PERRspectives: October 2008 Archives

October 2008 Archives

	Palin Adds 1st Amendment to Her Constitution Woes On the same day a new poll showed that 59% of Americans found her unqualified for the second highest office in the land, Republican Sarah Palin offered yet more confirmations of their wisdom. Palin, who on at least three occasions displayed a total ignorance of the constitutional role of the vice president, on Friday revealed that the First Amendment is alien to her as well. Palin's latest unfortunate run-in with the United States Constitution came during an interview with conservative... more Posted on October 31, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	McCain's Defining Moment on Saturday Night Live? Following in the footsteps of his running mate Sarah Palin, Republican John McCain will appear on NBC's Saturday Night Live this weekend. Coming just three days before Americans head to the polls, McCain is hoping a little levity might help reverse his long slump in the polls. Sadly for the supposed maverick, his defining moment on SNL already came four years ago. McCain's most important performance by far on SNL came neither this May nor during his 2002 rendition of... more Posted on October 31, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	McCain on Obama: "He's Centrist" After two weeks in which his campaign has tried to brand Barack Obama a "socialist" and worse, John McCain took one small step back from the specter of the red menace. Appearing on the Larry King show Wednesday, McCain admitted that his Democratic opponent is no socialist. But as Election Day nears, don't expect John McCain to repeat his 2005 assessment of Obama, "he's centrist." The Republican smearing of Obama has included comical charges that the man backed by Warren... more Posted on October 30, 2008 \| Comments (2)

