Sarah Palin - Palin is Ready to Lead and Meet Her Critics - I Do Not Believe that They Will Care to Meet The Governor on a Level Playing Field

The front page of the Chicago Tribune features a nude painting done by a 69 year old artist - who employed his daughter as a model for Governor Palin. The Chicago Tribune editorial geeks are solidly behind Senator Obama. Along with the cork-screwing Sun Times, the Tribune engages in a daily beatdown of McCain or Palin. No big deal really as no one in Chicago seems to pay much attention to the Chicago editorial dweebs and pencil-necks who tend to live in lily-white suburbs while celebrating diversity.

With all the news that the Chicago Tribune is not covering - Tony Rezko, Willliam Ayers and their long and close associations with Senator Obama; another murdered Chicago Police Officer; multiple killings and shootings on the south and west sides; a moronic Governor bankrupting the State; Public Schools looting the budget and world wide terrorism; the editorial snobs decided to be edgy.

The painting is in no way offensive - its is badly done art, by what appears. It might be to Gov. Palin's father or her husband, but then again the 'artist' would cower behind freedom of speech and artistic expression to avoid a sound beating by either or both gentleman.

What is offensive is the 'nuanced' editorial gigglers. Nuanced means bullshit these days - Obama is 'nuanced.' Obama is using 'Middle Class' more than TV sit coms use 'Dude!' - when in fact, Obama committed to Trinity United Church of Christ which demanded that members 'disavow' the American Middle Class. That's Nuanced. The editorial Board at the Chicago Tribune is Nuanced.

The Chicago Tribune long ago shred its dignity along with editorial intelligence. No matter, people will stop buying the paper product and more hard working and effective people with the Tribune will be laid off - and the talentless and smugly mediocrities will soldier on.

The painting is of no consequence and even of less consequence is the Chicago Tribune.

A Chicago Police Officer was murdered by a drug-dealing thug - every day occurrence; the greatest financial catastrophe in decades brought on by Progressive nitwits and scam mortgage pirates; a simpleton Governor is bankrupting Illinois - but Chicago Tribune needs to mock the Governor of a solvent State running for Vice President.

Eric Zorn says that expectations for Gov. Palin are on the floor.

It is always great to hear someone display contempt and low-regard before a contest. Generally, it comes from someone who has never been in a fight, much less won one.

People who have actually acted in the interests of other people or been placed in a situation that requires dignity and courage from them never sneer at any combatant.

Most people, and Sarah Palin is like most people not Tina Fey, or Bill Maher or Sean Hannity, face life and the occasional opponent as if they were playing Notre Dame every day.

Then there are the nuanced - those who avoid the fights, the struggles, the commitments - and sneer.

On Thursday night Governor Palin will face a great Democratic foe in Senator Biden. She had best pack a big Lunch. She will do fine.

Then, Governor Palin and turn to chat with Salon, MSNBC, CNN, and the dweebs at Chicago Tribune. Pack a big energy bar cupcakes.

McCain/Palin: Chicago Sun Times Steve Huntley Praises McCain Presidential Leadership in Crisis

Steve Huntley, Chicago Sun Times columnist, bangs out a great evaluation of John McCain's Leadership during the Fannie Mae/Mac meltdown and DNC clown opera. While Obama does what he has done all of his career - wait, test the waters, get what he can and when pushed Vote Present - John McCain leads from the front. MSNBC is tripping over its agenda to clear the brush and right Obama's path - which he couldn't find without the Scout Masters holding his hand. John McCain knows the jungle and is out in front with a machete. By Columbus Day Obama will bedown in the polls by double digits.

Read Steve Huntley!

The bottom line: McCain was right last week when he said the rescue plan was on course for failure. Had Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi paid more attention to McCain's warning, heeded his call for a greater bipartisan spirit and acted on that advice instead of accusing him of political grandstanding, the headlines in today's paper might have been different. At the last minute it was Pelosi, not McCain, who waved the partisan red flag in a speech prior to Monday's vote. That likely doomed the Paulson plan by alienating the GOP ballots Pelosi needed to pass the bill since she didn't have enough Democratic votes lined up.

McCain's astute sizing up of the situation in Washington was just the latest example of a politician not known for expertise in economic matters proven to be right at key times on fiscal issues.

Just a week ago he came in for withering criticism from the Wall Street Journal and country club Republicans for suggesting that Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox should be fired because of the Wall Street meltdown. Now we learn from the SEC's inspector general that in 2006 the SEC staff "identified precisely the types of risks that evolved into the subprime crisis" but the agency failed to rein in the aggressive subprime investment practices of Bear Sterns, the first casualty in the meltdown. McCain, it turns out, was right to tag the SEC for failure to do its job.

McCain also proved prescient two years ago when he co-sponsored a bill to tighten regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They are the quasi-government mortgage underwriters at the epicenter of the financial crisis. Obama was silent on the issue.

Despite the stereotype presented about McCain, over the years he has demonstrated wisdom on economic issues.

This Just In! Air-Brushed Mo Dowd Banned from Straight-Talk Express!

Air-Brushed Mo, who looks like Dorian Gray's portrait in the 'For Real?' is reportedly banned from Plane McCain!
This from Ari at Firdoglake

Howard Kurtz drops this tidbit into his column:

The company may have been more pleasant than that of McCain aides, who have barred Dowd from the candidate's plane.

If the Obama campaign banned a FoxNews Reporter from the plane, I'm sure it would be the greatest crime against the first amendment ever committed. MoDo banned -- one sentence, no explanation.

Lacunae! as Mo would say!

McCain/Palin: Obama's Dreams of Class Warfare - He Fired the Opening Shot at the Debate

CNN - Obama second-string cheerleaders helped his Campaign Spin the Debate on Friday and craft an Obama Shot Heard Round the Nuanced Crowd!

Speaking about Friday's presidential debate, Obama accused McCain of not addressing working families.

"We talked about the economy for 40 minutes, and not once did Sen. McCain talk about the struggles that middle class families are facing every day," Obama said at a campaign event in Detroit, Michigan.

The economy took the lead in Friday night's presidential debate, as both candidates highlighted their plans to bring the United States out of what some are describing as the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

McCain on Sunday brushed off Obama's latest line of attack, saying he has "bigger things to worry about."

"Who does he think I was talking about when I said 'people on Main Street'? Who did he think I was talking about, about the necessity of helping the American taxpayers and income -- and Americans who are out there working and trying to keep their jobs?" he said on ABC's "This Week."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/28/campaign.wrap/


Yep, Obama is all about the Middle Class, Mainstreet, Non-Arugula buying 'bitter and clinging Bible Toting and gun packing Middle Class Bubbas! Rubes with Union Cards- real ones

These are Obama's Words from Dreams of My Father ( clique my Post Title for more on Obama Class Warrior):

Our rage at the white world needed no object, he seemed to be telling me, no independent confirmation; it could be switched on and off at our pleasure.” (page 81);
j) “Following this maddening logic, the only thing you could choose as your own was withdrawal into a smaller and smaller coil of rage, until being black meant only the knowledge of your own powerlessness, of your own defeat. And the final irony: Should you refuse this defeat and lash out at your captors, they would have a name for that, too, a name that could cage you just as good. Paranoid. Militant. Violent. Nigger.” (page 85);
k) “Frank opened his eyes: ‘What I’m trying to tell you is, your grandma’s right to be scared. She’s at least as right as Stanley is. She understands that black people have a reason to hate. That’s just how it is. For your sake, I wish it were otherwise. But it’s not. So you might as well get used to it.’ ” (page 90);
l) “Understand something, boy. You’re not going to college to get educated. You’re going there to get trained. They’ll train you to want what you don’t need. They’ll train you to manipulate words so they don’t mean anything anymore.” (page 97);
m) “I had stumbled upon one of the well-kept secrets about black people: that most of us weren’t interested in revolt; that most of us were tired of thinking about race all the time; that if we preferred to keep to ourselves it was mainly because that was the easiest way to stop thinking about it, easier than spending all your time mad or trying to guess whatever it was that white folks were thinking about you.” (page 98);
n) “To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully. The more politically active black students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists and punk-rock performance poets.” (page 100);
o) “There was one particular passage in Trinity’s (Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ pastured by Reverend Wright) brochure that stood out…”A Disavowal of the Pursuit of Middleclassness,’ the heading read. ‘While it is permissible to chase “middleclassness” with all our might,’ the text stated, those blessed with the talent or good fortune (no mention of “hard work”) to achieve success in the American mainstream must avoid the ‘psychological entrapment of Black “middleclassness” that hypnotizes the successful brother or sister into believing they are better than the rest and teaches them to think in terms of “we” and “they” instead of “US”!’” (page 284);
p) “I took the opportunity to study these tourists as Auma and I sat down for lunch in the outdoor café of the New Stanley Hotel. They were everywhere – Germans, Japanese, British, Americans – taking pictures, hailing taxis, fending off street peddlers, many of them dressed in safari suites like extras on a movie set. In Hawaii, when we were still kids, my friends and I had laughed at tourists like these, with their sunburns and their pale, skinny legs, basking in the glow of our obvious superiority.” (page 312)

He ought to get look at my pasty, Mick gams! That would get him off of Arugula!

What a phoney! That is why Obama plays so well with Olbermann, Matthews, Brown, Maddow, Blitzer, and the whole gang of Middle Class hating elites.

McCain/ Palin: Obama Clings to 'The Disavowal of the Middleclass' While Talking Up Middle Class - Both Sides of His Mouth Work Fine!

"Any black person who identifies himself as middle-class psychologically withdraws from the group and becomes a proponent of strengthening and sustaining the system,"
TRINITY UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

Obama embraced the 12 tenets of Trinity United Church of Christ, but his long and warm association with Re. Jeremiah Wright, a Black Liberation Theologian, became too dicey for his Presidential ambitions.

Obama, for twenty years, embraced the disavowal of the middleclass. He now chirps like a tit-willow in love with the American Middle Class.

Obama will do anything to President and those backing his campaign know that:

He embraced:

William Ayers, a domestic terrorist

Tony Rezko, a convicted real estate swindler and slumlord

Rev. Jeremiah Wright, preached loudly, strongly and continually for the disavowal of the American Middle Class

American Middle Class?

Wait for the bus to roll over you!

Click my post title for Eric Rush on the real Obama.

Sarah Palin - Change is Coming! Joe Biden will Limp Off Stage!

Tell the morons - Those Heights just past the water? That's Russia as seen from Alaska.

Sarah Palin has had to endure the contemptuous idiocies of likes Of Couric, Olbermann, Maddow, Maher, Matthews, Letterman, Fey and their Progressive print stooges and commenting lemmings in the blogosphere.

Wednesday night, the leash comes off the 'pitbull with lipstick.' Thursday Night - Hold the Phone, Joe!

Joe Biden, who massages his toncils with his Florsheims on a daily basis, will meet Sarah Palin for the first time and limp off the stage.

There will be no 'gottcha moments' orchestrated by sneaks like Couric who play on the good manners of Americans in order to serve up a victim. Couric and CBS have been a National Joke since the days of Gunga Dan Rather.

Sarah Palin was vetted by the McCain Campaign and the Media hate the fact that a genuine person in now poised to be a 'heart-beat away' from another genuine person.

Townhall's Bill Dwyer makes a nice bit of perspective.

I'm not saying that these photos and maps, by themselves, are any proof that Sarah Palin is ready to be a heartbeat from the presidency. I am saying that these photos and maps, by themselves, are indeed proof that she and others were telling the literal truth when they described Russia as sharing a border with, and being visible from, Alaska.


