Friday Talking Points [47] -- Our First Anniversary

Surprise! It's our first anniversary column!

But before we get to that, I have to pass on this information, in the hopes nobody will get stung by a virus making the rounds which uses Obama's name. So we pause for the following public service announcement:

 

[VIRUS ALERT: Before we get to the column today, I have to post a virus alert (full details at VirtualBlight). If you get an email titled "Barack Obama sex story with a girl" from the sender "[e-mail]" -- don't click on any links in it, delete it immediately! Clicking on links in this spam email causes a virus to be loaded on your computer which will try to get your bank information. You have been warned!]

 

OK, on to the celebrating!

Yes, Volume 47 of the Friday Talking Points column is actually our one-year anniversary. The very first installment of this indomitable column aired on September 14, 2007.

For those of you who can both read a calendar and do math, you'll notice that this means that I blew off six weeks of writing this column last year. Ahem.

In November, I took two weeks off while visiting Europe, but provided campaign speech transcripts of every single Democrat running for the presidential nomination while I was gone, so I really can't feel too bad about that one. In December, the very last two weeks of the year were taken up by our recurring column of our version of the "McLaughlin Awards" (our two-part series every year). In early June, I pre-empted the column to present an interview with Al Franken, and the Fourth of July I must admit I spent at a barbeque, but still managed to post a column draped in patriotism (as I define it)... as I do every year.

So it wasn't like I was totally slacking off. But for readers keeping track of time by this column, that's why there have only been 46 in our first year, and why Volume 47 is the first column of our second year.

The first FTP column was a bit crude, by today's standards. It wasn't even called Friday Talking Points yet. There were no awards given (that wouldn't happen until FTP [4], when we first awarded the MDDOTW, and it took until FTP [6] before we handed out the first MIDOTW award).

But anyway, enough patting ourselves on the back. As always, to see the full archives of the FTP column, you can always just type www.fridaytalkingpoints.com in your browser.

So, let's get on with it, before the champagne starts to take effect here at the FTP offices...

 

So far, we've awarded the Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week 38 times (some weeks nobody even qualified). But some of these have been multiple awards, meaning there have been a total of 44 statuettes handed out. The award, for those of you who aren't familiar with it, is known as the "Golden Backbone," due to its design. While space does not permit listing single beneficiaries of this award, the list of multiple winners is short enough to highlight here: Henry Waxman won two MIDOTWs; Joe Biden claimed three; Chris Dodd, Hillary Clinton, and Nancy Pelosi all clocked in with four MIDOTWs; but the frontrunner (no real surprise here) is Barack Obama, with a total of six -- that's six -- MIDOTW awards.

This week the award goes to someone who doesn't even identify himself as a Democrat. He actually urged people to register to vote as "decline to state political party." But even though he presents himself as neutral, Craig Ferguson (host of The Late Late Show on CBS) gets the Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week this week for his excellent rant on the media, on politics, on the presidential race, and on the duty of voting. For his "If you don't vote, you're a moron" polemic Wednesday night, he gets the MIDOTW award this week. Well done, Craig! I encourage everyone to read the transcript of this rant, or watch the two videos.

[Congratulate Craig Ferguson on his show's contact page to let him know you appreciate his sentiments.]

 

The Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week award has been awarded for a total of 39 weeks last year (again, some weeks -- thankfully -- nobody qualified). But due to multiple awards (including one dark week when the Senate voted on FISA and we had to give out a record twenty-one awards), there were a total of 68 MDDOTW awards handed out last year. Multiple award winners -- to their everlasting shame -- included Barack Obama, Charles Schumer, and Patrick Leahy (an embarrassing two each); John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, and Dianne Feinstein (an ignoble three each); Joe Lieberman and Harry Reid (a truly disgraceful four each); and the atrocious and contemptible Jay "Rocky IV" Rockefeller, IV with an outrageous and scandalous five MDDOTW awards, for his truly dishonorable work on the FISA bill (at the beck and call of the telecommunications industry).

As for this week, it seems Congressman Charlie Rangel has some income tax problems. Sigh. Just what we don't need in the middle of an election season. Rangel is Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which sets tax policy for the entire country. For getting caught in a scandal like this at this particular point in time, Charlie Rangel gets this week's Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week award.

