It's customary for a Trial Ballon to float up and either get shot down or continue an upward trajectory...
What has occurred in the last several days and especially this afternoon is nothing short of a Biden BLIMP... Conventional Wisdom is congeeling around Senator Joe Biden and now the CW is officially signing off on this decision as smart, safe, and effective. If you approve of Joe, vote in the poll below after rec'in this diary to let the Obama web folks know dKos now approves.
Within the last few hours I've spoken with two of the finalists for the role of Barack Obama's running-mate, and to two other sources who are close to the process.
He is a lively and feisty if unpredictable campaigner with working-class roots and a street-level feel for the hot spots of the globe — which he can use to go toe-to-toe with Sen. John McCain.
"If I had to bet my life on it, I'd bet it is Joe," said one of the other contenders.
Said another, "Barack is moving toward a seasoned Beltway type, and that probably means Biden."
"My opponent John McCain," he said as the crowd began to boo, "John McCain, you know, he has been talking about how he puts country first, but I have to say it is not an example of putting country first when you say that George Bush’s economic policies have shown great progress. He said that just a few months ago -- that, you know, we made great economic progress under George Bush. Then he started running ads saying 'oh, Obama just going to raise your taxes and he will lead to an economic disaster.'" "Mr. McCain let me explain to you, the economic disaster is happening right now," Obama continued, "maybe you haven't noticed!"
McCain is such an easy target... it's all low hanging fruit. This is all a decision on Obama's part. Get real tough or stay on vacation. I think Obama has seen the polls and hopefully the real tough Obama is now here to stay.
"Once again, bigoted fringe author Jerome Corsi is trying to make money off of an election, spinning garbage as journalism and relying on the right-wing echo chamber to pump up sales."
Obama "Nails" McCain in this new ad on the Economy and Iraq drawing on some populist themes and linking McCain to Bush and the economy to ending the war.
Could this be considered the Nuclear option regarding expanding to cover Talk Radio under the Fairness Doctrine? Speaking at the Heritage Institute, I think the FCC commish just threatened us...
"I think the fear is that somehow large corporations will censor their content, their points of view, right," McDowell said. "I think the bigger concern for them should be if you have government dictating content policy, which by the way would have a big First Amendment problem."
"Then, whoever is in charge of government is going to determine what is fair, under a so-called ‘Fairness Doctrine,’ which won’t be called that – it’ll be called something else," McDowell said. "So, will Web sites, will bloggers have to give equal time or equal space on their Web site to opposing views rather than letting the marketplace of ideas determine that?"
McDowell told BMI the Fairness Doctrine isn’t currently on the FCC’s radar. But a new administration and Congress elected in 2008 might renew Fairness Doctrine efforts, but under another name.
You can try to put Red State shit on this site, But I won't click the links...
Thank you for taking this onto the Rec list... Democrats are ignoring a goldmine
This spring while Oil prices soared, debate festered between various factions as to whether supply/demand vs. speculators were causing the energy markets to rocket up. In case you haven't noticed, Oil markets are crashing and only one real actual thing has happened to affect this situation, and that thing was predicted to cause this exact response.... what is it?
The Democratic Congress CLOSED the Enron Loophole in the Farm Bill on June 22nd
Take Credit NOW PLEASE!!! The MSM is claiming there is a fear of soft economic growth... This is laughable as oil went up and up through the spring and summer as it became common for the MSM and everyone else to talk slow growth, recession, etc... Something else happened, something the press is ignoring as well as our Party, at our own peril.
Paper trail and links to back this up below with graphs...
The Obama campaign yesterday announced it will run its "National Priorities" spot — an attack on McCain for his ties to the oil industry — on Gas Station TV, which airs at ... gas stations.
Now — in the sort of flap a campaign welcomes — Obama's camp says Gas Station TV won't air it.
"As Gas Station TV informed the campaign this afternoon, the company will not run ads that are damaging to oil companies," says a release from the Obama campaign.
The McCain campaign is quickly setting a new bar for how low a campaign can go... Here is the Obama campaign response.
"It’s downright sad that on a day when we learned that 51,000 Americans lost their jobs, a candidate for the presidency is spending all of his time and the powerful platform he has on these sorts of juvenile antics. Senator McCain can keep telling everyone how ‘proud’ he is of these political stunts which even his Republican friends and advisors have called ‘childish’, but Barack Obama will continue talking about his plan to jumpstart our economy by giving working families $1,000 of immediate relief," said Obama campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan.
And if you missed it, McCain LIED today, bigtime... I think the sheen has worn off
McCain: "I don’t think the campaign is negative in the slightest."
Barack Obama today just back slapped McCain's campaign with a cold dose of reality... in the form of ridicule and taunt...