As for Gov. Palin's foreign affairs and national defense qualifications, however:

No job fully prepares anyone for the foreign policy and national defense responsibilities that attend the office of POTUS because no job shares more than a fraction of those responsibilities — including jobs like "Secretary of State" or "Secretary of Defense" or "U.S. Senator."

No new occupant of the office of POTUS has to undertake those responsibilities alone. Each is surrounded by advisers, including career professionals from the State and Defense Departments. In particular, any vice presidents who is suddenly elevated to the presidency is surrounded by advisers originally selected by their immediate predecessor, which would mean in the case of a hypothetical ascension by Sarah Palin to the presidency, advisers chosen by John McCain. As a former naval aviator and, then, commander of the Navy's largest air wing, and as a long-time senator with oversight responsibilities, active participation on the Senate Foreign Affairs committee, and — extraordinarily even for Senators — direct involvement in international negotiations (as when he led the United States' efforts to negotiate the resumption of diplomatic relations with the same regime that once tortured him as a POW) — John McCain's own foreign affairs and national defense credentials are among the most impressive held by anyone ever to run for president. He will put a sound system into place that would benefit a sudden successor, and he would also be a superb tutor of a co-executive in his administration whose own credentials on foreign affairs and national security are less deep than his own.

Although border state governors have more interaction with foreign affairs and border security matters than other governors, in our federal system that commits overall commander-in-chief responsibility and foreign affairs (head of state) primacy to the federal Executive, no state governor has executive experience on these matters comparable to that which must be exercised by the POTUS. State governors are, however, executives, with experience running large organizations of a sort that mere legislators at any level — including U.S. Congressmen and Senators — don't acquire. That's part of the explanation for why America has so often elected state chief executive officers (governors) to become the federal chief executive officer (POTUS), often with salutary results (see, e.g., Ronald Reagan's victory in the Cold War).

Even with the limited role that our system apportions to state governors as commanders-in-chief of their state national guards and the state executives ultimately responsible for law enforcement within their jurisdictions, those governors still have and wield executive authority that includes putting guard members' and law enforcement officers' lives on the line — in enforcement of criminal law, in handling civil disorders and riots, and in emergencies like forest fires and floods. They send them into harms' way; they direct their activities while there; and sometimes, they have go to the funerals and hand flags to grieving relatives. And among all state governors, the governor of Alaska — as the state leader with closest continual proximity to a hostile foreign state — does indeed have responsibilities and obtain defense briefings beyond those received by, for example, the governor of Arkansas (which need not fear hostile bomber overflights from Missouri). No one can seriously argue that this compares to actually being the POTUS. But it's not nothing, either. And of executive experience in general, or experience personally making decisions that have put anyone's lives on the line in particular, "nothing" is the exactly appropriate description for both Sens. Obama and Biden, because neither member of the Democratic Party's ticket can match Gov. Palin's experience of that sort (or any other state governor's, for that matter).

Obviously, Gov. Palin was selected not to augment McCain's own strengths, but to balance the ticket: A governor to complement a senator, someone with executive experience in government to complement an experienced federal legislator, youth and energy to complement age and experience. (The conspicuous exception is that they both share strong credentials as vigorous reformers.)

Sen. McCain did a great deal at last night's debate to dispel doubts about his age and mental crispness, and those who vote for him may do so with the full and reasonable expectation that he'll ably serve out at least one term. Gov. Palin's own record of accomplishments in office, along with her electoral appeal and the prospect that she will join him as a crusading reformer in Washington, amply justify her selection, and her gubernatorial experience will match that of another young and dynamic GOP vice presidential nominee upon assuming office — one T.R. Roosevelt of New York. And when he suddenly ascended to the top job, he only did well enough to get his face on Mt. Rushmore.

McCain/Palin: 'I Have a Bracelet, Too' and Absolutely No Clue What It Means!

c

CLICK MY POST TITLE FOR BARACK OBAMA'S "I HAVE A BRACELET,TOO!" Speech - 'thigh-tingling' . . .say the New York Times and Milky Mattews!!!!!

'From Sgt , Uh . . .'

Collect them All, Kids! Be A Real Commander in Chief! Just like the Big Guys!

Madre De Dios! The Kid's A Caution!

Here's another such reaction from the New York Post.

One of last night's most telling moments came when McCain revealed a wristband that had belonged to a soldier killed in Iraq given to him by the soldier's mother. Do everything in your power, the mother told McCain, to make sure "my son's death was not in vain."

"I've got a bracelet, too," Obama said - given to him by the mother of a dead soldier who asked Obama to "make sure that another mother's not going through what I'm going through."

Here lies the difference between these two men:

Obama will accept defeat if continuing on hurts too much. For McCain, any mission where defeat is an option is a mission not worth fighting in the first place.

Charles Hurt is The Post's DC Bureau Chief

.

churt@nypost.com

Barney Franks Sings The ACORN Song - In The Tank and On the Stage for His Patrons

The Acorn Song

I'm a little acorn brown,
Sitting on the cold cold ground,
Every body steps on me,
That is why I'm cracked you see.

Chorus:

I'm a nut
I'm a nut
I'm a nut, I'm a nut, I'm a nut


Called my self up on the phone,
Just to hear my glorious tone,
Asked myself out on a date,
Gotta be ready at half past eight.

(Chorus)

Took myself to the movie show,
Sat me down in the very front row,
Wrapped my arms around my waist,
Got so fresh I slapped my face.

(Chorus)

Coca cola came to town,
Pepsi cola shot him down,
Dr. Pepper fixed him up,
Now we all drink 7-up.

7-up got the flu,
Now we all drink Mt. Dew;
Mt. Dew got in a fight,
Now we all drink Lots of Sprite.*

I'm a little piece of tin,
Nobody know what shape I'm in,
Got four wheels and a running board,
I ain't a Chevy and I ain't a Ford.

Honk, Honk, Rattle, Rattle, Crash, Beep Beep,
Honk, Honk, Rattle, Rattle, Crash, Beep Beep!



*Other Soda verses can be added at this point:
(Extended Dance remix version)

Lot'sof Sprite was a thug,
Now we all drink lots of Mug
Lot's of Mug went to lunch,
Now we all drink Hawaiian Punch.

Hawaiian Punch liked to splurge,
Now we all drink lots of Surge,
Lot'sof Surge became a father,
Now we all drink lots of water.



Click my Post Title for Barney and ACORN

“Bad manners make a journalist.” Oscar Wilde on Sarah Palin

“A true gentleman is one who is never unintentionally rude”

Allow me, Governor.

Sarah Palin, though a resident of Alaska lives in my neighborhood. Katie Couric, Charlie Gibson, Chris Rock, Bill Maher, Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow, Campbell Brown, Chris Matthews and all of your critics do not.

Sarah Palin, like my neighbors, Democrats largely, white and black, Catholic and Protestant,. . . Danny Levi who owned the Irish Temple Pub died last year, so Jews are scarce immediately - alot of Muslims near by.

They are great people with wonderful manners, even during Little League . . .not so much during softball, or Catholic League Games - can get contentious.

People in my neighborhood, like in Kankakee, IL, Elyria, OH, Bettendorf, IA or Moscow, WI are unfamiliar with creepy people. We pay Cable, Satellite and DISH companies for that. That is the only way boors get in our homes.

The gottcha game on TV is understood. Like I said Sarah Palin, is unfamiliar with jerks. People in the media capitalize on the good nature and manners of people. The more off-putting or ridiculous statement or lie tossed in the face of good person like Sarah Palin, stuns and is meant to stun. Good manners and propriety in a social setting, like an interview keep good people from responding to a stupid, misleading or offensive question.

The more stupid, misleading and offensive the jerk happens to be, the bigger the geek ( once freaks in side-shows who performed disgusting acts for pay) the bigger the network cache.

There will be plenty of time for Vice President Sarah Palin to let Katie, Keith, Rachel, Chris, Charlie and the others in on 'what makes her tick.' That will be must see TV.

In the mean time allow me to offer a sound byte you may wish to employ in the mean time:

Katie: 'Governor what makes you think . . .'

Sarah: 'Why, We call that a thought muscle up in Wasilla Katie.'

Keith: ' William Howard Taft . . .'

Sarah: 'The poor guy is dead, Keith. He left an empty space in many hearts. And in his environment. Really. Are you still biting the bubbles in the bathtub, Keith?'


Charlie: 'What is the Bush Doctrine?'

Sarah: ' It is the codification of beliefs, attributed to George W. Bush our 43rd President that holds that pussies in pinz nez glasses acting like Rex Harrison after a sponge bath by Paul Begala have about three seconds before my husband Todd reenacts Sonny kicking Carlo's ass from Godfather - that's a film Charley . . .here's Todd now!'

Rachel: 'With . . .'

Sarah: 'Not even With an Act of God Rachel. But bless you for asking!'

Chris Matthews: 'How . . .'

Sarah: 'Answer the Question Chris this is Hardball! This isn't Funny! Answer! "What Are You Stupid? My God ! "He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.” Winston Churchill said that about You Chris!'

McCain/Palin: Stephen Hayes - The Real Story on the Franks, Dodd, Reid, Schumer Mad Haters Tea Party!

Read Stephen Hayes's account of the events concerning the Balls Up on Wall Street Crisis - created by Franks, Reid, Schumer and Dodd; dumped on the American Taxpayer; endangering the American Economy; and scuttling Obama's Auadacious Hopes of a Redistribution of Waelth President.

These four weasels and their Media stooges should be run out of office - for starters.

Stephen Hayes presents a genuine piece of reportage:

Yesterday afternoon, I went to CNN to talk about bailout politics. When I arrived, I was surprised to learn from the other two panelists--CNN's Gloria Borger and the Washington Post's Dana Milbank--that a deal on an amended version of the Treasury Department's $700 billion bailout plan was close. I was surprised because I had been hearing the opposite--that House Republicans were increasingly opposed to a deal and that such a deal seemed less likely yesterday than it was when the plan was originally proposed. But others, including the Associated Press, were reporting that a deal was imminent.

Then, earlier today, the AP reported that such a deal had, in fact, been reached. The Washington Post soon followed, in an article that strongly suggested McCain was irrelevant to the process and reported that he had arrived after a deal had been struck.


McCain's "Straight Talk Air" landed at National Airport just after noon, and McCain's motorcade sped toward the Senate. But by then, senior Democrats and Republicans colleagues were already announcing that a deal in principle had been reached.


The Obama campaign gleefully sent the Post story out to reporters at 4:22 and affixed its own headline: "'Straight Talk Air' lands after deal was announced."

So what happened? I'm not sure anyone knows the full story, but here is my take. When John McCain announced that he was suspending his campaign, Democrats moved quickly to portray the decision as strictly political. (Senator Chuck Schumer said as much in an interview on CNN.) An
important element of their case was convincing reporters that a deal was close and McCain presence was (a) unnecessary, (b) potentially detrimental, or (c) both.

But that's a hard case for them to make for two reasons. First, Harry Reid. On Wednesday Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had explicitly called for McCain to use his influence as party leader to bring House Republicans along. "We need, now, the Republicans to start producing some votes for us," Reid said. "We need the Republican nominee for president to let us know where he stands and what we should do." Reid explained that McCain was crucial to any deal because his approval of a deal would give congressional Republicans political cover necessary to sign on to a bipartisan agreement. The second reason: House Republicans were never on board. Earlier this week, they gave Vice President Dick Cheney an earful about their opposition to the deal. Yesterday morning, a group of about 50 conservative House Republicans got together and when one speaker asked for a show of hands from those who support the bailout, less than a handful said they were likely to support it. One staffer for a Republican in House leadership said: "Understand one thing. House Republicans were never on board."