	McCain Offers Tax Windfall for Cindy the Beer Heiress As Election Day nears, John McCain continues to deploy Joe "the Plumber" Wurzelbacher as a human shield against Barack Obama and his plan for middle class tax cuts. But while Wurzelbacher himself admitted he would fare better under Obama, another of McCain's representative Americans is set to receive a massive windfall if the Arizona Senator is elected. No doubt about it, Mrs. McCain - Cindy the Beer Heiress - would pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars thanks to her husband.... more Posted on October 29, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	McCain Disagrees with McCain, Joe the Plumber on Social Security One day after failing to repudiate Joe the Plumber's slanderous claim that Barack Obama represents "death to Israel," John McCain will share a Miami stage with his ersatz working man. As it turns out, Florida is a fitting location for their next joint appearance. No doubt, the elderly voters there will enjoy the spectacle of John McCain's retreat on Social Security, which he recently called "an absolute disgrace" and his new domestic policy adviser/plumber Joe Wurzelbacher blasted as "a joke."... more Posted on October 29, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	In Final Days, Bush Bypasses Laws on Privacy and Hiring Discrimination Even in its last throes, the Bush administration continues its uninterrupted lawlessness. As two recent stories by Charlie Savage of the New York Times revealed, President Bush ignored Congressional statutes requiring privacy disclosures by his Department of Homeland Security and non-discrimination in hiring by faith-based groups receiving federal funds. In twice turning his back on the rule of law, Bush again resorted to his favorite executive power-grabbing tools, the signing statement and "interpretation" by the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel.... more Posted on October 29, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	McCain Surrogate Fiorina to Auto Industry: Drop Dead Back in January, John McCain helped doom his chances in the Michigan primary with his declaration that he didn't want to "false hopes that somehow we can bring back lost jobs." Now on the eve of the election, McCain's renegade surrogate Carly Fiorina only magnified his problems in the Rust Belt states with her insistence "the auto industry cannot be saved from its own bad bets." Even as the Bush White House was scambling to find new measures to help... more Posted on October 28, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	McCain Attacks Bush for Economic Policies They Share One day after proclaiming on Meet the Press that he and George W. Bush share a common philosophy, John McCain took to a stage in Cleveland Monday to attack the President's economic policies. As it turns out, of course, when it comes to ideology and policy on the economy, John McCain and George W. Bush are virtually indistinguishable. The feebleness of McCain's effort to distance himself from Bush was revealed in its brevity. Despite the AP's headline that "McCain says... more Posted on October 27, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	Despite Media Myths, Obama Dominant Among Hispanic and Jewish Voters Among the enduring myths of the 2008 election have been the purported struggles of Barack Obama in securing the support of Hispanic and Jewish voters. But as new polls suggest, Obama will not only dominate John McCain among these groups, he may outperform Al Gore and John Kerry as well. A recent survey from Gallup revealed a 50 point edge for Obama among Jewish voters. Starting from a two-to-one lead in June, Obama now enjoys triple the support of John... more Posted on October 27, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	GOP Fear-Mongering Now Includes Holocaust, Gay Uncle The Republican Party may no longer be able to manufacture votes, but it can still produce its fair share of ironies. On the stump in Iowa, Sarah Palin warned supporters of the party of Mark Foley, Ted Haggard and Larry Craig to beware "Uncle Barney Frank." And in Pennsylvania, the McCain campaign official responsible for helping perpetrate the Ashley Todd hoax defended an email claiming an Obama presidency would augur a second Holocaust. For her part, Governor Palin went for... more Posted on October 26, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	Lieberman, Anchorage Paper Latest to Disrespect Palin While the outcome of the presidential election may still be in doubt, that John McCain's selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was a disaster is certain. Eye-popping poll numbers, an avalanche of newspaper endorsements and a growing list of turncoat conservatives all cite Palin's staggering lack of qualifications as a critical factor in backing Barack Obama. And adding insult to injury, Joe Lieberman and Palin's home state paper are just the latest to voice their doubts about McCain's running mate... more Posted on October 26, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	The McCain Campaign's Susan Smith Moment Back in 1994, South Carolina mother Susan Smith earned the revulsion of the nation when she blamed a mysterious black assailant for the abduction of her two sons, children she ultimately admitted having murdered herself. With today's revelations that it helped foster a hoax about the supposed assault of one of its volunteers by an African-American backer of Barack Obama, John McCain's presidential campaign has joined Smith as a race-baiting fraud. The fabricated assault on Ashley Todd, the young white... more Posted on October 24, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	Palin, Abortion and the Right-Wing Terror Threat Just one week after John McCain stunned Americans with his sneering contempt for the "health of the mother" needing an abortion, his running mate Sarah Palin refused to condemn anti-abortion terrorists as terrorists. By giving a pass to convicted killers like Eric Rudolph and James Kopp, Palin is just the latest in a long line of leading conservatives to provide the kindling for far right domestic terrorism. As recent history shows, when it comes to abortion, gay Americans, immigration or... more Posted on October 24, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	McCain Issues Challenge: Name a Single Issue I've Changed On For the second time in six weeks, John McCain has challenged the press and the public to "name a single issue" where's he changed positions since 2000. Sadly for the supposed maverick, his growing list of reversals, flip-flops and turnabouts now numbers in the dozens. None of which deterred McCain from pretending otherwise in an interview Wednesday with the CBS affiliate in Washington, DC. Asked, "where is the John McCain from 2000?" and "has something changed," Mr. Straight Talk responded:... more Posted on October 24, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	Sarah Palin, Welfare Queen In a 21st century update to the Republican war on "welfare queens," John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin have tried to brand Barack Obama's tax-cutting policies as "welfare" and "socialism." But as it turns out, it is Palin who has emerged as the welfare queen of the 2008 campaign. From her family's taxpayer-funded travel and gubernatorial perks in Alaska to her toney $150,000 wardrobe courtesy of the Republican National Committee, Sarah Palin is living the high life by depending... more Posted on October 23, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	Palin Tells Dobson McCain Supports Draconian GOP Platform For the second time in 48 hours, Sarah Palin praised the ultra hardline Republican platform which ignores John McCain's past stands on abortion, same-sex marriage and stem cell research. One day after a CBN interview in which she extolled the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage it calls for, Palin told James Dobson that her running mate supports the extremist platform planks he in fact long opposed. As it turns out, McCain's acquiescence in the writing of the Republican platform revealed... more Posted on October 22, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	McCain's Al Qaeda Endorsement Back in April, John McCain taunted Barack Obama as the choice of Hamas in the wake of remarks by a spokesman for that organization. Now with the news that Al Qaeda web sites are seemingly backing McCain for President, the Republican might want to reconsider that line of attack. And to be sure, John McCain should steer clear of touting "Osama the Terrorist" at his rallies. As the Washington Post detailed Wednesday, Al Qaeda cadres see a McCain as the... more Posted on October 22, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	Palin, Like Quayle, Stumped by Grade School Student Back in 1992, Vice President Dan Quayle famously misspelled "potato" during a grade school spelling bee. Now 16 years later Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has just had her own Dan Quayle moment. Asked by a Colorado third grader what the vice president does, Palin revealed that she failed to read - or at least understand - the United States Constitution. As ThinkProgress recounted, Palin's hot potatoe came during an interview with NBC affiliate KUSA: Q: Brandon Garcia wants to know,... more Posted on October 21, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	Joe Klein Latest to Be Ejected from McCain Plane Just three weeks after booting New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd from the campaign plane, Team McCain grounded Time magazine's Joe Klein as well. Apparently, when the going gets tough, John McCain tells the tough to get going. Unable to withstand Klein's documentation of the McCain campaign's descent into the gutter, the Straight Talk Express banished him instead: Campaign spokesperson Michael Goldfarb responded that "we don't allow Daily Kos diarists on board either." Once upon time, Joe Klein lauded John... more Posted on October 21, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	Palin, GOP Platform Ignore McCain on Same-Sex Marriage Ban Bloggers left and right took notice Monday of Sarah Palin's seeming split with running mate John McCain over the Federal Marriage Amendment. But overlooked in Palin's announcement that she supports a constitutional ban on same sex marriage is that hers - and not McCain's - is the official position of the Republican Party platform. In her interview with CBN, Palin parted company with McCain over the need for enshrining a prohibition on marriage for gay Americans in the United States... more Posted on October 21, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	McCain a Case Study in Projection on Obama Cash As the presidential campaign enters its final days, John McCain is emerging as a case study in what psychologists term "projection." Perhaps still feeling guilty about the mountain of cash from Charles Keating which almost ended his career 20 years ago, McCain is instead attacking Barack Obama's stunning fundraising success. As it turns out, McCain's affliction is so severe that he is blasting the very kind of small donor network he once extolled. Facing the $150 million avalanche of campaign... more Posted on October 20, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	John McCain's Human Shields As his appearance on Fox News Sunday showed once again, "Joe the Plumber" is John McCain's newest human shield. Wurzelbacher is just the latest prop rolled out to either lend McCain attributes he obviously lacks or to offer the supposed maverick a cloak of invulnerability to criticism. As it turns out, he joins a long list of McCain's metaphorical bodyguards including David Petraeus, Meg Whitman, Carly Fiorina and even John Lewis. While the miraculous creation of Joe the Plumber now... more Posted on October 19, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	McCain Blasts Reagan, Self as Socialist In much the same way that night follows day, a desperate John McCain predictably played the "socialist" card against Barack Obama. Ratcheting up his recent scurrilous attacks that Obama's tax cuts for working Americans constitute "welfare," McCain in his Saturday radio address followed running mate Sarah Palin and Ohio Senator George Voinovich in branding Obama a socialist. Sadly for McCain, his thundering diatribe against refundable tax credits makes him a sworn enemy of his hero Ronald Reagan and, as it... more Posted on October 18, 2008 \| Comments (2)