[Contact Congressman Charles Rangel on his House Committee's contact page to let him know what you think of his actions.]

 

Volume 47 (9/12/08)

Barack Obama's campaign has been inundated this week with advice from all and sundry over how he should be running his campaign. The ads he is airing obviously need work. I'm just as guilty as others, having already run one article this week with an ad script suggestion for Obama. But the message doesn't seem to be getting through.

I think it's time to bury the hatchet, and hire Mark Penn. Obama loyalists recoil at the suggestion, I know, but you have to admit the man knows how to put together an attack ad. His infamous "3:00 A.M." ad most likely won Texas and Ohio for Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primary season. If Obama had won these states, Clinton's campaign would likely have been over shortly thereafter. Which proves the point -- Penn knows how to go for the gut.

Which is what Obama needs right now. Someone versed in the knife-fighting style of negative political advertising.

Here are the three themes Obama should be using right now to attack John McCain:

(1) Keating Five. How hard is this one to figure out? Let's see... your opponent was caught in a scandal very early on in his political career... the media hasn't even mentioned it yet... maybe it's time to remind the public about it? WHAT THE HELL IS STOPPING YOU? Ahem. Sorry, got carried away there for a moment. But seriously, this is the first thing anyone doing opposition research on McCain would find. So why the deafening silence? One vicious ad would get the media talking about this, that's all it would take. That, and maybe hitting McCain a few times with it in Obama's stump speeches.

(2) You can't trust anything John McCain says. The man will say and do anything to be president. This needs to be hammered home in many ways, many times. MCCAIN CAN'T BE TRUSTED! Remember how Hillary Clinton got savaged for her "sniper fire" remarks? It was a trivial issue on the face of it, but it may have been the key issue in her defeat -- because she lost the trust a lot of people felt towards her with that one gaffe. And John McCain has made dozens of these types of gaffe. CALL HIM ON IT! As I said earlier this week, mine McCain's record of votes in Congress for things to attack him with. There are also dozens of these issues to be used. And yet, none of them have appeared in a single Obama ad yet.

(3) John McCain LIES. This is a stronger version of (2). Obama has already broken the "taboo" against using the "L-word" against his opponent in a television advertisement. Now is not the time to back off on this argument. Now is the time to twist the knife. The media is even helping this effort, as they have finally discovered that John McCain is not the "maverick" they used to know and love. The time is RIPE for this -- the media is already hitting the McCain camp for their outrageous lies, and this point needs to be made by Obama himself. MCCAIN LIES.

With those three things in mind, here are a few ideas for ads. Due to space, I'm not going to provide a full script for the ads, just quick summaries.

 

   Keating Five (rinse and repeat)

Keating Five. Keating Five. Keating Five. Keating Five. Keating Five...

"John McCain accepted free trips to posh island resorts from Charles Keating. McCain's wife did some real estate deals with Keating. Then the Senate had to admonish McCain for his ethical lapses in a scandal known as the 'Keating Five.' Charles Keating went to jail as a felon, and the taxpayers had to bail out his failed savings and loan to the tune of two billion dollars. But John McCain still won't answer questions about his wife's dealings with Keating. We can't tell what happened, because McCain isn't saying. He won't release his income tax returns, or his wife's, so there's just no way to know what McCain is hiding from the American people. Just like he won't unseal his military record. How can we believe anything John McCain says, when he won't come clean with the public?"

 

   John McCain's campaign is run by lobbyists

This one pretty much writes itself.

"John McCain says he's going to clean up all that lobbying in Washington. Oh, really, John? Then why have you hired them all to run your campaign for you? If John McCain wins, the lobbyists who tell him what to say now will wind up in White House jobs. And then the lobbyists won't be outside the government looking in, they will be running the government. That would sure 'change' Washington -- it would put the lobbyists in full control. John McCain simply isn't credible when he talks about 'taking on' lobbyists, unless he's talking about his campaign 'taking on' all the lobbyists it could hire. John McCain, wrong for America. Kick the McCain lobbyists out of Washington. Elect Barack Obama."