By this morning, Senator Christopher Dodd and Representative Barney Frank--the two lead congressional Democrats on this issue--were telling reporters that a deal was close. But according to House sources, those claims were nonsense. "This was a smart political move by Senator McCain--working in a bipartisan fashion to try to get something done," says a senior House Republican aide. "It's something he's done in the past." Democrats, this Republican says, immediately began plotting to deny McCain credit for a deal if one was reached and to blame him if a deal was not reached.

Click my post title for the full Magilla! These creeps ( Franks, Dodd, Schumer, Reid)need an old fashioned tar and feathering! Obama has no clue about what is going on - he's being Presidential - President of Waffles!


Hayes! America owes you a beer the size of Senator Obama's hubris!

McCain/Palin: McCain Is Leading and Obama is . . .Posturing. Should Be a Great Debate!

For all of Obama's 'thigh-tingling and soaring words,' he does not get it. Country over self; service over self-interest; sacrifice over personal interest.

McCain understands and lives those tenets. Obama is the deer in the head-lights. The moving vehicle rolling at him is Service, Leadership and Command Presence. He called for a limo and finds a forty foot Peterbilt hauling Commitment roaring at him.
Jump to the curb, Senator!

McCain was begged to help bailout Reid, Dodd,Schmer, and Barney Franks. He came. He saw the disaster and now he is helping fix the boondoggle created by the redistribution of wealth nutbags. The Genii is out of the bottle and Obama is running to Old Miss!

You know what, Senator? McCain will be in Old Miss, even if he stays in D.C. - this call to service can not be called back.

"When you start injecting presidential politics into delicate negotiations, you can actually create more problems, rather than less," Obama said on CNN.

Aides from both camps were moving ahead with preparations at the University of Mississippi, where officials expressed confidence that the debate would take place on time this evening at 9 o'clock.

Some leading strategists in both parties have said the first debate could be the most decisive moment in the campaign, no matter when it happens.

Karl Rove, who guided George W. Bush's rise to the White House, has said "it may be the fall's most critical event."

But many other strategists, including some deeply involved in the presidential campaign, say the cumulative effect will be more important than any single encounter.

"It's not until you get through all three of them that you see the ultimate impact," said Bill Carrick, a Democratic campaign veteran.

John McCain's chief pollster, Bill McInturff, said much the same thing this week. The Republican strategist described the period of the presidential and vice presidential debates - from today until Oct. 15 - as "a two-and-a-half-week black hole" in the flow of the campaign.

"Something's going to happen," the McCain adviser told reporters. Including next week's vice presidential face-off, "we'll have four debates. We'll wait three or four days after those last debates are over, and we'll know where we're at."

Those with experience in national campaigns agree these events have the potential to sway the outcome of a presidential contest that remains highly competitive.

McCain seemed to have scored a tactical victory in the lead-up to his first meeting with Obama, once again shaking up the race and perhaps providing himself with new talking points tonight.

McCain/Palin: Barney Hisses 'Republicans Winces, But WE HAVE OUR GIGI!"

Wince? Wince, Barney?


Get this. Barney Franks who was instrumental in over-catering the mortgage give away affair that collapsed American Credit is hissing mad about John McCain's Leadership and wants none of it!

Here's the Scoop, Dears! Barney whispered to The Crypt's deliciously available Ryan Grim ( dear me - The Crypt? Grim?)

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said that "nobody mentioned McCain" during the several-hour-long meeting on the $700 billion market rescue plan, other than Frank and that his Republican colleagues "winced" when he did.

"He’s been irrelevant to the process. He remains to be," said Frank. "I was afraid that his dropping in here, like Andy Kaufman’s Mighty Mouse—'here I am to save the day'—I thought that would slow things down. I didn’t see any sign of our Republican colleagues paying any attention to him whatsoever."

Franks went on. "Nobody mentioned him. The man’s irrelevant to the whole process. No Republican mentioned his name. I’m the only one who raised his name. They winced when I did," he said.

"I don’t think anyone takes that seriously," said Frank of McCain's suggestion that Friday's debate be delayed. "Sen. McCain trying to use the necessity for his presence to reach a deal that we’ve already reached as a reason to duck the debate is unworthy of him. There is absolutely no reason not to go to the debate."

Frank was equally cool about today's meeting with the White House. "The White House isn’t show and tell. We’re going to the White House because the president asked us to go. Nobody thinks at this point that anything useful’s going to happen. But we now have to get things drafted and worked on. The White House meeting is just an interruption in our schedule," he said.

Though he said McCain's presence would be unhelpful, he did say, getting a dig in at McCain's running mate, that there "were times when I was ready to suggest that, when we got to some of the more complicated issues about how do you price these sophisticated instruments, that we ask him to make Sarah Palin available to give us her expertise."

They winced - positively winced! Which originally, Dears, meant 'to dodge!' Adorable!

Barney Franks and many more than one member of his Committee will be dodging 'more' than a few inquiries with regard to the collapse of American Banking and the near collapse of the American Economy. Barney Franks sounds like a marble salesman with a mouthful of samples to begin with and his answers to the American People had better be more than hissing at John McCain's Leadership.

Pretty slipshod and quick work on the legislation there, Barney. It had better pass McCain's muster.



Main Entry: wince
Pronunciation: \ˈwin(t)s\
Function: intransitive verb
Inflected Form(s): winced; winc·ing
Etymology: Middle English wynsen to kick out, start, from Anglo-French *wincer, *guincer to shift direction, dodge, by-form of guenchir, probably of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German wenken, wankōn to totter — more at wench
Date: circa 1748
: to shrink back involuntarily (as from pain) : flinch
synonyms see recoil
— wince noun

McCain/Palin: McCain Acts - Obama Waffles Present Again, Time and Time Again

'Time and Time Again' is one of Senator Obama's throw-away lines when he paints himself into a tight corner, like the Surge; whether he heard Rev. Wright 'God Damn American in twenty years; when, how and to what extent Senator Obama worked under domestic terrorist William Ayers; how much he depended on the money and influence of Tony Rezko; or how strongly Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson helped direct his run for the White House.

Time and again Senator Obama has sat pat and allowed events and Media propaganda to sweep away his problems. Not so this dire financial bail-out crisis gripping America.

Obama wants to have his waffles and eat them too.

McCain puts Country before his own Hopes and wants:

Democrats had dared Sen. John McCain to show leadership on the Wall Street crisis and he stepped up. He put his campaign on hold Wednesday and challenged Sen. Barack Obama to postpone Friday's debate, which Democrats had hoped to turn into a forum on failed Republican economic policies.

Less than a month after he canceled the first night of the Republican National Convention, Mr. McCain again flashed his signature maverick style, declaring President Bush's proposed $700 billion bailout dead and, as he's done so often in the past, said he could help broker a bipartisan deal to cut through the political clutter.

Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama refused to cancel the debate, but Wednesday night accepted an invitation from President Bush to a bipartisan summit on the economic bailout package that also will include Mr. McCain and other top members of Congress and the administration.

In rejecting Mr. McCain's debate postponement, Mr. Obama said the Republican showed his own limits rather than real leadership.

"It is going to be part of the president's job to deal with more than one thing at once," Mr. Obama told reporters in Florida. "If it turns out that we need to be in Washington, we've both got big planes - we've painted our slogans on the side of them - they can get us from Washington, D.C., to Mississippi fairly quickly."

Mr. Obama's campaign said he called Mr. McCain at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, proposing a joint statement on the economic situation. The two men again spoke privately at 2:30 p.m., but minutes later, Mr. McCain then went much further and told reporters that he wanted to postpone all politicking.

The McCain campaign said last night that Mr. Obama's refusal would not affect their plans. The Arizona senator announced that he was canceling his political commercials and would return to Washington after a final nonpartisan speech Thursday to the Clinton Global Initiative. He also said he was suspending fundraising, though the link on his Web site for contributions to his campaign compliance fund still worked Wednesday night.

Mr. McCain said top leaders from both parties should meet and hammer out details of a bill that that they would then present to their colleagues as the best solution possible - exactly the way he has crafted deals on other major issues, such as judicial nominees and immigration.

Just as he did more than forty years when offered the chance to leave the Hanoi Hilton, McCain has acted in the interest of his country.

"I am confident that before the markets open on Monday, we can achieve consensus on legislation that will stabilize our financial markets, protect taxpayers and homeowners, and earn the confidence of the American people," he said. "All we must do to achieve this is temporarily set politics aside, and I am committed to doing so."

It's the second time in less than a month that he's tried to show leadership by canceling a political event. Just weeks ago, he pulled commercials and scrapped most of the first day of the Republican National Convention, saying he didn't want to distract from the relief efforts surrounding Hurricane Ike.

Americans see that. Obama does not understand that. The Media ignores that and worse . . . they mock that.

McCain?Palin: Seth Pie-Gallon's Progressive Thoughts on McCain/Palin, Racism, Classism, Systemic Gaming Systems, Sweet Movies

I'm* talking about the Bail Out Crisis because Old Man Hickey already did and said that he is against the bail out which means I am for it. God, I hate him! Mean People Suck! He Hates the Dead. Hickey listens to the Young Rascals - they had a TV show I guess. He's all about black white. I hate him! Hickey Sucks!

I read Steve Weber in Huffington Post, because Hickey hates him and the show Wings was pretty cool I guess its on Lifetime Channel and my Mom watches it. Steve Weber is one of the guys on the show but he's really smart.

Weber is really smart and knows stuff like this about the bail out I highlighted the really fetch stuff he says - he reads books, I guess. Check it out, Dude:

The fraudulent grounds for what will be an even larger haul than what was bagged by The Shakedown in Iraq have been laid out by the latest Bush henchman Machine Gun Henry Paulson and his sidekick Binky Bernanke: almost a trillion buckeroos pulled from the remaining orifices of the now officially comatose American public to bail out the very wankers who have picked them clean. Wow. Even Winston Smith is dumbfounded.

It's like watching a rape from a few feet away only nobody's screaming and nobody cares. So desensitized and dehumanized is the American public that the thieves are sure to get away clean. This will surely become a fascinating chapter in the history of the late, great United States for future students to study. They will see the deleterious effects of constant exposure to television, an educational and entertainment tool that was used for nefarious purposes by Those Greedy Bastards. They will build dioramas of the massive shopping boxes which perched like roach motels in cities and towns, drawing people in to consume beyond their means to digest, beyond their means to afford. They will study the steady reduction of standards of education and information, the virtual obliteration of history and they will note the side effects: progressive brain softening and deterioration of free will and the diminution of once proud swaths of the American public to atrophied, docile clods, roused only when their sugar is withheld or one of their pagan gods is criticized.

That is so cool! I hate Sarah Palin and she makes me sick! Alaska is near Russia - yeah. God is she stupid and McCain can't work a e-mail. O Hate them Obama Rules we're all getting a tax-cut, health care, and no War. Only racists are for McCain and Old People like Hickey.

The bail out will be good because there was this guy on MSNBC and he said Bush did nothing for Africa. I'm tired. I think Rachel Maddow is Hot!

Vote Obama on November 5th! Tina Fey reminded me!





