John McSame

h/t to Joe Sudbay at Americablog
--the BB

Turning their ads against them

Jed L takes the latest Republican National Committee ad ("Storm") and turns it against them. I love it when when Dems fight back.



--the BB

WaPo does some digging

Michael Leahy has an article up in today's Washington Post. I commend it to you.

POWs kept their minds occupied.

Stratton would imagine meticulously assembling a large glider and flying it over the Alps. Another prisoner imagined himself fishing. But McCain had the most audacious dream of all, and he shared his vision one day with a group of fellow POWs. "He was talking about his father to us and then he said: 'I want to be president of the United States. Someday I'm going to be president,' " Stratton recalls. "If the cell wasn't so small, we'd have been rolling around laughing."

His friend, thought Stratton, ought to be concentrating far less on his fantasy and more on how to redirect a naval career that had been adrift before he was shot down over Hanoi. "We reminded him that he had dug himself a big hole with his demerits in the past and nearly being the bottom man of his class at the Naval Academy," Stratton recalls. "And now he was talking about being president? 'Come on, John. Get your career straightened out.' "

Not at all dissuaded, McCain offered his view on the meaning of real command, shaped in part by his father's perspective on genuine power. He wanted to be the one who made the decisions, McCain said, and his father had taught him that even such impressive-sounding jobs as chief of naval operations, the service's highest uniformed position, didn't always provide that opportunity. The only job that guaranteed it was that of president, McCain believed.

Great. Another "Decider."

More of the Same.

You can read it all here.
--the BB

Getting to know you: McCain at the craps table

Michael Kinsley shares a tale about John McCain in a Puerto Rican casino in 2005:

McCain’s game is craps. So is Jeff Dearth’s. Jeff was at the table when McCain showed up and happily made room for him. Apparently there is some kind of rule or tradition in craps that everyone’s hands are supposed to be above the table when the dice are about to be thrown. McCain—“very likely distracted by one of the many people who approached him that evening,” Jeff says charitably—apparently was violating this rule. A small middle-aged woman at the table, apparently a “regular,” reached out and pulled McCain’s arm away. I’ll let Jeff take over the story:

“McCain immediately turned to the woman and said between clenched teeth: ‘DON’T TOUCH ME.’ The woman started to explain...McCain interrupted her: ‘DON’T TOUCH ME,’ he repeated viciously. The woman again tried to explain. ‘DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU’RE TALKING TO?’ McCain continued, his voice rising and his hands now raised in the ‘bring it on’ position. He was red-faced. By this time all the action at the table had stopped. I was completely shocked. McCain had totally lost it, and in the space of about ten seconds. ‘Sir, you must be courteous to the other players at the table,’ the pit boss said to McCain. “DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? ASK ANYBODY AROUND HERE WHO I AM.”

Read it all here.

I believe an appropriate response might have been: Yes, we know who you are and who your daddy and granddaddy are and we really don't give a shit. Arrogance is not becoming. In anyone.

h/t to Hunter who has more to say on this
--the BB

Just a little re-run in cased you'd missed it

h/t to Watertiger at Dependable Renegade for reminding me about this one.
--the BB

Shall we talk about domestic terrorism?

h/t Joe Sudbay

--the BB

So, what was the Keating Five scandal all about? What was John McCain's role in it?

You can hear the story here (13 minutes 26 seconds):



Unless you are a free-market fundamentalist, in which case nothing will challenge your devotion to an unregulated kleptocracy, you should find this directly relevant to the recent financial milieu which has allowed unbridled greed and manipulation to lead us into the current economic shitpile.

Obama was 8 when Ayers was practicing domestic terrorism. I highly doubt he had, at that point, even heard of the Weather Underground. I am unaware of Obama ever advocating terrorism.

McCain was in his 50s when this was going on. I highly doubt that he can claim naivete in the Keating affair, though he may well plead close friendship. It is a matter of record that McCain has, on numerous occasions and rather consistently, advocated deregulation.

McCain has regretted his involvement in this.

I made the worst mistake of my life by attending two meetings, the first with the chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, the government agency charged with regulating the practices of the nation’s savings and loans, and a week later with four bank examiners based in San Francisco who were at that time investigating the investment and lending practices of Lincoln Savings and Loan of Irvine, California, owned by my good friend and generous supporter Charles Keating.