 

   Get your facts straight, John

There are many flavors of this ad, since McCain says stuff like this all the time. There should be a whole series of these ads, coming out on a daily basis. To show you how easy it is, I'm going to only quote something John McCain said on this very day -- which, if the Obama campaign was on its toes, would be up as an ad within 24 hours.

"John McCain can't keep his facts straight. Just this morning on The View, he denied that his running mate was one of the biggest pork barrel politicians in the country. When asked about the hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarks Sarah Palin requested as governor, McCain answered: 'Not as governor she didn't.' You're lying, John, and you know it. Palin asked for more earmarks per capita than any other governor in the country. In only two years she wanted over $450 million worth of earmarks. So why does John McCain continue to lie about her record? You just can't trust John McCain. He'll say anything to be president."

 

   John McCain has changed -- into a party hack

Why isn't Obama slamming McCain over his numerous flip-flops? McCain is trying to ride the "maverick" label all the way to the White House, and it's so easy to refute. Perhaps with a picture of a tired old horse, with an enormous saddle on, in the background.

"John McCain may have been a maverick once. He tried to stand up to George W. Bush's disastrous tax policy, a long time ago. But then he ran for president. Now he wants to make the Bush tax policy permanent. He used to be against torture, but then he voted to allow the C.I.A. to use it on prisoners. He used to be against offshore drilling, but now he's all for it. He used to be against a border fence, now he's for it. There isn't one issue today that John McCain is more than an inch apart from George W. Bush and the Republican Party's right-wing base. Maybe McCain used to be a maverick, but this maverick has been broken and tamed by George Bush and the Republican Party. That's why McCain votes with them over 90% of the time. We need real change, not just 10% change. Elect Barack Obama for real change you can believe in."

 

   McCain disrespects Martin Luther King, Jr.

Once again, WHY hasn't this been made into an ad?

"John McCain recently said: 'I have supported hundreds of pieces of legislation, which would help Americans obtain an equal opportunity in America. I am proud of that record, from fighting for the recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday in my state.' But John McCain actually voted against making King's birthday a holiday. And then McCain supported the governor of Arizona when he rescinded the King holiday in their state. John McCain was fighting when the King holiday was proposed -- but he was fighting against it. How dare he try to lie about this now? John McCain -- he'll say anything to get elected. Wrong for America.

 

   The media agrees -- McCain lies his face off

The media have finally started to turn against the myth of John McCain as a likeable guy that has to be protected from his own words. After over a full year of ignoring the really stupid things McCain says at times, they are finally reporting on them with a critical eye. And the verdict is in -- McCain is a liar. This, it should be noted, is handing free ammunition to the Obama camp. SO WHY DON'T THEY USE SOME OF IT?!?

This ad can be put together with just recent headlines. If you want more, just Google "McCain" and "lie" in the news section.

"A McCain Lie Worse Than Palin And The Bridge" (Guardian)

"Blizzard Of Lies" (New York Times)

"Lies, Damn Lies, And Elections" (Philadelphia Daily News)

"McCain: The Old Man Is An Old Liar -- And Dangerous" (Huffington Post)

 

   Liar, liar! (Play this game at home)

This last one I am including as a "make your own ad" talking point. I'm going to give you the visual background (which would work on pretty much any of the other ads I've suggested here). It's so easy to add your own favorite McCain lies as a script to this. Post your ideas for what this ad should say in the comments below. I call it "Liar, liar" (for obvious reasons).

[VIDEO IMAGE: A pair of pants sways slightly in the breeze, hanging off a clothesline. For a few seconds, nothing else happens. Then small patches of white appear at the bottom (the cuffs). At first, this could just be an imperfection in the film. But it gets bigger, until with a breeze, it can clearly be identified as smoke. The smoke turns grey, then black, and starts emanating from everywhere on the pants. A tiny flame bursts into life at the bottom cuff. Soon, the pair of pants is completely ablaze. In the final image, before cutting to a blank screen with the tag line of the ad, the clothesline burns through and snaps, and the blazing inferno that was a pair of pants disappears from the screen altogether.]

 

Chris Weigant blogs at: ChrisWeigant.com

Full archives of FTP columns: FridayTalkingPoints.com

Cross-posted at: Democratic Underground

 

Comments

[echothebat]

#8 Mc Cain - Palin ticket is bad for the environment.