*Seth Pie-Gallon Bio:

Seth Pie-Gallon is a film & television writer/producer living in America's Heartland -- Peotone, IL. He's the founder of The Department of Homeland Narcissism, a grassroots initiative demanding an apology from President George W. Bush for the offenses of his two terms. He's also founder of the groups: Democrats for Levi Strauss, Progressives Against Parsnips, and Please Don't Hit Me.com. His new book is Pardon My Algorithms: Ready-to-Mail Apologies for Eight Years of Undergraduate. Seth Pie-Gallon is a member of Ward Churchill Study Group and the Michael Moore Subway Sandwich Fellowship.

Kill The Bill! Let There Be Blood on Wall Street - America Will Recover.

With every nickel in my couch and dollar in the pockets of my great fitting and casually male Dockers going to Wells Fargo Mortgage, ComEd, Peoples Gas, AT&T, WOW Cable, County Fair Grocery Store, Kean Gas, St. Cajetan Parish & School, Cook County Treasurer, City of Chicago Departments. of Revenue, & Water, the odd meal out and to the kids in my role as ATM Machine, I hope and pray that this scummy bail out bill dies a quick and horrible death.

With the very same voices ( Frank, Dodd, Obama, & etc.) of oily concern ,who demanded that every American deserves a home, even if he/she can not anywhere near afford it, clamoring for this bail out of the scum-bag pirates and smarmy politicians, I pray that this bill dies an agonizing death.

The American Market will adjust. People will still stand in line for XXXBOX -9000 Game Systems; IPod Universals; and LaLaPalooza Tickets at $ 165 a pop! Moms will not be saving bacon drippings. Dads will not be shingling the roofs with the soles of cast off Reebok's.

My kids will not be saddled with any more debt than they deserve. And when Old Pappy sheds his mortal husk, the 19th Ward can pick up his bones and offal -- Conor, My Son, when tossing Old Dad out into the Blue Can ( after the Last Rites of Course to Ensure Daddo the Proper Send-Off) - put my 1959 Replica White Sox Hat on me, before Mick Murray and the boys on Big Blue Truck pick me up - Mick wants the hat.

McCain/Palin: Barack Obama Is the Man Who Never Was

Way back when Barack Obama decided to become a national icon of post-racial politics and the agent of change, he no longer was seen publicly with the people from the Chicago Wards who helped get him elected to the Illinois Senate and the U.S. Senate. I commented on this fact in a blog that I was once a contributor - Illinoize. I stopped writing for that local blog during the goofy and failed BIG BOX Ordinance idiocy orchestrated by SEIU ( one of Obama's crucial political organizations). I criticized SEIU for masquerading as a labor union and noted the willingness of the already co-opted Media in playing dress up for that redistribution of wealth agenda.

Obama became a figure. I vote for a person and I hitched my vote to John McCain who happened to be a Republican. All of Obama's wardrobe has been designed and cut by Progressives and that is why Obama is never seen with Ward level Democratic volunteers or leaders. He is post-political -doncha know? The very people who Obama sneered at in San Francisco ( working class people Catholics, Jews, and Protestants) helped bring him to elected office. Obama needed the Chicago Democratic Ward level help -in that case the Machine helped Obama more than he helped the Chicago Machine. The goofs who did McCain's Chicago Ad should have spent a little time with a Chicagoan. Not that he'd say anything - 'I don' know nuttin' see! Dis Canary don' sing, see?' So, the Mad Men did what most Chicago films do - background shots - and missed the true nature of the truth.

But, Obama became a Progressive clotheshorse and wore raiment of their cookie-cutter pose of a leader.

Today, Tony Blankley got to heart of Obama's problem - the Man is Not Genuine. He is like the Man Who Never Was from WWII.

The image of Barack Obama that the press has presented is not a fair approximation of the real man. They have consciously ignored whole years in his life, and showed a lack of curiosity about such gaps that bespeaks a lack of journalistic instinct. Thus, the public image of Mr. Obama is of a "Man who never was." I take that phrase from a 1956 movie about a real life WWII British intelligence operation to trick the Germans into thinking the Allies were going to invade Greece, rather than Italy, in 1943. Operation "Mincemeat" involved the acquisition of a human corpse dressed as a Maj. William Martin, R.M. and put into the sea near Spain. Attached to the corpse was a brief-case containing fake letters suggesting that the Allied attack would be against Sardinia and Greece.

To make the operation credible, British intelligence created a fictional life for the corpse — a letter from a lover, tickets to a London theater, all the details of a life — but not the actual life of the dead young man whose corpse was being used. So, too, the man the media has presented to the nation as Mr. Obama is not the real man.

Absolutely, Sir! Obama makes Hollywood look Genuine. Obama makes what passes for journalism these days look like the real deal. Obama's past and associations are guarded like weapons grade plutonium - unless of course in the former Soviet Union. The very people howling for Obama are not what one might consider Genuine -Bill Maher,The View, MSNBC, Pamela Sue Anderson, P-Diddy, Tony Rezko, Jeremiah Wright, William Ayers, Keith Olbermann and Tom Hayden. Genuine clowns to be sure, but persons?

There is a genuine problem with Barcak Obama's will to be anything but Genuine and Tony Blankley says it better than anyone else.

The public image of Mr. Obama as an idealistic, post-race, post-partisan, well-spoken and honest young man with the wisdom and courage befitting a great national leader is a confection spun by a willing conspiracy of Mr. Obama, his publicist David Axelrod and most of the senior editors, producers and reporters of the national media.

Perhaps that is why the National Journal's respected correspondent Stuart Taylor has written that "the media can no longer be trusted to provide accurate and fair campaign reporting and analysis." That conspiracy has not only photo-shopped out all of Mr. Obama's imperfections (and dirtied up his opponent Mr. McCain's image), but it has put most of his questionable history down the memory hole.

The public will be voting based on the idealized image of the man who never was. If he wins, however, we will be governed by the sunken, cynical man Mr. Obama really is. One can only hope that the senior journalists will be judged as harshly for their professional misconduct as Wall Street's leaders currently are for their failings.

Tony Blankley is a syndicated columnist.

Click my post title for the full article!

McCain/Palin: The World of Commander Joe McBragg! 'Afghanistan . . .Quite!'

Commander Joe McBragg: 'Afghanistan - there! Have I ever told you of my adventures there! Thus,

"If you want to know where Al Qaeda lives, you want to know where Bin Laden is, come back to Afghanistan with me," Biden said. "Come back to the area where my helicopter was forced down, with a three-star general and three senators at 10,500 feet in the middle of those mountains. I can tell you where they are."

America - Astounding, Commander!

McBragg - Quite.

Cue Theme Song!
The World of Commander McBragg Theme Song:
This is the World of Commander McBragg
Your hair will curl in the World of McBragg.
He fights monsters galore
And then asks for still more
Or so says the brag of McBragg.

When on the hill the marines plant a flag
They may be led by Commander McBragg.
With a cannon in hand
He can beat any band
Or so says the brag of McBragg.

Fencing and fighting and round table knighting
And slaying of dragons, too.
Shipping and sailing and great harpoon whaling
There's nothing McBragg can't do.
Hunting and trapping and gold miner mapping
And flying to Timbuktu.
Roping and riding and Indian guiding
Commander McBragg comes through.

This is the World of Commander McBragg
Your head will whirl in the World of McBragg.
He can do anything
In his world he's a king
Or so says the brag of McBragg.

http://soundtrackslyrics.com/a/tvthemes/tvthemes/World-of-Commander-McBragg.html

McCain Palin: Obama is Dull, But He is Really Shrill

There's Atheists and then there's atheists. The other day I read a piece in Newsweek, an organ of Camp Obama, by Sam Harris. Sam Harris is the leader of the Reason Project dedicated 'to encourage critical thinking and wise public policy. It will convene conferences, produce films, sponsor scientific research and opinion polls, award grants to other non-profit organizations, and offer material support to religious dissidents and public intellectuals — with the purpose of eroding the influence of dogmatism, superstition and bigotry in the world.'

Harris and HBO bigot Bill Maher a key player in the Reason Project smear and assault any and all religion. Harris attacked Sarah Palin as an icon of all Harris and Maher consider to betoo stupid to live. We are breathing their rarefied air it seems.

Harris is a punk philosopher, born in the age of 'don't hit him, he's weak.'

“Let me confess that I was genuinely unnerved by Sarah Palin's performance at the Republican convention. Given her audience and the needs of the moment, I believe Governor Palin's speech was the most effective political communication I have ever witnessed. Here, finally, was a performer who—being maternal, wounded, righteous and sexy—could stride past the frontal cortex of every American and plant a three-inch heel directly on that limbic circuit that ceaselessly intones "God and country." If anyone could make Christian theocracy smell like apple pie, Sarah Palin could.

http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2008/09/sam_harris_on_s.html

Theocracy? What manner of coinage does Brother Harris Use? Still says 'In God We Trust' behind George Washington's neck on all the U.S. Minted quarters that I toss into theparking meters. Sam Harris and Bill Maher hate religion like the Inquisistion hated heresy. 'Bastinado, for you Mrs. Murphy!'

Well Sam Harris is an atheist. Thene there's Chris Hitchens, the British wit and critic of religion. Christopher Hitchens has no truck for Church-going, Psalm-singing Rubes, but he genuinely loves them.

Where Harris and Maher have entered the lists as God Mocking Knights of the Woeful Countenance, Christopher Hitchens observes the battle from the grandstands of intellectual inquiry.

He is not 'unnerved' by Governor Palin, but he is bored by Barack Obama, who is not a Muslim, but a devout Christian without a Church, until after the election.

Why is Obama so vapid and hesitant and gutless? Why, to put it another way, does he risk going into political history as a dusky Dukakis? Well, after the self-imposed Jeremiah Wright nightmare, he can't afford any more militancy, or militant-sounding stuff, even if it might be justified. His other problems are self-inflicted or party-inflicted as well. He couldn't have picked a gifted Democratic woman as his running mate, because he couldn't have chosen a female who wasn't the ever-present Sen. Clinton, and so he handed the free gift of doing so to his Republican opponent (whose own choice has set up a screech from the liberals like nothing I have heard since the nomination of Clarence Thomas). So the unquantifiable yet important "atmospherics" of politics, with all their little X factors, belong at present to the other team.

The Dukakis comparison is, of course, a cruel one, but it raises a couple more questions that must be faced. We are told by outraged Democrats that many voters still believe, thanks to some smear job, that Sen. Obama is a Muslim. Yet who is the most famous source of this supposedly appalling libel (as if an American candidate cannot be of any religion or none)? Absent any anonymous whispering campaign, the person who did most to insinuate the idea in public—"There is nothing to base that on. As far as I know"—was Obama's fellow Democrat and the junior senator from New York. It was much the same in 1988, when Al Gore brought up the Dukakis furlough program, later to be made infamous by the name Willie Horton, against the hapless governor of Massachusetts who was then his rival for the nomination.

By the end of that grueling campaign season, a lot of us had got the idea that Dukakis actually wanted to lose—or was at the very least scared of winning. Why do I sometimes get the same idea about Obama? To put it a touch more precisely, what I suspect in his case is that he had no idea of winning this time around. He was running in Iowa and New Hampshire to seed the ground for 2012, not 2008, and then the enthusiasm of his supporters (and the weird coincidence of a strong John Edwards showing in Iowa) put him at the front of the pack. Yet, having suddenly got the leadership position, he hadn't the faintest idea what to do with it or what to do about it.

Look at the record, and at Obama's replies to essential and pressing questions. The surge in Iraq? I'll answer that only if you insist. The credit crunch? Please may I be photographed with Bill Clinton's economic team? Georgia? After you, please, Sen. McCain. A vice-presidential nominee? What about a guy who, despite his various qualities, is picked because he has almost no enemies among Democratic interest groups?