	McCain's "Welfare" Charge Insults American Taxpayers In his speeches and with his latest ad, John McCain is committing a double-fraud when it comes to tax policy. In a spot featuring ersatz plumber and BFN (best friend for now) Joe Wurzelbacher, McCain called Barack Obama's tax plan for working families "welfare." As his duplicitous spot reveals, John McCain apparently knows very little about payroll taxes paid by virtually all American workers. And as it turns out, the self-proclaimed "foot soldier in the Reagan revolution" knows even less... more Posted on October 18, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	Remembering George W. Bush at the Al Smith Dinner On Thursday, candidates John McCain and Barack Obama took a break from the down and dirty battles of the election to poke fun at each other during the annual Al Smith dinner in New York. But if McCain and Obama's night of graciousness and good-natured ribbing was a welcome break from the highly-charged campaign, it also served as a reminder of George W. Bush's all-too-revealing remarks at the same event eight years earlier. As he showed then, Bush's attempts at... more Posted on October 17, 2008 \| Comments (4)

	McCain and His Plumber Hate Social Security In the wake of last night's third and final presidential debate, a media frenzy has surrounded John McCain's latest human shield, "Joe the Plumber." But while reporters and bloggers continue to plumb the depths of Republican Joe Wurzelbacher's voter registration, unpaid taxes, distant links to Charles Keating, business license and other miscellany, one useful nugget for voters has emerged. As it turns out, John McCain and his new best friend for life both hate Social Security. In an interview earlier... more Posted on October 16, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	McCain Attack Boomerangs, Shows GOP Extremism on Abortion For the past two weeks, the McCain campaign and its allies have been waging an aggressive smear campaign designed to portray Barack Obama as out of the mainstream on the issue of abortion. But with his dripping condescension about the "health of the mother" in Wednesday's final presidential debate, John McCain turned the tables on himself. His adolescent "air quotes" not only confirmed his caustic disregard for the health and rights of American women. With his scorn, McCain also reminded... more Posted on October 16, 2008 \| Comments (7)