Connect Palin's record / philosophy on and about Global Warming to the entire ticket - and connect it to their energy policy - "how would an administration who doesn't believe Global Warming is human-induced put together a progressive and effective energy policy?" They 'say' they are for alternative energy - do you REALLY think this admistration would have the fore-sight for change??

This is a POPULAR issue. Respond to the 'pack of wolves' ad with the dying polar bears! See NY Times article excerpt:

Rick Steiner, a University of Alaska professor, sought the e-mail messages of state scientists who had examined the effect of global warming on polar bears. (Ms. Palin said the scientists had found no ill effects, and she has sued the federal government to block the listing of the bears as endangered.) An administration official told Mr. Steiner that it would cost $468,784 to process his request.

When Mr. Steiner finally obtained the e-mail messages " through a federal records request " he discovered that state scientists had in fact agreed that the bears were in danger, records show.

"Their secrecy is off the charts," Mr. Steiner said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/us/politics/14palin.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1221343324-tGxa66AkDRYq1tsNYpjoIw&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin

[Michale32086]

How can there be Global Warming when the planet has been cooling for the last decade and is forecast to CONTINUE to cool for a couple more decades???

Hmmmmmm????

Michale.....

[echothebat]

Get the Facts!

http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-wg1.htm

IPCC report on Climate Change - The Physical Science Basis
The report concludes that it is "unequivocal" that Earth"s climate is warming, "as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global mean sea level." The report also confirms that the current atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide and methane, two important heat-trapping gases, "exceeds by far the natural range over the last 650,000 years." Since the dawn of the industrial era, concentrations of both gases have increased at a rate that is "very likely to have been unprecedented in more than 10,000 years."

Where do you get your information from?

[Michale32086]

I am simply gabberflasted at this...

I thought Obama was going to be a different kind of candidate who would rise above the mud and address the issue in a calm and rational manner...

THAT is why independents like me were attracted to Obama......

McCain represents a STRONG Defence and a STRONG America in the face of many dangers..

Obama COULD represent that as well, but no one can be sure because he has not been thru a baptism of fire.. The ONE thing that Obama has going for him is that he will bring a true and welcome CHANGE to DC....

If Obama is just going to be same ol, same ol politics wise, I really don't see any reason to vote for him...

Finally, consider this... Obama, his campaign AND the Democrats have all been on the attack the last couple weeks..

OBAMA has been DROPPING in the polls the last couple weeks...

HELLO..... McFLY!!!!?????

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to make the connection that an attacking Obama means dropping Polls for Obama....

You people aren't concerned about Obama winning the General Election... Yer just pissed off and you want Obama to kick some GOP arse, ***EVEN IF IT MEANS HE LOSES!!!!***....

If ya'all keep pushing Obama down this road, a road that he DOES NOT travel very well, his loss will be on YOUR consciences....

Michale.....

[Michale32086]

@wendynyc

}}}}}}}}}
Polls - another Republican trick to inspire confidence in people to vote for their guy - even if he is really behind...
}}}}}}}}}

Except, of course, when the Polls show that a Democrat is ahead...

THEN, the Polls are pure gospel.... :^/

Right???

Political bigotry with a dash of hypocrisy thrown in for good measure....

Michale.....

[Michale32086]

It seems I may have been in error regarding Murtha being part of the Keating 5.. (My previous assertion...)

After researching it this morning, I discovered that Murtha was ABSCAM, not Keating 5..

However, my initial point is still valid..

Here is why you don't see any Keating 5 attacks coming from the Democrats..

The KEATING 5

Alan Cranston (D-CA)
Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ)
John Glenn (D-OH)
John McCain (R-AZ)
Donald W. Riegle (D-MI)

Now, what jumps out at you in that list??

Yup¦ 4 Democrats and 1 Republican.

Now, imagine the GOP's response to an attack ad that brings up the Keating 5¦

I think that Democrats (rightly or wrongly) are afraid to bring up the Keating 5 because it would be easy for the GOP to paint the entire Democratic Party with the brush of the 4 Democrats involved.