Yep, Barack Obama is dull, but he is also shrill. Obama is negative - The Surge Can't Work! The Economy is Doomed! Americans Cling! Americans are Bitter! Americans Are Racist! Americans Are Not Elite!

Dull, but Shrill. There's Atheists and then ther's atheists.

McCain/Palin: Obama;Ayers; Hugo Chavez and Chinese & Russian Military Weapons

For all of the 'hard-hitting, scrappy and independent Chicago news hounds' - that would be John Kass and Tim Novak. How about a bit of 'investigative work' on Billy Ayers and community organizer Presidential would -be Barack Obama?

Let's root out the connection. Before you say that there is none - let's take a look at what is out in the public eye.

Here is the time-line for Barack Obama and his 'guy from the neighborhood' with the drag to close a University of Illinois Chicago library to an investigative journalist - Billy Boy Ayers.


1987 William Ayers meets Barack Obama

1988 Ayers solicits Khalid Al-Mansour to raise money for Obama's Harvard law School education

1989 Tom Ayers and William Ayers get Obama a summer job at Sidley & Austin (where he meets Michelle Obama); Ayers' wife Bernadine Dohrn also worked at Sidley at about the same time as Barack and Michelle.

1993 Ayers places Obama on Woods Foundation

1995 Ayers makes Obama Chairman of Annenberg Challenge

1995 Ayers hosts a coffee klatch for Obama's political debut (Obama falsely claims this is when he met Ayers)

2007-2008 The structure of Obama's presidential campaign increasingly comes to resemble an Ayers-designed national "community organizer matrix" straight out of Maoist theory. This is not merely a presidential "campaign." Obama's organization is the first installment of an ongoing movement being paid for with tax-exempt contributions to his campaign, approaching half a billion dollars.

2008Obama In response to ABC News, Obama tells a national TV audience he was "six years old" when Ayers bombed federal buildings, and they are only casual neighborhood acquaintances. A lie.

Okay, gritty news-hounds! Let's take the leash off! William Ayers has long been a conduit for Revolution through Hugo Chavez. Ayers 'adopted' kid works for Chavez. The Woods Fund records would be a nice source to follow the moeny from Woods Fund to 'community organizers' to Hugo Chavez* - the Man with Chevron Gas Stations right on South Western Ave. at about 49th Street! I'll bet that some COMMUNITY ORGANIZER - got the start up for that gas station and that it can be traced through the community developent LISC to Woods. BTW- try and track down any Chevron listings for Chicago. Go to work, newsies. Oh, that's right. Not allowed.

Americans will face Chinese and Russian made military aircraft in the Wetern Hemisphere. On Friday, I hope McCain goes for Obama's doughy belly on South America.

* El Jefe: Hugo Chavez -
Venezuela will buy combat and training aircraft from China this week, leftist Venezuela President Hugo Chavez confirmed in a television broadcast Sunday.
The purchases will be made as part of a six-country tour, Chavez said in his broadcast of the "Alo President" television program from the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, hours before leaving on a "strategic interest" trip to Cuba, China, Russia, Belarus, France and Portugal.

Chavez, a staunch foe of the US government, confirmed that during his stay in Beijing he will purchase 24 K-8 aircraft "to train fighter pilots." The planes could be part of Venezuela's air force by next year.

The president also confirmed that while in Beijing he will arrange the construction of tanker vessels in Chinese shipyards, with the aim of installing a shipyard in Venezuela in the near future.

These plans come in addition to the construction of a refinery in China to process oil from Venezuela, and plans to create a bi-national company to install a refinery in the remote oil-rich Orinoco region in eastern Venezuela.

Caracas provides 500,000 barrels of oil per day to Beijing, a trade which is expected to increase to one million barrels a day by 2012.

Chavez, who describes China as a strategic ally, will move forward with a six billion dollar bilateral investment fund. China will contribute four billion dollars to the fund, and Venezuela two billion dollars.

Caracas will use the fund for "socialist productive projects."

"Before we had to go to Washington to beg for money. Not now. Now we negotiate with the Chinese," said Chavez.

Chavez announced that during his visit to Beijing the investment fund will benefit from an additional four billion dollars for further "development" in Venezuela.

After China, Chavez will head to Moscow.

Venezuela in recent years has been broadening its military ties to Moscow, and Chavez backed Russia in the recent Georgian conflict.

Last week, Russian supersonic Tu-160 bombers for the first time flew training runs with Venezuela in an area of the Caribbean traditionally considered the US military's sphere of influence.

Chavez's trip is expected to last until September 27.

McCain/Palin: McCain -The Catholic Vote

Brian Burch, President of the Catholic Organization Fidelis has endorsed John McCain. I am a Catholic, a pretty dinged-up, dirty and nevertheless devout Catholic, but in good Communion. I am also a voter. I am voting for John McCain, a pretty dinged-up, dirty and nevertheless devout Christian. Joe Biden is a Catholic of the Dick Durbin - Do as Planned Parenthood Says variety. It is too bad that many of us Catholic Democrats played ball with groups that absolutely and historically detest everything we hold sacred, but that's politics. The politics of convenience by too many Democrats requires that some politicians sneer and spit on our Faith. How a Catholic politician could appear on a show with a louse like Bill Maher and not coldcock the smary punk while he mocks the faith of 67 million Americans is beyond me. But they do . . . and more troubling, they do what Maher and other Catholic haters want.

Catholic Vote.com has a compellingly beautiful tribute and analysis of Catholic America on You Tube. Click my post title for the video.

Here is Brian Burch's major points in why Catholics should vote for John McCain/Sarah Palin:

With the GOP presidential sweepstakes now winnowing, faithful Catholics might reasonably begin to ask whether Sen. John McCain of Arizona could be the next “Catholic” president. I believe the evidence favors such a hope.

In an address to conservatives earlier this month, McCain attempted to lay to rest any doubt about his pro-life views.

“I believe today as I believed 25 years ago … in the social values that are the true source of our strength,” he said. And “the steadfast defense of our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, which I have defended my entire career as God-given to the born and unborn.”

The choice of words was not an accident, and was made more forceful by his statement that shortly followed: “I am not in the habit of making promises to my country that I do not intend to keep.”

McCain willingly staked his political life on the surge in Iraq, saying at the time that he would rather lose an election than lose a war. The strategy has since silenced its critics, and McCain has quickly become the most trusted leader on how to responsibly end the war — by winning it.

Perseverance in a worthy cause despite criticism is a trait we should esteem in a political candidate.

McCain no doubt feels that is what he exhibits on issues like immigration. The backlash of many conservatives against the McCain-Kennedy comprehensive immigration bill spelled apostasy for many GOP supporters.

While Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput called the legislation “imperfect” while he urged Catholics to support the bill as a reasonable balance between the need to enforce the rule of law and the need to treat with dignity “millions of our fellow human beings.” Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis, no stranger to political controversy, cautioned, “Let us be tireless in welcoming the stranger into our midst with Christlike respect and love.”

Archbishop Chaput admitted that “good people can disagree sharply on this sensitive issue” but argued that our current laws create “impossible contradictions and suffering,” and called on Americans to respond with both justice and mercy.

Ironically, at the time the immigration bill was being debated, McCain found himself outside his own party and instead in the camp of many Catholic social justice advocates.

Today, his leadership on the issue will likely help his chances with Hispanic voters against the Democratic nominee in November.

Similarly, McCain’s leadership in helping pass the anti-torture amendment in 2005, along with his consistent reminder of the need to respect the dignity of the human person, even in warfare, once again found him out of step with his party’s base, but very much in step with Catholic teaching.

The “warmongering” tag that will likely be leveled against McCain in the coming months will need to be weighed against his efforts at preserving our own moral integrity in the prosecution of the war on terror.

Catholics should welcome McCain’s judgment in this area, formed in large part from his own experiences.

To be sure, the prudential judgments of McCain on issues like immigration are quite distinct from the unequivocal obligation to protect innocent human life in the womb, human embryos and the institution of marriage.

McCain’s record here is mixed, and even problematic on the issue of public funding for research that involves the killing of human embryos.

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., an ardent defender of the rights of the unborn and supporter of McCain, believes the advancements in science provide him an opportunity to abandon embryo-killing research altogether. Others have suggested that McCain has signaled his willingness to reconsider his vote in favor of the destructive research. Such signals, if true, will further bolster McCain’s credibility with faithful Catholics.

On the issue of marriage, McCain has been criticized harshly for opposing the Federal Marriage Amendment, a remedy he argued was not proportionate to the threat, and that stood little chance of success.

Employing his instincts, McCain urged caution in amending the Constitution, and instead argued that the issue should be left to the states.

He did support the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which still protects states from the recklessness of others like Massachusetts. And in his home state of Arizona, he supported a ban on homosexual “marriage” that included a ban on civil unions.

While many Catholics, including me, disagreed with McCain’s judgment on the need for federal protection, our disagreements were not over whether marriage should be preserved, but how it ought to be done.

The “Catholic” badge in presidential politics has a storied and controversial history.

One thing we can be certain of is that a President Obama or President Clinton would not wear the badge very well.

Democratic celebration of abortion rights, redefining of marriage and the destruction of human embryos have been turning away Catholics at an ever-increasing rate.



Brian Burch is the president of Fidelis,

a national grassroots advocacy group,

which has endorsed

John McCain for president.

http://ncregister.com/site/article/11084

McCain/Palin; Media Leading McCain to a Landslide Over Obama

MSNBC, CNN, New York Times, Washington Post and every paper in Chicago wants Obama to President so badly that they making every effort to enusre that John McCain wins by a landslide. You see - most news readers and keypunchers in the Media have absolutely no idea about Americans - you and me. Most keypunchers with bylines are fed their stories by political stooges - let's say a dwarfish Cook County Commissioner wants Abner Nimblefinger to write an edgy expose on systemic corruption. Abner is treated to university think-tankers and professors who printout pages of gobble-dee-gook which Abner pees his britches to print. That is the state of news papers.

The TV readers skwak out whatever is put in front of them and then participate in political round-tables redacting exactly what they had read.

Obama has it made. Example, Steve Hayes writes,

According to the press, in recent weeks, the McCain campaign has so distorted Obama's record and campaign proposals that the young senator has had no choice but to fight back with old-school tactics. "McCain's tactics are drawing the scorn of many in the media and organizations tasked with fact-checking the truthfulness of campaigns," wrote Politico's Jonathan Martin. "In recent weeks, Team McCain has been described as dishonorable, disingenuous and downright cynical."

And so while McCain's every utterance is factchecked and factchecked again in an attempt to shame him from challenging Obama too aggressively, Obama gets a pass.

Consider two examples.

On August 16, Pastor Rick Warren asked John McCain how much money someone would have to make to be considered rich. McCain didn't answer directly. "I think that rich should be defined by a home, a good job, an education and the ability to hand to our children a more prosperous and safer world than the one that we inherited," he said.

Then he made a joke: "So, I think if you are just talking about income, how about $5 million?"

The audience laughed, immediately understanding that McCain was being facetious. Just in case there were any doubts McCain started his next comment by saying "seriously," to underscore the joke. Then he made a prediction.

"I'm sure that comment will be distorted," he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
And it has been. "It should come as no surprise that John McCain believes the cutoff for the rich begins at $5 million," Barack Obama's campaign said in a statement. "It may explain why his tax plan gives a $600,000 tax cut to the richest 0.1 percent of earners." At a campaign appearance two days after McCain made the comments, Obama himself mocked McCain. "I guess if you're making $3 million a year, you're middle class," Obama said.