	The Record: Stock Market, Economy Do Better Under Democrats On Wednesday, the New York Times performed an election year public service with an analysis that was part history lesson and part thought exercise. Taking the example of the S&P 500 going back to Herbert Hoover, the Times rightly concluded that the Democratic Party "has been better for American pocketbooks and capitalism as a whole." But the Democrats' proven track record isn't limited to the S&P index. As history has proven time and again, Wall Street and the economy overall... more Posted on October 15, 2008 \| Comments (4)

	McCain's New, New Plan: The Rich Get Richer After days of conflicting rumors from his own campaign, John McCain emerged Tuesday to offer his new, new plan for the economy. While parroting Barack Obama's proposals to Monday to end taxes on unemployment benefits and a temporary reduction in the tax rates on IRA withdrawals, the centerpiece of McCain's latest economic policy spasm is a halving the tax on capital gains. With the latter providing almost 60% of its benefits to families earning over $1 million a year, John... more Posted on October 14, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	"Comeback McCain" Recycles 2004 Convention Speech for Bush After a weekend of rampant speculation that Monday would produce yet another incarnation of John McCain, the only comeback from his campaign appears to be the text of his 2004 speech to the Republican National Convention. McCain's latest transformation - after McCain the Goldwater disciple, the Reagan footsoldier, the Maverick, the neocon, the experienced one, the change agent, Maverick II and, most recently, the race-baiting smear merchant - is once again that of "the fighter." And if you think you've... more Posted on October 13, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	The 2008 Nobel Prizes for Conservatives Coming just 12 months after Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize, news that Princeton professor and New York Times economist Paul Krugman garnered the 2008 award for economics once again has some conservatives apoplectic. But while some (for example, here and here) take solace that Krugman was not recognized for his punditry, many rugged individualists on the right remain hopping mad that they never win prizes designed to recognize contributions to, well, the rest of humanity. To once again... more Posted on October 13, 2008 \| Comments (2)

	McCain's So-Called Adviser John Lewis Calls Him Out Back in August, Republican presidential candidate John McCain stunned the audience at Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Forum by citing Democratic Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis as one of the "wisest people that you know that you would rely on heavily in an administration." On Saturday, Lewis offered McCain some sage advice - and a stern warning - about the disgusting turn his increasingly ugly campaign had taken. Unsurprisingly, the supposed maverick shunned his supposed adviser's wisdom that the... more Posted on October 13, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	McCain's Troubles with Economists Continue to Mount Over the past two weeks, John McCain has learned the hard way that economics is called the "dismal science" for good reason. Plummeting in the polls as the meltdown of the global financial system exposes voters to his admitted ignorance of the economy, McCain is also being rejected by economists as well. As it turns out, economists don't think too highly of John McCain, including many who support him. McCain's recent woes among the profession were fittingly revealed last week... more Posted on October 12, 2008 \| Comments (2)

	McCain and Greenspan's Keating Connection For the second time in two decades, John McCain and Alan Greenspan find themselves jointly linked to a major crisis in the American financial system. The New York Times' stinging rebuke of Greenspan Friday for his role in helping trigger the current Wall Street meltdown only served to remind Americans of John McCain's 2007 admission that his limited knowledge of the economy amounted to "I've got Greenspan's book." But as it turns out, McCain turned to Greenspan's writing once before... more Posted on October 11, 2008 \| Comments (6)

	McCain's Remembrances of Things Future On Thursday, John McCain once again resorted to his unique brand of political fraud. Claiming credit for potential future events as if they already happened in the past, he announced that running mate Sarah Palin was responsible for a $40 billion natural gas pipeline in Alaska that has yet to be built. For McCain, that grammatical sleight of hand isn't merely a transparent deception; it's become an essential campaign strategy. During a joint appearance with Sarah Palin on Fox News,... more Posted on October 10, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	ABC Exposes GOP's "Give Me Death" Defense of NSA Spying Back in December 2005, Texas Senator John Cornyn pioneered what became the Republican Party's "give me death" defense of President Bush's program of illegal NSA domestic surveillance. "None of your civil liberties matter much," Cornyn announced, "after you're dead." As ABC revealed in its shocking expose of NSA personnel monitoring the private phone calls of Americans abroad, your civil liberties don't matter much while you're living, either. Despite President Bush's repeated assurances that "I'm mindful of your civil liberties," NSA... more Posted on October 9, 2008 \| Comments (2)