Especially when you consider that the Senate Ethics Committee cleared Glenn and McCain (American Heroes) of any wrong doing, but did claim they exercised "poor judgment". The remaining 3 Democrats were found to have "substantially and improperly" interfered with an investigation of the Lincoln Savings & Loan.

The reason that you won't see any substantial Keating 5 Attack ads is because it paints Democrats worse than Republicans.

That's my opinion..

Michale¦..

[aReasoningWoman]

The Obama camp on McCain's lobbyist connections:

http://mclobbyist.com/

[wendynyc]

The election will be won on the Cable News Networks and the Radio talk shows - these are the ones that most people watch or listen to - especially older folks like the ones in McCain's demographics.

We do not have any loud mouthed surrogates talking about how bad McCain's policies will be for this country on television - this is what most people are getting their information from. No one talking about the Supreme Court or about tax advantages for corporations or privitization of the military.

Someone needs to be out there bringing this up.

Polls - another Republican trick to inspire confidence in people to vote for their guy - even if he is really behind....

[Michale32086]

}}}}}}}}}
Polls - another Republican trick to inspire confidence in people to vote for their guy - even if he is really behind...
}}}}}}}}}

Except, of course, when the Polls show that a Democrat is ahead...

THEN, the Polls are pure gospel.... :^/

Michale.....

[kellygrrrl]

YAY! Craig Ferguson gave a sampling of that same rant on Bill Maher -- I was happy to hear him expand upon it!!!!!

You might need to add a new award for journalistic spine as well
Every time I see any MSM outlet stating TRUTH -- I immediately send them an email - BRAVO!

[Dap]

Dear Chris,

Been awhile since I last dropped in on ya, I sure did enjoy this anniversary edition of the Friday talking point. Please keep'em coming. Agape,dap

[TommyMcCarthy]

WHY GOD HERSELF LOVES CHRIS WEIGANT

Just have a second.......I'm heard often to say kill yor television, PBS is the only reason I have one....etc........

TOTAL blind luck/accident/ GODS WILL in Palin speak ...turn on TV.....wife's been watching something network (NEVER watches this particular tv.....wrong channel!)....OK flip to PBS...... God/great spirit intervenes AGAIN....remote batteries choose RIGHT THEN to die.......annoyinhg commercial up loud AHHH! fumble putting battery in whoops!! down heater vent now some deranged-looking charachter with a scotts burr accent is saying SOMETHING and then....... absolute poetry.....the most coherent, down home, salt-of-the earth SYMPHONIC little speech about voting...... touches every base.....bats 1000.............geez who IS that guy.... MUST find out.........


Fast forward.......Friday night......worked late.....going out......no time ......don't TOUCH the PC.....OK JUST the weather....important job outside tomorrow......ok ok OK but NO HUFFPO!....no time......OK wife gets phone call (gods will)......quick quick ONLY lightning-fast check to see if Weigant is up with FTP......wont even read it......Ok a little.....and what does Chris mention up front???


THAT GUY!!! THAT CRAZED SCOTSMAN WITH THE VOTING SPEECH!!!
CHRIS SAW IT TOOO!!! KNOWS WHO IT IS!!! NO WAY!!!

Was that FABULOUS or what!!! Maybe wife will go without me if I begin to pray loudly and tell her I'm having some kind of religious/paranormal/woo-woo moment..........NAW never work......gotta go
REGARDS
TM

[Chris Weigant - Huffpost Blogger]

Tommy McCarthy -

Now, see, this is why I write. For people like you.

I taped the Obama-on-Letterman thing (which was an excellent interview, by the way, Barack was confident, relaxed, in a good mood -- you'd never know what kind of week he'd actually had by seeing it)... and then was going to go to bed.

Flipped around the channels one last time, came back to CBS, was about to push the "off" button.

Then Craig started in.

I sat there stunned. Literally stunned. I mean, I had just finished recording for 1/2 hour, and I was too stunned to even record a piece of Ferguson's rant. It just blew me away. Ferguson's a funny guy, I've seen a lot of him, but I've never seen him the way I saw him Wednesday night. Wow! It was truly a "Network" moment ("I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!!").

The next day, I searched for a transcript, but could not find a full one, just the video.

So I transcribed it myself (see link in story) on my site. The whole thing... every word... deserved to be up on the internet SOMEwhere, so I considered it a public service.