Some news accounts noted that McCain was joking and others even reported that McCain predicted his words would be twisted and used against him. In an August 18 article in the Los Angeles Times, Greg Miller actually did both and noted that McCain aides had made clear their boss was joking. "Even so," Miller wrote, "the remark highlighted the candidates' disparate outlooks. Analysts who study income distribution said the answers appeared to reflect shifting political calculations more than economic reality."

So Miller, writing under the headline, "Who's Rich? McCain and Obama have very different definitions," used McCain's facetious answer as if he had meant it. (Miller also speculated that Cindy McCain's family money may have shaped McCain's views of what constitutes rich.) Not only was Obama not called on his misuse of McCain's comment, reporters piled on. Is it any wonder that the line has made regular appearances in Obama speeches over the past month?

"Now, I don't believe that Senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of Americans," Obama said in his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. "I just think he doesn't know. Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under $5 million a year?"

Then there are the absurd lengths to which some reporters are willing to go to protect Obama and attack McCain. Last week, the McCain campaign released an ad accusing Obama of being too close to Fannie Mae executives. In particular, it claims Obama took advice on housing and finance issues from former Fannie Mae chairman Franklin Raines. The Obama campaign protested, saying that Raines was not an adviser and had not given Obama counsel in any capacity. The McCain campaign defended the claim by citing an article that ran in the Washington Post on July 16, 2008. That article noted that Raines had "taken calls from Barack Obama's presidential campaign seeking his advice on mortgage and housing policy matters."

Last Friday, the Washington Post "factchecked" the McCain ad and concluded that the campaign had been "clearly exaggerating wildly" in order to link Obama to Raines and that the "latest McCain attack is particularly dubious."

Factchecker Michael Dobbs wrote that McCain's evidence that Raines had advised Obama was "pretty flimsy"--not a description that probably endeared him to Anita Huslin, the reporter who wrote the story this summer. But Dobbs did talk to Huslin. Here is his account of their conversation:


Since this has now become a campaign issue, I asked Huslin to provide the exact circumstances of the quote. She explained that she was chatting with Raines during the photo shoot, and asked "if he was engaged at all with the Democrats' quest for the White House. He said that he had gotten a couple of calls from the Obama campaign. I asked him about what, and he said 'oh, general housing, economy issues.' ('Not mortgage/foreclosure meltdown or Fannie-specific,' I asked, and he said 'no.')"


By Raines's own account, he took a couple of calls from someone on the Obama campaign, and they had some general discussions about economic issues.

Got that? Huslin stands by her reporting--that Raines had given advice to the Obama campaign about mortgage and housing policy matters--and yet the McCain campaign is faulted by the Washington Post for relying on information that comes from the Washington Post.

More amusing, though, is that in the rush to accuse the McCain campaign of lying, Dobbs glosses over a major discrepancy between the story that appeared in his paper and that of the Obama campaign. Obama spokesman Bill Burton claims that the campaign "neither sought nor received" advice from Raines "on any matter." It is possible, of course, that Raines simply made up the conversations he described to the Post reporter. But it seems more likely, given the toxicity of Raines, that the Obama campaign would simply prefer that those conversations had never taken place.

Dobbs concludes: "I have asked both Raines and the Obama people for more details on these calls and will let you know if I receive a reply."

That's reassuring, since Dobbs has already decided that the McCain campaign has been dishonest. Two things are clear with six weeks left in the presidential race. Barack Obama will practice the old-style politics that he lamented throughout the Democratic primary. And the media will give him a pass.

Now, Americans read, remember and react. We remember that Obama was our State Senator and was a nice unaffected empty suit. Now he bills himself as the Rail-Splitter? Nope. That Don't Sell. Hoss.

Then along comes a genuine person - not a War Hero or Maverick, but a Hockey Mom with five kids and genuine talent. The Media recoils at authenticity.

Thus:

The media, though, has done more than simply subject Palin to questions not given to the other candidates. More importantly, it has been running interference for the Obama campaign, questioning McCain’s attacks on Obama while frequently reinforcing Obama’s on McCain.

Take a couple of examples from last week. McCain ran an ad criticizing Obama’s support for sex education for kindergartners. Seventy percent of the 2,774 news stories on McCain’s ad mentioned that the ad was a “lie” or “inaccurate.” The stories’ headlines indicate that if other ways of disparaging the McCain ad were included, this percentage would probably be much higher.

Obama’s supporter defend the legislation, saying that its purpose was to protect children from sexual abuse. True, the bill proposed teaching children not to talk to strangers, but one wonders if reporters actually read the entire bill. For example, the legislation also included this: “Each class or course in comprehensive sex education offered in any of grades K through 12 shall include instruction on the prevention of sexually transmitted infections, including the prevention, transmission and spread of HIV.” How can you teach how to prevent these different sexually transmitted diseases without getting into some details about sex?

By the way, a grand total of 22 out of 2,774 stories that mention the bill include this discussion of HIV transmission, and many of those stories were still negative about McCain.

For a more direct comparison regarding Palin, look at how the media discussed the whole lipstick-on-a-pig story. The majority of media coverage again questioned the accuracy of the ad that the McCain campaign used to strike back at Obama (using words such as “inaccurate,” “false,” “misleading,” “untrue,” and “lie”). Obama says that he was surprised that anyone could think he was referring to Palin when he said: “you can put lipstick on a pig; it’s still a pig," that the direct reference was to Bush’s policies.

But there are a few problems with Obama’s response. First, his audience thought he was referring to Palin. They started laughing and shouting after he said, "You can put lipstick on a pig," before he even got to the punch line. The AP wrote: Obama's "audience, clearly drawing a connection to Palin's joke." ABC’s Jake Tapper wrote that audience members told “reporters that they thought Obama had been alluding to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s” lipstick line. Politico noted: "Though on a day when Obama's surrogates were joking that Palin's record can't be concealed with lipstick, it was hard for those following the campaign not to hear the echo." The crowd also started chanting “No more pit bull,” indicating that the crowd got the reference to Palin’s quip at the Republican convention.

A Google news search found only 20 stories out of 6,074 mentioned the crowding laughing or shouting, and only two of those mentioned that they laughed or shouted before the punch line was given. Another search found only one single news story by US News & World Report that even mentioned both Obama’s lipstick joke and the crowd chanting “no more pit bull!”

Whatever Obama’s original intent, it would have been hard for him to claim that he was surprised that the McCain campaign would also draw the connection between his joke and Palin. Nor is it clear why he didn’t make a statement given the crowd’s reaction.

In Palin’s case, far from trying to protect her, the press frequently doesn’t even acknowledge that there might be arguments to be made in her favor.

-- The Bridge to Nowhere. The Alaska Democratic Party posted a Web page in which it declared that “State of Alaska killed bridge” -- that is the “Bridge to Nowhere.” However, after Palin’s vice presidential nomination the party took down the Web page. Yet, out of 7,556 news stories on the Bridge to Nowhere this month, a Google news search produces no hits on the phrase “State of Alaska killed bridge.”

Similarly, Sen. Ted Stevens, who was the king of the earmarks for Alaska and who had a “frosty” relationship with Palin because of her opposition to those earmarks, noted that “I don’t remember her ever campaigning for it. She was very critical of it at the time.” With all the news stories on this question, one would think that Stevens’ comment would be newsworthy, since it was his pork-barrel project. But there were only three news stories that mention his statements.

-- Cutting Earmarks. The media on this question has definitely been a bunch of “the glass is half empty” types. Instead of noting what Palin had accomplished, the game was identifying any earmarks that Alaska still received. Palin “cut nearly 10% of Alaska’s budget this year” and reduced the number of federal grants from 54 in 2007 to 31 in 2008 -- a $350 million, 64 percent cut in requests. Among the cuts in Alaska budget were a $30,000 van for Campfire USA and $200,000 for a tennis court irrigation system. Further cuts in future years were also promised.

But those changes weren’t the standard by which the media wanted to judge Palin. For example, Charles Gibson thought that he had gotten Palin in his interview when he noted that Alaska still got “$3.2 million for researching the genetics of harbor seals, money to study the mating habits of crabs” from the federal government.

Again, a simple Google news search shows how incredibly lopsided this coverage has gotten. From September 1 to September 15 there were 9,222 news stories that discuss Palin and earmarks. By contrast, a search that looked at Palin and her attempts to cut earmarks (using the terms "cut earmarks," "reduce earmarks," "trim earmarks," "slash earmarks" or "eliminate earmarks") produced incredibly only 50 news stories -- about 0.5 percent of the total stories. Even many of those 50 stories were critical and claimed that McCain had overstated Palin’s opposition to earmarks.

I spent some time looking at questions of whether Palin was properly vetted or the taxes that she imposed on oil companies, but the results were similar. Palin just doesn’t seem to get an even break, let alone the extremely protective news coverage offered Obama.

Groups such as FactCheck.org have helped put down many false rumors on everything from Palin supposedly cutting funds for special needs children to banning books, but the coverage that corrects these false claims never seems to be as heavy as the coverage making the claims to begin with.

Possibly there is a good explanation for why the media so selectively covers the two campaigns so differently. But whatever the reasons, Sarah Palin continues to receive significantly less positive coverage than the Democrats.

The Media is making sure that McCain/Palin wins the largest landslide victory in American Presdential History. With rehab and has-been Hollywood persons and the media against you, how can you fail?


E.G. Steve Hayes writes,

Stephen F. Hayes, a senior writer at THE WEEKLY STANDARD, is the author of Cheney: The Untold Story of America's Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President (HarperCollins).


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,423443,00.html

McCain/Palin: Obama's 'We Are Fam-Ah-Lee' Smoking Gun Moment Sung by Mr. Mudd to Congressional; Black Caucus in 2005

Obama should do a cover of Mel Carter's great 1965 thigh tingler 'Hold Me, Hold Me, Never Let Me Go!' But first a real hit dug from our vaults by Fannie Mae CEO and crooner, David Mudd! This chart buster was hit in the Congressional Black Caucus and also the Democratic Progressive Caucus! Sing, You Sinner, Sing!

Like Tony Rezko singing arias to the Feds and Gov. Rod 'Elvis' Blagojevich singing and whistling past the graveyard on Ethics Reform in Illinois, David Mudd the Fannie Mae Box of Chocolates croons this bon-bon:

'We Are Fam Uh Lee!'

Good morning members of the Congressional Black Caucus. I am humbled to come here today to reaffirm the friendship and partnership between Fannie Mae and the Congressional Black Caucus. Fannie Mae is determined to keep tearing down the barriers to deliver on the American dream and that means we need to work together with the CBC. So many of you have been good friends to Fannie Mae and our mission. You've been friends through thick and thin. We have indeed come upon a difficult time for Fannie Mae. There is much to be done inside my company and I humbly ask you to help us and to help me. If there are areas where we are missing. If there are areas where we could do better, we'd like to hear it from our friends and I'd be so bold as to say our family first. ( Emphasis Me own!)
It is true that Fannie Mae has lent more money to more minorities and more underserved individuals than any single company in history.

We will work hard inside our company to resolve the serious matters before us to put our house in order and to forge a new future. And all the while you will see Fannie Mae reaching out and listening to the caucus. Over a century of endeavor you have earned the reputation as the conscience of Congress. In many ways I want to tell you today you are also the conscience of Fannie Mae. Keeping us on course to serve those who need serving the most.

Singing that Dusky from 2005,Fannie Mae CEO Danny Mudd!

Let's see.