Even last year he was saying, "I was judged eventually, after three years, of using, quote, poor judgment, and I agree with that assessment."

My own opinion is that allowing the robber barons of a century ago or today to run loose and savage the populace is to tolerate, excuse, and even promote financial terrorism. The American People is now feeling a sort of fear for the future that might be termed "economic terror."

The McCain-Palin campaign wants to discuss associations. Let's start with this one.

Visit Keating Economics: John McCain and the making of a financial crisis.

You can also read commentary by John Dougherty here. An excerpt:

Black, now an associate professor of economics and law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, said in a telephone interview Wednesday that McCain’s long-standing opposition to regulation of the financial markets and his support for relaxed accounting standards that allow institutions to mask losses makes him unqualified to handle the financial crisis that threatens an economic Armageddon for the country.

[Emphasis mine, as usual]

h/t to BarbinMD.
--the BB

Shall we talk about associations? -updated with video (2x)

The Ambitious Twit is trying to stir things up. How very mavericky of her! [OMG, spell check recognized mavericky. What is this society coming to? Don't answer that.]

So Governor Palin wants to play up the acquaintanceship of Senator Obama and a former member of the Weather Underground - something that was discussed earlier in the campaign and found to be smoke without any real fire. [They have served on charity boards together and Ayers had a fundraiser that benefited Obama though Ayers' violent activities took place when Obama was 8 and Obama has denounced the Weather Underground and any similar terrorist groups.]

Alaska Governor Palin has defended the remarks, which she made several times, saying it was "fair to talk about".

...

Mrs Palin has defended her comments, saying they were "about an association that has been known but hasn't been talked about".
--the BBC

Well, Governor, since you insist, may we note that Senator McCain's association with Charles Keating has been known but has not, of late, been talked about very much? Shall we engage in some vigorous exploration and discussion there, looking, perhaps, for clues to the early days of deregulation and timorous (or non-existent) oversight that helped lead to our current financial crisis? The ties between the Keating and McCain families were far closer than any association Obama has had with Ayers. And, arguably, of significant consequence for the American economy.

Shall we spend a lot more time discussing Governor Palin's association with the Alaska Independent Party? You know, the successionist group that believes Alaska should not be part of the United States. The group whose founder once said:

The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government...and I won't be buried under their damn flag...

I'm an Alaskan, not an American. I've got no use for America or her damned institutions.

Governor Palin has palled around with this group and her husband (the First Dude) has been a member of AIP from 1995 to 2002.

Shall we discuss McCain's association with G. Gordon Liddy, a true maverick and criminal to boot who has hatched, though not carried out, plots for murder, kidnapping, and firebombing? Nice guy there. Does McCain agree with Liddy's harebrained schemes of former days?

We don't even need to go into Palin's association with a witch-hunting anti-semitic preacher do we?

Guilt by association is a very old game. If that is how she wants to play there is plenty of shit to fling but must we revert to the antics of monkeys in a presidential campaign?

And why the bloody hell can't you stick to policies and records of actions instead of pulling this nonsense?

Because you don't really want to face the embarrassment of the policies and actions that have gotten us into this mess and from which you cannot, no matter how many times you say "maverick," dissociate yourselves?

Let's face it, McCain and Palin have nothing to go on. So they're flinging shit. And a lot more of it will fly before election day.

Pathetic.

Perhaps the GOP should switch its symbol to a simian.

See McCain's own words in the video below.

h/t to BarbinMD from whom I took these points and links

Update:
Paul Begala and Tom Brokaw discuss the issue



Update 2:

Here is a video of the CNN Truth Squad debunking Palin's claim:



h/t to Billary Redux
--the BB

An erratic response to a crisis

h/t to mysticlaker
--the BB

Soy Barack Obama y apruebo este mensaje

It must be emotions week. I cried at Matt's dancing video, I sobbed uncontrollably over Grendel, and now I am all misty with conflicting emotions from this short video.

