


Democrats who want to see America succeed in Iraq and in world approval, Democrats who tire of hearing abortion termed Choice, Democrats who want lower taxes, Democrats who see School Choice as a real opprtunity to right the listing American Public school systems, Democrats who pay the lion-share in taxes and are sickened by pork-barrel spending have a champion in John McCain.

John McCain will give Democrats a genuine opporrunity to take back the Party of Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy, Moynihan and Scoop Jackson with an Administration wedded to their principles. A John McCain Presidency will unite Americans and give Democrats the time to take back their Party from the elites and radicals and Hollywood PACs that have held the DNC in captivity for decades.

Here's what Obama's leaders offer:

( from No Quarter - click my post title for the full monty)

For starters Super Delegates should take a look at the terrific analysis presented by Peniel Cronin. Cronin uses cold hard facts to demonstrate that Hillary, not Barack, is most deserving of the support of the Super Delegates. She has won more votes and won more in states that will count for Democrats come the fall. I challenge any Obamaton to refute these facts. Please download and read: 2008caucusreport.pdf

But the Obama fantasy train wants passengers to believe that Hillary is behind. That Hillary cannot win. It is a damn lie. Having decisively won the most votes and crushed Obama in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky–as well as racking up victories in Florida, Texas, and California–the notion that Barack is most competitive for the fall campaign is laughable.

Unlike the Barack bulllies, Hillary and her followers are not threatening to set the streets of Denver on fire. They are not threatening to beat the crap out of police. Nope, we will argue facts. And thanks to folks like Peniel Cronin, there is hope that reason may prevail.

John McCain offers Democrats genuine Choice - not more Abortions.

John McCain" Arianna Huffington Endorses McCain's Reproductive Record!

The Grecian Formula for GOP Success, Arianna Huffington gave Senator John McCain a resoundingly powerful endorsement in today's Huffington Post - Hollywood Squares

Noted most for its panoply of low-budget Movie and TV lightweights as columnists and pundits, HUFFPO outdoes the satirical gem The Onion for laughs and giggles.

Arianna Huffington, her own bad self, gave Senator John McCain a huge boost with most American Voters, touting his long championship of Human Dignity. Thanks, Arianna!

Since 1983, in votes in the House and the Senate (where he has served since 1987), McCain has cast 130 votes on abortion and other reproductive-rights issues. 125 of those votes were anti-choice [pdf]. Among his voting lowlights:

He has repeatedly voted to deny low-income women access to abortion care except in cases of rape, incest, or danger to the mother's life (although McCain is now wavering on trying to put these exceptions into the party platform).

He voted to shut down the Title X family-planning program, which provides millions of women with health care services ranging from birth control to breast cancer screenings.

He voted against legislation that established criminal and civil penalties for those who use threats and violence to keep women from gaining access to reproductive health clinics.

He voted to uphold the policy that bans overseas health clinics from receiving aid from America if they use their own funds to provide legal abortion services or even adopt a pro-choice position.

Of his anti-choice voting record, McCain has said, "I have many, many votes and it's been consistent," proudly adding: "And I've got a consistent zero from NARAL" through the years. And last month he told Chris Matthews: "The rights of the unborn is one of my most important values."

What's more, McCain has made it very clear that if he becomes president he will appoint judges in the Scalia, Roberts, Alito mold. His big judicial speech earlier this month was filled with coded buzz words that make it clear that, if given the chance, he'd replace 88-year-old Justice John Paul Stevens with an anti-choice Justice who would tip the scales against Roe v Wade. Throw in an additional anti-choice replacement for the 75-year-old Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and you can kiss the right to choose good-bye for a long, long time.

That's why the unmasking of John McCain is job Number One between now and November.

The only way John McCain can win is if his reactionary views on choice and women's health issues remain obscured by his faux maverick reputation and the blinding disappointment of Clinton die-hards.

There is too much at stake to let that happen.

You Da Man-a, Arianna!

John McCain: The Road to Baghdad: 'Now, That's What I Call a Surge, Junior!'

Over the weekend, Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of McCain’s top surrogates, laid the groundwork for McCain’s criticism in a television interview in which he noted Obama’s absence from Iraq and floated the idea that Obama and McCain should go together to be briefed by Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Asked whether he’d be willing to take such a trip, McCain told the AP: ‘‘Sure. It would be fine.’’ ‘‘I go back every few months because things are changing in Iraq,’’ he said. McCain questioned whether Obama has ever been briefed by Petraeus. ‘‘I would also seize that opportunity to educate Senator Obama along the way.’’ Obama spokesman Bill Burton declined to respond directly to McCain. ‘‘Senator Obama thinks Memorial Day is a day to honor our nation’s veterans, not a day for political posturing,’’ Burton said.

Both McCain and Obama spent part of Memorial Day in New Mexico, a general election battleground that was decided by razor-thin margins in 2000, for Democrat Al Gore, and in 2004, for Republican President Bush. McCain used a speech at the New Mexico Veterans Memorial in Albuquerque to press his case against withdrawing troops from Iraq.

Coming Anytime Soon? The Road To Baghdad - Two Senators; One America

John Sidney McCain: 'You seem to think the world is just some sort of a three-ring circus, and all you've got to do is to run around and have fun.'

Barack Obama: 'I just want you to stand there and admire me for a while. I just got an idea that's gonna make us a fortune. I don't know how I do it. Hey, Mac! (Seeing the desert for the first time]
This must be the place where they empty all the old hourglasses.I can't go on! No food, no water. It's all my fault. We're done for! It's got me. I can't stand it! No food, nothing! No food, no water! No food!

John McCain: What's the matter with you, anyway? There's New York. We'll be picked up in a few minutes.

Barack Obama: You had to open your big mouth and ruin the only good scene I got in the picture. I might have won the Academy Award just like Al Gore! '

John McCain: Barry, from now on you are sacred, you just became a full-blooded American idiot. You've got red blood, ain't you?

(Barack is startledSeeing Terrorists for the first time)


Barack Obama: Yeah, but I don't want to get it all over a stranger.

John McCain: Go ahead, eat up son.

Barack Obama: Those guys don't monkey around, they've got knives, they're liable to try and get the food back the hard way.

CNN Reporter: Do you know him?
[pointing at McCain]

Barack Obama: Well I used to but I kinda outgrew him, I don't dally with riff-raff these days and he's a pretty riffy kind of raff.

John McCain, 'Let's leg it, Junior! Plenty more to see and do.'

N.B.
Quote redacted, like the DNC's pretzle of McCain's 100 years Comment, from Old Hope & Crosby Movies