Obama's New Offense

My note to Ari Melber who talked about Obama's post-debate language, which has been much stronger and much more harsh.

Ari, while you're on the bus/plane, please throw this idea by Obama, Plouffe, or whomever...

To nail the lid shut on the issue of handling Iraq, Obama should point out over and over that the Iraqi's want us out. Add that ethnic cleansing has been completed - and the millions of refugees can attest to that. Our plan out is to help refugees return home, but only if the Iraqi government asks us to. And then we are done, home.

I've shut down my friends from the military who are still bush believers by pointing out that if Hillary Clinton were elected and the Chinese army killed her (they like the thought of that, sadly) and the Chinese army took over the US - they'd be making IED's and blowing up Chinese supply convoys... just like many Iraqis have done to us. Clearly, they're not all Iraqis conducting these attacks, but many are and the point still resonates when people picture foreign soldiers patrolling our streets.

There are many differences between Iraqi's and Americans, but pride in your nation and your abilities to solve your own problems is exactly the same.

Turn the conversation from, "OMG, what sort of devastation will ensue if we leave?" to "We tried to help, we broke fragile religious and cultural bonds, and all they ask is that we let them fix the mess we helped make. We can't ignore their sovereignty any longer. It is wrong. No one can answer 'what is winning?' because it's never been up to us to decide the answer - it is up to the Iraqi's. They have clearly said, 'we'll take it from here. Thanks.'"

Notes for Next Time

I posted this comment to another HuffPo article where a person implied that Obama's debate performance was superior and that anyone second-guessing it are clueless.

mccain did exactly what bush did to Kerry 4 years ago. We know how that ended. There are endless studies that prove what mccain did is highly effective against weak-kneed debaters.

By "weak-kneed" I mean people who allow their opponent to talk over top of them while speaking, refuse to challenge personal slurs and inappropriate references, and refuse to challenge lies.

Kerry's gritty debates in 2004 won him the nomination - and his groveling, overly-polite debates lost him the presidency. You can believe whatever you want to believe, but I'll rely on what I've seen happen in the last 28 years of presidential debates. The debates are judged by the results on prospective voters - not by what you or I think should matter.

The only reason Obama is alive after his Kerry punching-bag interpretive dance recital is because mccain's persona strongly emoted a surly, "cranky old man." Had he been some affable 50-something, like bush was a few years back, Obama would have been written off as road-kill. Studies in history of debates (there are a few well-referenced posts on HuffPo) make that very clear.

LiveBlogging Your Ole Miss Debate!

I wrote this immediately after the first prez debate and I was angry. I posted this comment to the article at HuffingtonPost.

Update I: I got it wrong. OK? I misread how badly mccain's mannerisms resonated with most people. So my conclusions are too harsh. There. I admit it. But I still think my approach is right. In addition, I contend that had Obama's opponent been someone like dubya - younger, less absurdly agitated, condescending, and angry - the "who won" answer would have been different.

Update II: So watching debate number 2 when to my self-gratification, Obama hangs mccain's 'bomb-bomb-bomb Iran' stupidity on his ear. And VERY effectively done. I feel somewhat vindicated from my initial rant now! :-)

Update III: Whoa! Obama smacks down mccain on the "don't understand" comments! Feeling even more vindicated!


Obama is doing everything he could NOT afford to do.

• Allow that old f**k to give him all those "Senator Obama doesn't seem to understand" lines with no objection. "Those black boys just aren't that smart." What's the difference? None.
• Allow mccain to get away with lies. The theme that HAD to be run up tonight was that mccain is a serial liar. I think Obama is intentionally doing the opposite! Otherwise I can't explain how he says "john is right" over and over.
• Allow mccain to cast his plans as credible and Obama's as absurd. Instead of telling mccain that he lost all his credibility on the international stage when he sung "bomb bomb Iran," he thinks that claiming kissinger agrees with Obama and not mccain (the man who's "paying" him for advice) would work.

I am furious. Stop being a pussy and getting talked over by that dope! Stop being a pussy and hang the pig's lies on his head!

Obama got his rear end kicked up and down that stage. Not from a fact basis, but from a perspective where impressions on voters who are all-too often fact-averse is concerned. mccain swing in the polls will probably be 8 points off this. I hope Obama will fire the ENTIRE DEBATE prep crew after this disaster.

Giant Gaffe: McCain Confuses National Guard and Army -- and Palin's Son

Someone at HuffPo innocently asked, "How can mccain lead?"

The same way raygun and dubya did - by being told what to do by shadowy scumbags who fellate the "leader's" ego to get what they want.

Do you think any of these three could pass any intellectual acuity test meant for a 9th grader? They 'stand by' their advisors, protect the advisors - even under threat of impeachment, and these "leaders" are the only ones who actually aren't in on the joke.

Principled, intelligent people need not apply for high "leadership" positions in the GOP. There is no use for them.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

We're in Big Trouble

Someone torqued me by suggesting that palin's polling numbers after the gop convention demonstration some dimension of genius. Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

"McCain seems to have known just what he was doing."

I seriously doubt that he had anything to do with this choice. She is the ordained despot who will run the government, just like cheney. She is the choice that we should have seen coming.

We should have seen something like this because even though mccain has jammed his soul down into the political septic tank, the neocon corporatist overlords knew that there is still a slight chance that he could pull it back up and rinse it off if they turned their back for a second.

Palin gets the job to keep an eye on mccain (if elected) and run the underground filth that cheney's been running. She is the perfect tool for the job. Stubborn, bigoted, and 100% bought into the program. If mccain ever gets a twinge of conscience, a sudden illness or health downturn or some other plausibly deniable event will help fix that and keep the gears of totalitarianism turning.

No, I don't believe for a second that mccain chose her.