All Recipients of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Campaign Contributions, 1989-2008

Name Office State Party Grand Total Total from
PACs Total from
Individuals
Dodd, Christopher J S CT D $165,400 $48,500 $116,900
Obama, Barack S IL D $126,349 $6,000 $120,349
Kerry, John S MA D $111,000 $2,000 $109,000
Bennett, Robert F S UT R $107,999 $71,499 $36,500
Bachus, Spencer H AL R $103,300 $70,500 $32,800
Blunt, Roy H MO R $96,950 $78,500 $18,450
Kanjorski, Paul E H PA D $96,000 $57,500 $38,500
Bond, Christopher S 'Kit' S MO R $95,400 $64,000 $31,400
Shelby, Richard C S AL R $80,000 $23,000 $57,000
Reed, Jack S RI D $78,250 $43,500 $34,750
Reid, Harry S NV D $77,000 $60,500 $16,500
Clinton, Hillary S NY D $76,050 $8,000 $68,050
Davis, Tom H VA R $75,499 $13,999 $61,500
Boehner, John H OH R $67,750 $60,500 $7,250
Conrad, Kent S ND D $64,491 $22,000 $42,491
Reynolds, Tom H NY R $62,200 $53,000 $9,200
Johnson, Tim S SD D $61,000 $20,000 $41,000
Pelosi, Nancy H CA D $56,250 $47,000 $9,250
Carper, Tom S DE D $55,889 $31,350 $24,539
Hoyer, Steny H H MD D $55,500 $51,500 $4,000
Pryce, Deborah H OH R $55,500 $45,000 $10,500
Emanuel, Rahm H IL D $51,750 $16,000 $35,750
Isakson, Johnny S GA R $49,200 $35,500 $13,700
Cantor, Eric H VA R $48,500 $46,500 $2,000
Crapo, Mike S ID R $47,250 $40,500 $6,750
Frank, Barney H MA D $42,350 $30,500 $11,850
Bean, Melissa H IL D $41,249 $34,999 $6,250
Bayh, Evan S IN D $41,100 $16,500 $24,600
McConnell, Mitch S KY R $41,000 $40,000 $1,000
Maloney, Carolyn B H NY D $39,750 $16,500 $23,250
Dorgan, Byron L S ND D $38,750 $30,500 $8,250
Miller, Gary H CA R $38,000 $31,500 $6,500
Rangel, Charles B H NY D $38,000 $14,750 $23,250
Tiberi, Patrick J H OH R $35,700 $32,600 $3,100
Bunning, Jim S KY R $33,802 $29,650 $4,152
Stabenow, Debbie S MI D $33,450 $32,000 $1,450
Chambliss, Saxby S GA R $33,250 $22,500 $10,750
Menendez, Robert S NJ D $31,250 $30,500 $750
Enzi, Mike S WY R $31,000 $27,500 $3,500
Van Hollen, Chris H MD D $30,700 $11,000 $19,700
Landrieu, Mary L S LA D $30,600 $20,000 $10,600
Murray, Patty S WA D $30,000 $23,000 $7,000
Clyburn, James E H SC D $29,750 $26,000 $3,750
Crowley, Joseph H NY D $29,700 $25,500 $4,200
Sessions, Pete H TX R $29,472 $24,000 $5,472
McCrery, Jim H LA R $29,000 $26,000 $3,000
Hooley, Darlene H OR D $28,750 $19,500 $9,250
Royce, Ed H CA R $28,600 $4,000 $24,600
Renzi, Rick H AZ R $28,250 $28,000 $250
Lieberman, Joe S CT I $28,250 $11,500 $16,750
Baucus, Max S MT D $27,500 $21,000 $6,500
Moore, Dennis H KS D $26,550 $25,500 $1,050
Coleman, Norm S MN R $24,690 $12,000 $12,690
Matheson, Jim H UT D $24,500 $24,000 $500
Schumer, Charles E S NY D $24,250 $1,500 $22,750
Durbin, Dick S IL D $23,750 $14,000 $9,750
Rogers, Mike H MI R $22,750 $21,000 $1,750
Lynch, Stephen F H MA D $22,500 $13,500 $9,000
Rockefeller, Jay S WV D $22,250 $5,000 $17,250
Smith, Gordon H S OR R $22,000 $20,000 $2,000
Mikulski, Barbara A S MD D $21,750 $16,500 $5,250
McCain, John S AZ R $21,550 $0 $21,550
Spratt, John M Jr H SC D $21,500 $17,000 $4,500
Brown-Waite, Ginny H FL R $21,000 $21,000 $0
Davis, Geoff H KY R $21,000 $19,500 $1,500
Velazquez, Nydia M H NY D $20,750 $16,750 $4,000
Baca, Joe H CA D $20,500 $20,200 $300
Alexander, Lamar S TN R $20,500 $20,000 $500
Allard, Wayne S CO R $20,250 $0 $20,250
Neugebauer, Randy H TX R $20,000 $20,000 $0
Nelson, Ben S NE D $20,000 $19,000 $1,000
Salazar, Ken S CO D $19,900 $17,000 $2,900
Jefferson, William J H LA D $19,250 $8,500 $10,750
Byrd, Robert C S WV D $18,500 $8,000 $10,500
Hatch, Orrin G S UT R $18,250 $12,500 $5,750
Miller, Brad H NC D $18,000 $16,500 $1,500
Sherman, Brad H CA D $18,000 $12,500 $5,500
Craig, Larry S ID R $18,000 $15,000 $3,000
Roberts, Pat S KS R $18,000 $18,000 $0
Waters, Maxine H CA D $17,800 $15,000 $2,800
Biggert, Judy H IL R $17,750 $15,500 $2,250
Gerlach, Jim H PA R $17,750 $16,500 $1,250
Reyes, Silvestre H TX D $17,550 $2,000 $15,550
LaTourette, Steven C H OH R $17,500 $17,500 $0
Brownback, Sam S KS R $17,300 $14,250 $3,050
Barrett, Gresham H SC R $17,250 $13,000 $4,250
Watt, Melvin L H NC D $17,250 $13,000 $4,250
Scott, David H GA D $17,000 $13,500 $3,500
King, Pete H NY R $16,750 $1,000 $15,750
Cummings, Elijah E H MD D $16,700 $10,000 $6,700
Grassley, Chuck S IA R $16,500 $14,500 $2,000
Cantwell, Maria S WA D $16,250 $0 $16,250
Domenici, Pete V S NM R $16,226 $7,000 $9,226
Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie H SD D $16,200 $4,500 $11,700
Putnam, Adam H H FL R $15,500 $15,500 $0
Feinstein, Dianne S CA D $15,250 $2,000 $13,250
Brown, Sherrod S OH D $15,000 $15,000 $0
Feeney, Tom H FL R $14,750 $13,500 $1,250
Sununu, John E S NH R $14,750 $0 $14,750
Hinojosa, Ruben H TX D $14,500 $13,000 $1,500
Capito, Shelley Moore H WV R $14,250 $8,000 $6,250
Burr, Richard S NC R $14,250 $13,500 $750
Jackson, Jesse Jr H IL D $14,000 $8,000 $6,000
Meeks, Gregory W H NY D $14,000 $13,500 $500
Cornyn, John S TX R $14,000 $12,000 $2,000
Collins, Susan M S ME R $13,000 $12,000 $1,000
Boxer, Barbara S CA D $12,750 $5,000 $7,750
McHenry, Patrick H NC R $12,500 $12,500 $0
Israel, Steve H NY D $12,050 $10,000 $2,050
Nunes, Devin Gerald H CA R $12,000 $12,000 $0
Davis, Artur H AL D $11,750 $11,500 $250
Martinez, Mel S FL R $11,750 $8,500 $3,250
Roskam, Peter H IL R $11,650 $8,500 $3,150
Pryor, Mark S AR D $11,650 $9,500 $2,150
Webb, James S VA D $11,550 $1,000 $10,550
Doolittle, John T H CA R $11,500 $11,500 $0
Harkin, Tom S IA D $11,450 $6,900 $4,550
Lee, Barbara H CA D $11,250 $11,000 $250
Thune, John S SD R $11,057 $1,000 $10,057
Klein, Ron H FL D $11,000 $11,000 $0
Mahoney, Tim H FL D $11,000 $11,000 $0
Fossella, Vito H NY R $10,750 $7,500 $3,250
Schultz, Debbie Wasserman H FL D $10,750 $9,750 $1,000
Thompson, Mike H CA D $10,600 $1,000 $9,600
Moran, Jim H VA D $10,500 $1,250 $9,250
Kennedy, Edward M S MA D $10,500 $3,000 $7,500
Clay, William L Jr H MO D $10,250 $8,500 $1,750
Payne, Donald M H NJ D $10,100 $5,500 $4,600
Dingell, John D H MI D $10,000 $7,000 $3,000
Lincoln, Blanche S AR D $10,000 $5,500 $4,500
Levin, Sander H MI D $9,800 $0 $9,800
Roybal-Allard, Lucille H CA D $9,800 $5,000 $4,800
Barrasso, John A S WY R $9,500 $9,500 $0
Nelson, Bill S FL D $9,500 $9,000 $500
Napolitano, Grace H CA D $9,300 $8,500 $800
Castle, Michael N H DE R $9,200 $7,000 $2,200
Drake, Thelma H VA R $9,000 $9,000 $0
Dreier, David H CA R $9,000 $7,000 $2,000
Bachmann, Michele Marie H MN R $8,850 $6,500 $2,350
Gonzalez, Charlie A H TX D $8,500 $5,000 $3,500
Lewis, John H GA D $8,500 $4,000 $4,500
Knollenberg, Joe H MI R $8,250 $5,000 $3,250
Moore, Gwen H WI D $8,250 $8,000 $250
Pastor, Ed H AZ D $8,100 $4,500 $3,600
Norton, Eleanor Holmes D DC D $8,000 $3,000 $5,000
Becerra, Xavier H CA D $8,000 $7,000 $1,000
Jackson Lee, Sheila H TX D $8,000 $0 $8,000
Larson, John B H CT D $8,000 $8,000 $0
Lewis, Jerry H CA R $8,000 $7,000 $1,000
Melancon, Charles J H LA D $8,000 $8,000 $0
Walsh, James T H NY R $7,750 $0 $7,750
Corker, Bob S TN R $7,750 $2,000 $5,750
Cramer, Bud H AL D $7,500 $7,000 $500
Cubin, Barbara H WY R $7,500 $5,000 $2,500
Ensign, John S NV R $7,300 $6,000 $1,300
Meek, Kendrick B H FL D $7,250 $6,500 $750
Wilson, Charlie H OH D $7,250 $7,000 $250
Leahy, Patrick S VT D $7,250 $2,500 $4,750
Cleaver, Emanuel H MO D $7,000 $7,000 $0
Marchant, Kenny Ewell H TX R $7,000 $7,000 $0
Thompson, Bennie G H MS D $7,000 $6,000 $1,000
Casey, Bob S PA D $7,000 $6,000 $1,000
Solis, Hilda L H CA D $6,800 $6,500 $300
Gordon, Bart H TN D $6,750 $4,000 $2,750
Pomeroy, Earl H ND D $6,750 $5,000 $1,750
Tiahrt, Todd H KS R $6,500 $6,500 $0
Boyd, Allen H FL D $6,000 $5,500 $500
Capuano, Michael E H MA D $6,000 $5,000 $1,000