I'm just glad there was someone out there who felt the same way about it.

Thanks for the comment. That crazy Scotsman certainly was on a rip, that's for sure...

-CW

[Seeker14]

Reflecting on Craig Ferguson's brilliant, but angry satire (?), this comes to mind: "He who forgets history is doomed to repeat it".

Television and film, in conjunction with print mediums, have chronicled -- via fiction and non-fiction -- every major event of the 20th and 21st century, good, bad or horrific; in ways many times unforgettable.

I would offer at least two:
1. "The Manchurian Candidate"
(Film, 1962 http://www.filmsite.org/manc.html)
2. "The Rise and Fall of The Third Reich"
William L. Shirer
Book: Simon & Schuster (1960)ISBN-13: 9780671728687
Movie: http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/41503/The-Rise-and-Fall-of-the-Third-Reich/overview

I would also suggest consideration of an important book that is considered a signature work, if not required reading, for aspiring or in place public relations, marketing and campaign managers:

"Doctor [Joseph] Goebbels: His Life & Death"
Roger Manvell and Heinrich Fraenkel Greenhill
Books 2006

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to
believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the
people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus
becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent,
for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the
greatest enemy of the State."

-Joseph Goebbels, Chief Propaganda Minister, Nazi Party

Points to ponder...seriously

[Chris Weigant - Huffpost Blogger]

To all, RE: Talking Point (2)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/12/obama-ad-calls-out-mccain_n_125995.html

Saw this after I wrote today's article. Now, THAT'S more like it!

One down, six to go...

-CW

[RumiSouth]

[VOICEOVER:] John McCain says he will cut your taxes.

[TEXT ON SCREEN:] LIE

[AUDIO:] Buzzer noise

[VIDEO:] Pants on fire

[VOICEOVER:] He says he'll fix our health care system.

[TEXT ON SCREEN:] LIE

[AUDIO:] Buzzer noise

[VIDEO:] Pants on fire

[VOICEOVER:] He says that he will change Washington.

[TEXT ON SCREEN:] LIE

[AUDIO:] Buzzer noise

[VIDEO:] Pants engulfed in flames; they swing around to reveal the word "LIAR" across the buttocks

[VOICEOVER:] These pants fit him pretty well...

[IMAGE:] John McCain caught with an unflattering expression, whited out to accentuate his age

[TEXT ON SCREEN:] LIAR

[VOICEOVER:] ...and he sure does like to wear them.

[nypoet22]

[VOICE] But when does John McCain ever tell the truth?

[CLIP OF MCCAIN] "I don't really know much about taxes."

[AUDIO] gameshow bell

[larry278]

As a Navy pilot, McCain is well trained in the use of fire resistant clothing. If you are looking to see McCain's pants in flames as he speaks, forget it.

[nypoet22]

#3 is a great point! In fact, on "The View," Barbara Walters told John McCain to his face that his attack ad was, factually speaking, a lie, and McCain lied AGAIN about it to Walters' face. To hit this one home, Obama doesn't have to do his own homework - in fact, he doesn't even have to say a word, just run the clip!

[Michale32086]

And why is Obama going up against Palin???

Oh... That's right... SO HE CAN LOSE....

I forgot... That's what ya'all REALLY want...

Michale.....

[rick91]

Agree with your suggestions for attacking McCain. Especially with the McCain has flip-flopped over and over and how can anybody trust him anymore line of attack.
He spent millions of dollars on negative attack ads stressing how he was Mr. Experience, and then overnight, in his convention speech, he became Mr. Change. Clearly, he's willing to say or do anything to get elected. Even embrace and gladly accept the help of his old nemesis Karl Rove.
He should also be attacked on the very slogan and theme of his campaign "Country First',
because when it came time to pick a president should something happen to him ( a serious possibiblity), instead of putting country first, he put politics first and country last.
Also, I think the prominent role of Karl Rove in the McCain campaign - and a possible McCain White House - should be made very clear too.

[bwilder]

"Liar, Liar, Your Pants are on Fire" is the old song that's been running through my mind all
week. When I see a McCain ad I have come to the point that I actually sing it out loud to
the teevee!! LOL God, I would love to see this become and ad!