It's in Spanish. It's about McCain's healthcare abomination. It's reaching out to the hispanohablantes. The plight of our uninsured and underinsured is tragic and shameful. As a nation we should be bitterly ashamed. My heart was already melting. Just hearing Obama speak those words in Spanish (not the best Spanish but not the worst either) moved me. He's not a messiah. Nobody in politics (or churches) is. But I do believe he deeply desires to represent all of the American people. Got me choked up. Here's the ad:



h/t to Steven R with lots on Obama's attack on McCain's "health plan."

He's a deregulatin' kind of guy

h/t to Maha and her post "Holy Bleep"
--the BB

Getting to know you (a series)

John McCain likes to gamble. His preference is for craps.

I don't want him gambling with the future of this nation or the world, thank you very much. Oh, and by the way....



h/t to dday at Digby's Hullabaloo
--the BB

What planet is he living on?

You've heard the rumors about McCain's "health plan."

Tonight I read this from Jacki Schechner at Americablog:

George Stephanopoulos followed up on Friday night and asked John McCain a little bit about his health care plan this morning. Specifically, he wanted to know if it's true McCain plans to tax your health care benefits at work as if they're salary. Not only is it true - very, very true - but you're not getting the full story. McCain says he'll give you a $2500/$5000 (individual/family) tax credit to go out and buy your own insurance instead. Sounds great, but do you know how much insurance costs these days?

Let's see, $2500 will pay my health insurance premiums from January through March. WTF am I supposed to do from April through December? Go without insurance?

He's not even on another planet. John McCain is living in some parallel universe where you are middle class until you make over $5 million per year and you can have eight houses and still characterize your opponent as an out-of-touch elitist. "My friends" my ass. McCain doesn't know me, doesn't know anything about the lives of ordinary people, and sure as hell is not my friend.

Go tax your billionaire buddies, asshole. I have enough trouble paying my premiums without you taxing them.

PS: I don't have Photoshop on my laptop and apologize for the crudeness of my photo alterations. Not for the crudeness or vulgarity of thought, however.
--the BB

A businessman and student of economics writes:

For McCain to shed tears for corporate tax rates first gives us some insight as to who he really cares about and second, is just wrong. McCain still thinks it's the 1980s with his Reagan trickle down economics talk. It didn't work then and it definitely isn't working now. Corporate America does not need a tax break, especially while the middle class is stuck with yet another bill. Let them be good citizens like the middle class and pay their fair share and modernize the tax code to prevent this offshore nonsense that is illegal for regular Americans. Regardless, the entire McCain pitch was yet another 1980's retread with the same tired old talk that brought us here today. It doesn't register with McCain that we've been trying the 1980's GOP theory for a few decades and it just imploded. After last night, it wasn't clear to McCain that the event even occurred.

--Chris in Paris at Americablog

[Emphasis mine]

For more context, click above and read the preceding paragraphs.
--the BB

Getting to know you: let's deregulate health care!

h/t to Joe Sudbay at Americablog
--the BB

Delusional or duplicitous?

Without privatization, I don’t see how you can possibly, over time, make sure that young Americans are able to receive Social Security benefits.
- John McCain, 11/18/2004

h/t to Sam Loomis
--the BB

Getting to know you: the series

h/t to sweetliberty
--the BB

Just remember...

...the names Keating and McCain have something to do with each other.

[Scroll down to the birthday photo.]
--the BB

Anyone sorry we didn't privatize social security?

Jack Cafferty sums it up well:



McCain: not to be trusted with your future

h/t to SoulGeorgia at Daily Kos
--the BB

David Corn notes what McCain ignores

If McCain wants to hold someone accountable for the failure in transparency and accountability that led to the current calamity, he should turn to his good friend and adviser, Phil Gramm.

As Mother Jones reported in June, eight years ago, Gramm, then a Republican senator chairing the Senate banking committee, slipped a 262-page bill into a gargantuan, must-pass spending measure. Gramm's legislation, written with the help of financial industry lobbyists, essentially removed newfangled financial products called swaps from any regulation. Credit default swaps are basically insurance policies that cover the losses on investments, and they have been at the heart of the subprime meltdown because they have enabled large financial institutions to turn risky loans into risky securities that could be packaged and sold to other institutions.

Lehman's collapse threatens the financial markets because of swaps.

h/t to Chris in Paris at Americablog - check Corn's article here.
--the BB