Heller, Dean H NV R $6,000 $6,000 $0
Marshall, Jim H GA0 D $6,000 $6,000 $0
Whitfield, Ed H KY R $6,000 $6,000 $0
Klobuchar, Amy S MN D $5,650 $1,500 $4,150
Ross, Mike H AR D $5,550 $3,000 $2,550
McCarthy, Carolyn H NY D $5,500 $5,500 $0
Slaughter, Louise M H NY D $5,500 $5,500 $0
Hodes, Paul W H NH D $5,450 $5,000 $450
Cardin, Ben S MD D $5,300 $500 $4,800
Boren, Dan H OK D $5,250 $5,000 $250
Ackerman, Gary H NY D $5,000 $4,000 $1,000
Andrews, Robert E H NJ D $5,000 $0 $5,000
Camp, Dave H MI R $5,000 $5,000 $0
Cole, Tom H OK R $5,000 $5,000 $0
Davis, Lincoln H TN D $5,000 $5,000 $0
Hill, Baron H IN D $5,000 $5,000 $0
Pearce, Steve H NM R $5,000 $5,000 $0
Perlmutter, Edwin G H CO D $5,000 $5,000 $0
Weller, Jerry H IL R $5,000 $0 $5,000
Snowe, Olympia J S ME R $5,000 $4,000 $1,000
Wicker, Roger S MS R $5,000 $5,000 $0
Davis, Danny K H IL D $4,950 $2,000 $2,950
Chabot, Steve H OH R $4,750 $3,000 $1,750
Honda, Mike H CA D $4,750 $4,000 $750
Price, David H NC D $4,550 $2,050 $2,500
Hagel, Chuck S NE R $4,500 $0 $4,500
Lugar, Richard G S IN R $4,500 $1,000 $3,500
Kaptur, Marcy H OH D $4,350 $1,000 $3,350
McCollum, Betty H MN D $4,350 $0 $4,350
Carson, Andre H IN D $4,250 $4,000 $250
Obey, David R H WI D $4,250 $2,000 $2,250
Salazar, John H CO D $4,250 $4,000 $250
Sanchez, Loretta H CA D $4,250 $3,000 $1,250
Tanner, John H TN D $4,250 $3,500 $750
Cardoza, Dennis H CA D $4,000 $4,000 $0
English, Phil H PA R $4,000 $4,000 $0
Green, Al H TX D $4,000 $4,000 $0
Kilpatrick, Carolyn Cheeks H MI D $4,000 $3,250 $750
Murphy, Chris H CT D $4,000 $4,000 $0
Tester, Jon S MT D $4,000 $3,500 $500
Rodriguez, Ciro D H TX D $3,750 $3,000 $750
Donnelly, Joe H IN D $3,500 $3,500 $0
Matsui, Doris O H CA D $3,500 $2,500 $1,000
Paul, Ron H TX R $3,500 $0 $3,500
Price, Tom H GA R $3,500 $3,500 $0
Schmidt, Jean H OH R $3,500 $2,500 $1,000
Wexler, Robert H FL D $3,500 $3,500 $0
Wyden, Ron S OR D $3,500 $0 $3,500
Biden, Joseph R Jr S DE D $3,300 $0 $3,300
Gutierrez, Luis V H IL D $3,250 $2,500 $750
Harman, Jane H CA D $3,250 $0 $3,250
Hensarling, Jeb H TX R $3,250 $1,500 $1,750
Kennedy, Patrick J H RI D $3,250 $0 $3,250
Ryan, Paul H WI R $3,250 $2,500 $750
Myrick, Sue H NC R $3,200 $1,500 $1,700
Schwartz, Allyson H PA D $3,200 $2,000 $1,200
Diaz-Balart, Lincoln H FL R $3,000 $3,000 $0
Lucas, Frank D H OK R $3,000 $1,500 $1,500
McCarthy, Kevin H CA R $3,000 $3,000 $0
Souder, Mark E H IN R $3,000 $3,000 $0
Udall, Mark H CO D $3,000 $2,500 $500
Bingaman, Jeff S NM D $3,000 $3,000 $0
Levin, Carl S MI D $3,000 $3,000 $0
Stevens, Ted S AK R $3,000 $3,000 $0
Hobson, Dave H OH R $2,850 $0 $2,850
Johnson, Eddie Bernice H TX D $2,825 $1,000 $1,825
Berkley, Shelley H NV D $2,750 $2,000 $750
Jones, Walter B Jr H NC R $2,750 $0 $2,750
Ferguson, Mike H NJ R $2,700 $0 $2,700
Cannon, Chris H UT R $2,500 $2,000 $500
Childers, Travis W H MS D $2,500 $2,500 $0
DeGette, Diana H CO D $2,500 $2,000 $500
Ellison, Keith H MN D $2,500 $2,500 $0
Keller, Ric H FL R $2,500 $2,000 $500
Oberstar, James L H MN D $2,500 $0 $2,500
Serrano, Jose E H NY D $2,500 $1,500 $1,000
Shays, Christopher H CT R $2,500 $2,000 $500
McCaskill, Claire S MO D $2,500 $2,500 $0
Cuellar, Henry H TX D $2,450 $2,000 $450
Markey, Edward J H MA D $2,250 $0 $2,250
Smith, Adam H WA D $2,250 $2,000 $250
Butterfield, G K H NC D $2,000 $2,000 $0
Costa, Jim H CA D $2,000 $2,000 $0
Foster, Bill H IL D $2,000 $2,000 $0
Grijalva, Raul M H AZ D $2,000 $2,000 $0
Hastings, Doc H WA R $2,000 $2,000 $0
Moran, Jerry H KS R $2,000 $0 $2,000
Murphy, Patrick J H PA D $2,000 $2,000 $0
Olver, John W H MA D $2,000 $2,000 $0
Porter, Jon H NV R $2,000 $2,000 $0
Regula, Ralph H OH R $2,000 $0 $2,000
Reichert, Dave H WA R $2,000 $2,000 $0
Sanchez, Linda H CA D $2,000 $2,000 $0
Sires, Albio H NJ D $2,000 $2,000 $0
Tauscher, Ellen H CA D $2,000 $2,000 $0
Akaka, Daniel K S HI D $2,000 $2,000 $0
Cochran, Thad S MS R $2,000 $2,000 $0
Whitehouse, Sheldon S RI D $2,000 $1,000 $1,000
Allen, Tom H ME D $1,950 $0 $1,950
Stearns, Cliff H FL R $1,850 $1,850 $0
DeLauro, Rosa L H CT D $1,750 $1,000 $750
Towns, Edolphus H NY D $1,750 $0 $1,750
Hulshof, Kenny H MO R $1,700 $1,250 $450
Fattah, Chaka H PA D $1,500 $1,000 $500
Neal, Richard E H MA D $1,500 $1,500 $0
Diaz-Balart, Mario H FL R $1,450 $1,000 $450
Kucinich, Dennis J H OH D $1,349 $0 $1,349
Alexander, Rodney H LA R $1,250 $1,250 $0
Carnahan, Russ H MO D $1,250 $1,000 $250
Wilson, Heather A H NM R $1,250 $0 $1,250
Coburn, Tom S OK R $1,250 $0 $1,250
Feingold, Russ S WI D $1,250 $0 $1,250
Kyl, Jon S AZ R $1,250 $0 $1,250
Linder, John H GA R $1,150 $500 $650
Sestak, Joe H PA D $1,150 $0 $1,150
Specter, Arlen S PA R $1,100 $350 $750
Berry, Marion H AR D $1,000 $1,000 $0
Blackburn, Marsha H TN R $1,000 $1,000 $0
Boswell, Leonard L H IA D $1,000 $1,000 $0
Boucher, Rick H VA D $1,000 $1,000 $0
Boustany, Charles W Jr H LA R $1,000 $1,000 $0
Calvert, Ken H CA R $1,000 $1,000 $0
Campbell, John H CA R $1,000 $1,000 $0
Cazayoux, Donald J H LA D $1,000 $1,000 $0
Conaway, Mike H TX R $1,000 $1,000 $0
Cooper, Jim H TN D $1,000 $500 $500
Ellsworth, Brad H IN D $1,000 $1,000 $0
Filner, Bob H CA D $1,000 $0 $1,000
Graves, Sam H MO R $1,000 $1,000 $0
Hayes, Robin H NC R $1,000 $0 $1,000
Higgins, Brian M H NY D $1,000 $1,000 $0
Johnson, Hank H GA D $1,000 $0 $1,000
Latham, Tom H IA R $1,000 $1,000 $0
Lofgren, Zoe H CA D $1,000 $0 $1,000
McNerney, Jerry H CA D $1,000 $1,000 $0
Michaud, Mike H ME D $1,000 $1,000 $0
Mitchell, Harry E H AZ D $1,000 $1,000 $0
Musgrave, Marilyn H CO R $1,000 $0 $1,000
Ortiz, Solomon P H TX D $1,000 $1,000 $0
Rush, Bobby L H IL D $1,000 $0 $1,000
Schiff, Adam H CA D $1,000 $1,000 $0
Scott, Robert C H VA D $1,000 $0 $1,000
Smith, Chris H NJ R $1,000 $0 $1,000
Space, Zachary T H OH D $1,000 $1,000 $0
Terry, Lee H NE R $1,000 $0 $1,000
Walberg, Tim H MI R $1,000 $0 $1,000
Welch, Peter H VT D $1,000 $1,000 $0
Wolf, Frank R H VA R $1,000 $1,000 $0
Dole, Elizabeth S NC R $1,000 $0 $1,000
Lautenberg, Frank R S NJ D $1,000 $0 $1,000
Christian-Green, Donna D VI D $750 $0 $750
Inslee, Jay R H WA D $750 $0 $750
Duncan, John J Jr H TN R $600 $600 $0
Bilbray, Brian P H CA R $500 $0 $500
Bishop, Sanford D Jr H GA D $500 $500 $0
Castor, Kathy H FL D $500 $0 $500
Edwards, Donna H MD D $500 $0 $500
Hinchey, Maurice H NY D $500 $0 $500
LaHood, Ray H IL R $500 $0 $500
Mack, Connie H FL R $500 $0 $500
Pascrell, Bill Jr H NJ D $500 $500 $0
Pickering, Charles "Chip" Jr H MS R $500 $500 $0
Rehberg, Denny H MT R $500 $0 $500
Sarbanes, John H MD D $500 $0 $500
Shadegg, John H AZ R $500 $0 $500
Skelton, Ike H MO D $500 $500 $0
Smith, Lamar H TX R $500 $500 $0
Stark, Pete H CA D $500 $500 $0
Weldon, Dave H FL R $500 $0 $500
Wu, David H OR D $500 $0 $500
Graham, Lindsey S SC R $500 $0 $500
Brown, Corrine H FL D $450 $0 $450
Turner, Michael R H OH R $375 $0 $375
Hastings, Alcee L H FL D $300 $0 $300
Warner, John W S VA R $300 $0 $300
Aderholt, Robert B H AL R $250 $0 $250
Arcuri, Michael H NY D $250 $0 $250
Carney, Chris H PA D $250 $0 $250
Dicks, Norm H WA D $250 $0 $250
Lampson, Nick H TX D $250 $0 $250
Manzullo, Don H IL R $250 $0 $250
Platts, Todd H PA R $250 $0 $250
Watson, Diane E H CA D $250 $0 $250
Weiner, Anthony D H NY D $250 $0 $250
DeMint, James W S SC R $250 $0 $250
Sanders, Bernie S VT I $250 $250 $0

Total $4,844,572 $3,017,797 $1,826,775

Includes contributions from PACs and individuals. 2008 cycle totals based on data released electronically by the Federal Election Commission on Sept. 2, 2008.

John McCain is waaaaaay down on that there list.

http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/09/update-fannie-mae-and-freddie.html