	McCain's Scorn Moves from "The One" to "That One" No doubt, John McCain's two-word sneering dismissal of Barack Obama as "that one" dominated the headlines following last night's second presidential debate. But dripping in scorn and condescension as it was, McCain's disturbing dig was in keeping with what the New York Times today deemed "one of the most appalling campaigns we can remember." After all, before he tried to mock his opponent as "that one," John McCain helped launch his general election campaign by deriding Barack Obama as "the... more Posted on October 8, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	McCain Flip-Flops on Mortgage Bailout for Homeowners Desperate to resuscitate his diminishing hopes for the White House, John McCain during tonight's presidential town hall meeting dramatically reversed course on a mortgage bailout for home owners. This spring, McCain adamantly stated "it is not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers." Now with his presidential campaign and the economy in dire straits alike, John McCain decided to open the federal wallet after all. McCain's... more Posted on October 7, 2008 \| Comments (4)

	McCain's Economic Engine eBay Slashes 1,600 Jobs Throughout the 2008 campaign, John McCain has proclaimed online auction giant eBay the solution to recession and poverty in the United States. But on Monday, McCain's already laughable vision of eBay as the future of the American economy took another hit. By announcing it was slashing 10% of its 16,000 person work force, eBay revealed it was no longer a job creation engine even for its own employees. Back in April, McCain told an audience in economically hard-hit Inez, Kentucky,... more Posted on October 7, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	McCain Smears Trigger Keating Five Backlash On Monday, John McCain again proved the old adage that a man who lives in 11 glass houses shouldn't cast stones. Two days after unleashing running mate Sarah Palin to deliver a salvo of smears against Barack Obama which CNN among others simply termed "false," McCain is now on the receiving end of an Obama barrage regarding his disgraceful role in the Keating Five affair of the 1980's. Foreshadowing his extensive lobbyist ties today, McCain's intervention then with federal regulators... more Posted on October 6, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	Obama Extends Online Lead with New iPhone App Over the course of the 2008 election, Barack Obama's campaign has leap-frogged John McCain online. As CBS, ABC and Politico (among others) have documented, Team Obama has far out-paced McCain in deploying web technology to fundraise, establish social networks, advertise to targeted audiences, build email lists and otherwise facilitate grassroots organizing. Now, with the release this week of its new application for the iPhone, the Obama campaign has added a powerful new tool to help its supporters get out the... more Posted on October 5, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	President Palin "President Palin." Right now, those may be the two most frightening words in the English language. And while Democrat Joe Biden earned a consensus victory in last night's vice presidential debate, he never uttered the precise words that encapsulate the sum of all fears for Americans when it comes to Sarah Palin. Not that he didn't have opportunities to do so. Sprinkled throughout her uneven performance Thursday, moderator Gwen Ifill asked the candidates about their visions of the role of... more Posted on October 3, 2008 \| Comments (2)

	More McCain-Palin Supreme Court Follies This week's revelation that Sarah Palin could not name a U.S. Supreme Court decision she opposed other than Roe v. Wade only served to confirm once again that she is the ideal running mate for John McCain. Clearly oblivious to Dred Scott, Plessy v. Ferguson and other supreme stains on the nation, Palin reminded Americans about John McCain's furious reaction to the Court's Boumediene decision on habeas corpus rights for detainees at Guantanamo Bay. That, McCain fumed in June, was... more Posted on October 2, 2008 \| Comments (0)

	Palin Dodges Draconian GOP Abortion Platform - Again - in Couric Interview Lost in the myriad accounts of Sarah Palin's jaw-dropping gaffes and mind-numbing misstatements in her interview with Katie Couric is Palin's all-too-familiar ploy when it comes to abortion. As in her chat with ABC's Charles Gibson, Palin passed off as merely a "personal" opinion her past calls for banning abortion even in cases of rape and incest. And it's not just Sarah Palin who wants to make that extremist view the law of the land; it's the stated platform of... more Posted on October 1, 2008 \| Comments (1)

	McCain Echoes Bush on the Joys of Dictatorship From the beginning of the general election race, the central challenge facing John McCain has been to distance himself from the wildly unpopular occupant of the White House. In June, McCain whined that "you will hear every policy of the President described as the Bush-McCain policy." The previous month, McCain water carrier Lindsey Graham threw down the gauntlet for his man, "good luck making him George Bush." Sadly, McCain yesterday shot himself in the foot once again, this time by... more Posted on October 1, 2008 \| Comments (0)