"I do have to ask my opponent– Is that the best you can come up with? Is that really what this election’s about? Is that what is worthy of the American people?"
Says later: "It’s politics as a game, but the time for game-playing is over."
Meanwhile the McCain campaign is turning into McComplain faking outrage over supposed "Race card" playing. We'll see how that one plays out, but it certainly appears to be a case of misunderstanding with regards to basic Grammar.
Ohhhh Snap... now former McCain aids are going on record critical of the McComplain Campaign of late...
With the release today of a McCain television ad blasting Obama for celebrity preening while gas prices rise, and a memo that accuses Obama of putting his own aggrandizement before the country, Weaver said he's had "enough."
The ad's premise, he said, is "childish."
"John's been a celebrity ever since he was shot down," Weaver said.
"Whatever that means. And I recall Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush going overseas and all those waving American flags."
He added: "There is legitimate mockery of a political campaign now, and it isn't at Obama's. For McCain's sake, this tomfoolery needs to stop."
This is utterly disgusting folks... Adam "Hack" Nagourney is out on the NY Times with a hatchet "Where’s the Bounce?" I'll tell you where the bounce is Adam... it's being ignored by the media, that's where it is...
They are listing selective polling as of now, choosing to run with the USA Today/Gallup snapshot LV screen, ignoring the RV numbers from the same poll and blowing the average. The average would be certainly different if they didn't include a BAD Poll while IGNORING a highly respected poll... I've never seen them ignore a poll before, and somehow, they just are.
"We have various options. The Nuremberg Trials are certainly an example of the kind of tribunal that we could move forward with. I don't think we'd have any difficulty in devising an international -- internationally supported mechanism that would mete out justice. There's no problem there."
I was utterly inspired today by what Mike Allen calls
"a manifesto for the planet, with an appeal to "the burdens of global citizenship."
You saw it as we all did and my greatest fear in this moment of utter awe and inspiration is that there may be a crack in the system and this year, of all years, may expose the potential for Democracy's failure...
I worry that the combination of the visual and some of the rhetoric--"Tonight, I speak to you not as a candidate for President, but as a citizen--a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world"--was a little too post-nationalist for the typical American swing-voter. I'm not sure you win the presidency without being seen as an unambiguous nationalist.
And I'm reminded of the Dark Knight which I enjoyed this weekend, and how sometimes Democracy Fails.
First off, I have to admit that I loath Mark Halperin. That said, the insufferable twit often times gets the goods on Obama's moves a few days prior to the actual. For instance, just before Edwards endorsed Obama, a day or two prior, he had on the site a photo of John with a question about him linking him to Obama. It's clear that Halperin gets some heavy hints from inside the Obama campaign which leads to his putting up posts like today's headline
On the rec list, there is a diary concerned with election theft, and in this one, I'll present reasons why theft can't happen this year. I believe that while a close election could be stolen, you won't be able to steal a landslide...
On the front page, there is a great piece discussing the 20 offices opening all over Virginia, and the McCain camp reaction is simply classic...
Marc Ambinder also notified us today that the offices are opening in Montana too
That a Democratic presidential candidate opened six campaign offices in Montana? As of Saturday, Obama For America will have 24/7 "Campaign for Change" outposts In Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Great Falls, Helena and Missoula.
Honestly, these News Releases are very abstract, without context, visuals, and don't break into the National News. That's why I want to draw attention to the turn out of 1,200 volunteers greeting the opening of Colorado's field offices on Tuesday.
"I welcome news that the Bush Administration has shifted course and will send an envoy for direct talks as part of the P5+1 with the Iranians in Geneva this weekend. I commend our European allies and other friends on this effort. Now that the United States is involved, it should stay involved with the full strength of our diplomacy. A united front with our friends and allies directly calling on the Iranians to stand down on their illicit nuclear program will maximize the international pressure we can bring to bear and will show the Iranian people that Iran's isolation is a function of its government's unwillingness to live up to its obligations. Iran should live up to its obligations now; by waiting, it will only face greater isolation."
I think this sorta harkens back to the slinkerwink diary yesterday about pity comments and keeping it simple... I would have preferred Obama be a bit more direct...
Of course the article skews and head fakes its way to champion the horserace, highlighting every strenght of McCain while overlooking the Obama strengths.
All told, Obama leads McCain among registered voters by 8 points in this ABC/Post poll, 50-42 percent.
Turnout makes a difference: It's 51-39 percent among all adults overall, but narrows to a close 49-46 percent match among likely voters. As noted, Republicans are among those more likely to vote; young adults, less so.
And that's the key... which story is the media willing to tell and while lie are they willing to live by for ratings. Pick your byline:
