Election 2008 Coverage on The Huffington Post

Philip Klinkner: LBJ's Revenge

2009-01-13T11:10:18Z

That's the title of the new article I just coauthored with Tom Schaller of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. Here's the abstract:

Four decades ago, at the height of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society, Congress passed and the president signed landmark legislation to ensure voting rights, liberalize and expand immigration, and make higher education more accessible. In 2008, a coalition of minorities and upscale whites formed a coalition to elect Barack Obama to the White House. Although many of the Great Society goals remain elusive, the new Democratic majority assembled by Obama represents the emergence of a Great Society electoral coalition.

And here's a teaser. Remember those maps (like the one below) that showed the counties where McCain ran better than Bush?

Here's the reason why. Take a look at the map below which shows counties where native southern whites make up more than 65 percent of the population.

The Uptake: Best Political Videos Of 2008 From The UpTake

2009-01-02T15:47:46Z

It's hard to pick the "best" videos of the year.  There are so many reasons that they can be good.  So I've picked several based on my own categories.
Best On Camera Ass-Whuppin'

If you are a fan of Bill Moyers, you absolutely need to watch him perform political Jujitsu on a Fox producer for Bill O'Reilly's show. The producer was sent out to ambush Moyers at the National Conference for Media Reform in Minneapolis this summer.  The ambusher ended up being the ambushee and citizen media chased him from the building.  Video here: http://top-videos-2008.groups.theuptake.org/en/videogalleryView/id/65

Best story about what was happening, which you didn't see in the legacy media
There are several videos, but all about related stories.

I liked "We need God in our Governments"  because it was charming and horrifying at the same time.  Here are some people who honestly believe the misinformation that was being spread through religious social networks and churches about Barack Obama.  Video here: http://top-videos-2008.groups.theuptake.org/en/videogalleryView/id/1540

We saw this rear its head later in the campaign when John McCain came to Apple Valley, Minnesota.  One of his supporters said to McCain, "Obama is an Arab".  McCain corrected her, but later she talked with The UpTake and explained how letters with this and other "really bad" information about Obama was being circulated by volunteers at John McCain's campaign office in Burnsville, Minnesota.  Video here: http://top-videos-2008.groups.theuptake.org/en/videogalleryView/id/928

Video with subtitles here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOU9xZ4zcss

The UpTake's Chuck Olsen was also way ahead of the legacy media in picking up the story about Republicans supporting Barack Obama.  Here's a story he did way back before the Iowa caucuses about a "Reagan Republican" who has her reasons for supporting Obama.  And one of those reasons is named Adam.
http://top-videos-2008.groups.theuptake.org/en/videogalleryView/id/1527/

Best Big Event Video

Big events?  There were many.  But none as big as the night Barack Obama claimed the Democratic Party nomination in St. Paul, Minnesota.  He did it in the same building where John McCain would accept his party's nomination just a few months later.  If you want to know what it was like, we have the entire speech that we streamed live.  http://top-videos-2008.groups.theuptake.org/en/videogalleryView/id/10

Best Storytelling In A Video

We were fortunate to have the help of Richard Hall in the Ozarks this campaign season. He gave us his own particular take on the election, usually with "small stories"... stuff most of the other media would miss, but the themes and issues he touched were anything but small. One in particular was my favorite.  It was about how campaigning can be a positive experience. Given the daily stories we were seeing about how horrible and nasty campaigns can be, this was a reassuring and uplifting story. Video here: http://top-videos-2008.groups.theuptake.org/en/videogalleryView/id/1545/

Best Expose On Lack Of Transparency In Politics

I did this one, so I hesitate to mention it.  But if you want to see the danger as well as the promise of citizen media this story has it.   The danger:  a paid "volunteer" for Congressman John Kline poses as media or a "regular citizen" (we're not sure which) to heckle his opponent at a press conference.  The promise: citizen media exposed this ruse.    Video here: http://top-videos-2008.groups.theuptake.org/en/videogalleryView/id/387

Things That Blow Up: Best Use Of New Inexpensive Technology For Citizen Journalism

It has to be the live video streaming cell phone.  The UpTake was able to deploy these phones just before the Republican National Convention.  No longer could police suppress coverage by confiscating cameras.  When it was captured on a cell phone, the video was already safely recorded on a server many miles away.  An unforgettable moment was captured in the video "Journalists Trapped Between Police, Protesters And Pyrotechnics".  The UpTake's Corrine McDermid and Oliver Dykstra brave tear gas and explosives to show you what was happening live.   Video here: http://top-videos-2008.groups.theuptake.org/en/videogalleryView/id/695

Most Excruciating Press Conference

US Senator Norm Coleman's Campaign representative must have been sat down by the lawyers and told that the only thing he could say in response to questions about Coleman allegedly accepting gifts from a big donor was "The Senator has reported every gift he has received".   Cullen Sheehan repeated that phrase about a dozen times in a non-response to questions from the press.  That turned out to be a bad idea, because it got the press even more interested in the story which has led the FBI to start investigating.  Watch as Sheehan squirms:
http://the-uptake.groups.theuptake.org/rss/videogalleryView/id/1123/

Just Damn Weird
Several come to mind here.

Ron Paul supporters were always a bit goofy, but the height of their inspired lunacy was protesting outside the hotel where the media was staying in New Hampshire because Ron Paul had not been allowed into the debate.   Video: http://top-videos-2008.groups.theuptake.org/en/videogalleryView/id/1532/

There were commentaries from Sock Le Puppet  ( a sock puppet who claims to be French, but sounds like Inspector Clouseau from the Bronx ) constantly mocking the legacy media for trying to shape the news.  He want a little over the edge after John McCain suggested suspending the campaign.  http://presidential-politics.groups.theuptake.org/en/videogalleryView/id/1061/  ;

A strange presentation on the steps of a San Francisco Courthouse about "Poop and Politics" http://top-videos-2008.groups.theuptake.org/en/videogalleryView/id/1541/

But weirdest of all was "Catfish Caucus" captured on a cold Des Moines street the night of the Iowa Caucuses.  http://top-videos-2008.groups.theuptake.org/en/videogalleryView/id/1528/

Daniel Kurtzman: 2008's Most Laughable Political Antics

2008-12-27T20:39:35Z

In a year when everyone was looking for a bailout, politicians did more for political comedy than any other industry. We had governors gone rogue, reverends gone wild, shoe-throwers, imaginary snipers and, of course, everyone's favorite mavericky, Prada-wearing hockey mom. As a salute to those who made this the funniest year since, well, last year, here's a look back at 2008's most memorable feats and foibles, in words and glorious video:

Worst photo op: Sarah Palin's turkey pardoning fiasco -- a.k.a. "wattlegate" -- in which she pardoned a turkey at a farm in Wasilla, and then gave an interview while other turkeys were shoved into a cone of death and slaughtered in the background. As David Letterman joked, she can see Russia, but she can't see what's going on five feet behind her:

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Least likely to be invited for a sleepover in the Obama White House: Rev. Jesse Jackson, who was caught on an open mic talking about pitching Obama's voice an octave higher, in a manner of speaking. Jackson was taking offense at Obama's suggestion that African-Americans needed to take more responsibility for things like fatherhood and being responsible husbands. To which Jay Leno quipped, "Jesse thought it was insulting, not only to him, but to his former mistress and their love child."

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Best typo: In a story about potential vice presidential picks, the AP referred to Joe Lieberman as "the Democratic vice presidential prick in 2000."

Shortest fuse: John's McCain's brother, Joe McCain, who called 911 to complain about being stuck in traffic. When the dispatcher asked if that was seriously why he was calling an emergency hotline, Joe the Hothead cursed him out and hung up. We might have never known about the incident, except when the dispatcher called the cell phone back, he got this message: "Hi, this is Joe McCain. I can't take this message now because I am involved in a very important family political project." And to think, he came within 8.5 million votes of becoming the next Roger Clinton:

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Worst exit strategy: John Edwards, who, upon being confronted by a National Enquirer reporter at the Beverly Hills Hilton after paying a late-night visit to his former mistress and her child, did what any self-respecting ex-Senator and presidential aspirant with nothing to hide would do. He fled into a bathroom and tried to hold the door shut. Edwards later admitted to the affair, but denied fathering her child. Or, as the humor site Fark reported it: "John Edwards: Billie Jean IS my lover, but the kid is not my son."

Best moment of Palinfreude: The prank call Palin received from a Canadian comedy duo, who convinced her she was talking to President Nicolas Sarkozy of France. Palin didn't pick up on any of the hints that the conversation was a joke, even when the faux Frenchman said, "From my 'ouse, I can see Belgium," or when he complimented her on the documentary about her life, Hustler's "Nailin' Palin." "Ohh, good, thank you, yes," she replied:

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Worst attempt to woo the Fox News demographic: Barack Obama, who was heard at a San Francisco fund-raiser saying that small-town voters are "bitter" and "cling to guns or religion." The remark was so offensive to armed churchgoers, they didn't know whether to turn the other cheek or lock and load.

Most notorious member of the Hypocrites' V.I.P. Club: Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer of New York, who rose to power as a sanctimonious crusader against ethics violations and corruption, but didn't let that get in the way of his taste for high-priced hookers. As Attorney General, Spitzer had famously busted prostitution rings, apparently so he could keep them all for himself. Spitzer was forced to resign after being outed as Client No. 9 at the Emperor's V.I.P. Club. Jay Leno was confused: "He's the governor -- who were the eight guys in front of him? You'd think as governor, you'd at least get to go first."

Worst con artist: Joe the Plumber, who John McCain called his "role model," even though it turned out he didn't have a plumber's license, was unemployed, had cheated on his taxes, and his name wasn't even Joe. As Jimmy Kimmel put it, "He's the Sarah Palin of plumbing."

Best reflexes: President Bush, who dodged two shoes hurled at him by an Iraqi journalist with a dexterity that conjured comparisons to Keanu Reeves in The Matrix. Although, as David Letterman noted, "Too bad he didn't react that way with bin Laden or Katrina, bin Laden or the mortgage crisis, bin Laden or Afghanistan, bin Laden or the Lehman Brothers":

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Most courageous under imaginary fire: Hillary Clinton, whose account of dodging sniper fire after landing in Bosnia was debunked when video footage showed her being greeted on the tarmac not by gun shots, but by a young girl's poetry reading. "If only she had channeled that active fantasy world into her marriage," quipped Bill Maher.

Biggest wardrobe malfunction: Palin's $150,000 shopping spree, for which she was reimbursed with an endless barrage of jokes, like this one from Letterman: "The difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull: lipstick, Prada shoes, a Gucci handbag, and a few $3,000 suits."

Biggest talking-point malfunction: Obama's run-in with Joe the Plumber, in which he gave a shout-out to Karl Marx by saying, "I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody." Off in the distance, his Teleprompter wept.

Best use of expletives: Gov. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois, who, while allegedly trying to sell Obama's Senate seat, was recorded saying, "I've got this thing and it's [bleeping] golden," "I'm just not giving it up for [bleeping] nothing," and "Give this [bleep] Obama his senator? [Bleep] him. For nothing. [Bleep] him.'" Better still, a day before his arrest, the Governor invited authorities to tape his phone calls, huffing, "I can tell you that whatever I say is always lawful." Not to mention bleeping insane.

Best use of a Viking Grill, a vibrating Shiatsu massage lounger, and $250,000 in other gifts: Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, who became the nation's highest-ranking convicted felon after lying on Senate financial disclosure forms. Naturally, Stevens received a 56-second-long standing ovation after delivering his farewell speech to the Senate, which, as Rachel Maddow of MSNBC noted, worked out to "eight seconds of heartfelt standing applause for each of his felony convictions."

Most brutal Palin insult: It was humiliating enough when McCain aides called Palin a "diva" and a "whack job," while accusing her of "going rogue," throwing temper tantrums, and not knowing that Africa was a continent. But the most devastating sound bite came from a McCain aide who described her shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast."

Best attempt to win imaginary delegates: Barack Obama, who said at an Oregon campaign stop, "I've now been in 57 states -- I think one left to go."

Best train wreck: The Sarah Palin-Katie Couric interview, which featured one laughable gaffe after the next, including Palin's failure to think of any Supreme Court decisions other than Roe v. Wade ...

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... her failure to name a single newspaper or magazine she reads other than "all of 'em, any of 'em" ...

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... and her claim to foreign policy expertise because Vladimir Putin likes to rear his head and fly over Alaskan airspace. It teetered on such self-parody that all Tina Fey had to do on Saturday Night Live was repeat parts of Palin's answers verbatim, gosh darnit, and also there too, you betcha!

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Worst campaign surrogate: Bill Clinton, who had to be muzzled during the Democratic primaries after playing the race card and the patriot card against Obama, growling and snapping at reporters, and saying unfortunate things like, "The country is groaning and moaning and screaming for change." As Jay Leno joked, like a lot of women in Washington, Hillary soon realized she had slept with Bill Clinton for nothing.

Cheapest campaign stunt: John McCain, who "suspended" his campaign to go save the economy, said the presidential debate had to be canceled, flew to Washington, screwed up the bailout deal, then un-suspended his campaign and flew to the debate, even though there was no deal. "Usually when a 72-year-old man acts this way, this is when the kids start calling nursing homes," quipped Bill Maher.

Best smackdown following a cheap campaign stunt: When McCain told Letterman he was canceling his appearance on the show because he had to fly to Washington, and then showed up instead for an interview with Katie Couric, Letterman mocked him mercilessly. "Hey John!" Letterman shouted as he aired the live CBS feed of the interview for his audience. "I've got a question: You need a lift to the airport?" It got even uglier for McCain, with Letterman saying: "This is not the way a tested hero behaves. Somebody's putting something in his Metamucil":

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Least likely to prevail at a sanity hearing: Obama's former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who burned up YouTube with his fiery rants imploring God to damn America for perpetrating genocide against chickens that came home to roost on 9/11 (or something like that). Despite being widely disparaged as a crackpot, Wright said he received over a million emails and phone calls telling him to keep on speaking out -- "all of them from Hillary Clinton," joked Jay Leno.

Creepiest Palin crush: Rich Lowry, National Review editor, who reacted to Palin's performance in the vice presidential debate thusly: "I'm sure I'm not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, 'Hey, I think she just winked at me.' And her smile. By the end, when she clearly knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing. It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America." Which left everyone wondering the same thing: When did National Review turn into Penthouse Forum?

Creepiest Obama crush: Chris Matthews of MSNBC, who said that while listening to Obama speak, "I felt this thrill going up my leg":

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Best evidence that the next four years may not be a total disaster for political comedy: While on the campaign trail, Joe Biden referred to his running mate as "Barack America"; implored a wheelchair-bound politician to "stand up"; recalled how Franklin Roosevelt addressed the nation on TV when the stock market crashed in 1929 (even though F.D.R. wasn't president and few had even heard of TV at the time); and said Hillary Clinton would have made a better V.P. pick because she was more qualified than him. Thanks to Biden, comedians appear to be getting a stimulus package, too.

Best epitaph on the Bush years: In his parting words at his final G-8 Summit, President Bush ended a private meeting with world leaders by saying, "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter." According to press reports, he then punched the air and grinned widely as the rest of those present looked on in shock. Who said he never had an exit strategy?

This piece originally appeared in the New York Times' Laugh Lines blog.

Daniel Kurtzman edits the Political Humor page of About.com, which is part of The New York Times Company. He is author of the books "How to Win a Fight With a Conservative" and "How to Win a Fight With a Liberal."
Read more: Election 2008 Coverage, Obama Gaffes, Mccain Gaffes, Humor, Mccain, Late Night Jokes, Obama, 2008 Election, Palin, Conan O'Brien, Politics, Barack Obama, Jay Leno, Political Humor, Sarah Palin, Jimmy Kimmel, Palin Gaffes, John McCain, Year in Review, Bill Maher, David Letterman, Government Bailout, Political Comedy, Bailout, Comedy, George Bush, George W. Bush, Eliot Spitzer, 2008, Viral Video, Tina Fey Sarah Palin, Katie Couric, John Edwards, Biden Gaffes, Bill Clinton, Bush, Sarah Palin Katie Couric, Jesse Jackson, Jeremiah Wright, Joe Biden, Bush Shoe Throw, Rod Blagojevich, Joe the Plumber, Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin Turkey Pardon, Saturday Night Live, Tina Fey, Best of 2008, Politics News, Political Antics, Political Satire, Video, Most Laughable Political Antics, 2008 New Year, 2008 Political Scandals, Political Scandals, Lists, Oregon, Politics News

Chris Weigant: My 2008 "McLaughlin Awards" [Part 2]

2008-12-26T20:10:18Z

Welcome (once again) to the second part of my annual tribute to the McLaughlin Awards. [Part 1 ran last week, in case you missed it.]

Now, the McLaughlin Group television show (on a PBS channel near you) last week did not do Part 1 of their awards, so it looks like they're running a week late. But my schedule is locked in, so we continue with our year-end awards here, and hopefully you'll be able to check my picks with theirs next week (and my picks last week with what they run this week). Got all that? Well, don't worry, there won't be a quiz at the end or anything.

Also, just for comparison's sake (to see how many things I got wrong, in other words), here are the previous two years' columns:

[2006, Part 1] [2006, Part 2] [2007, Part 1] [2007, Part 2]

   Destined For Political Stardom

Three names suggest themselves in this category. The first, sad to say, is Sarah Palin. While some dismiss her with the term (which she herself uttered on Saturday Night Live) "Caribou Barbie," my educated guess is that we have not seen the last of Alaska's governor on the national stage. Because while the list of things Palin lacks is long and daunting, she has one star quality which may prove to be strong enough to cancel all the rest out -- charisma. A politician can learn about such mundane things as world events and how to speak with political finesse, but charisma can't really be learned -- it's more of an innate quality. And Palin's got it. For those laughing at the prospect of Sarah Palin ever reappearing, I caution that when Ronald Reagan first ran for president, we all laughed at him, too. An actor becoming president? Pre-pos-terous! So don't underestimate charisma, or Palin's ambition.

The second name which suggested itself is Joe Biden's son Beau Biden. It seems Joe's Senate seat will go to a placeholder who will vacate the office in two years (thus allowing Beau to run), meaning that he is destined if not for stardom, at least to a place on the national stage. Keep an eye on Beau in the future, as he appears to be headed for big things.

But the winner in this category is Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana. He is young, he is a minority, and he is Republican. That alone guarantees that he will be seriously considered by the party as a GOP antidote to Barack Obama. Jindal recently said that he wasn't even interested in running in 2012, unless Obama royally screws up, but I would keep an eye on how many times he visits Iowa in the next few years, myself. Republicans know they're getting killed demographically, as the party shrinks to a very white, very old base. They know they have to do something to reverse this trend. The only problem is they don't have a lot of minority officeholders to choose from. Which puts Bobby Jindal front and center. Barring a Louisiana-sized scandal, Jindal seems destined for political stardom in the near future.

   Destined For Political Oblivion

Democrats would absolutely love to put Sarah Palin in this column, but I disagree, as I stated above. Eliot Spitzer almost got this award, but I see he is reinventing himself as a journalist, so the jury's still out (so to speak) on his political future relevance. Ted Stevens was considered as well, but the people back in Alaska love him so much, and (more importantly) have named so many things after him, that his future in the history of the state is pretty much already written in stone. Sure, there'll be a more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger footnote, but Stevens will long be remembered in the state of Alaska -- meaning, by definition, he can't win this award. Illinois' governor also seems in a pretty bad spot, but Blaggy says he's going to fight back, and stranger political revivals have been known (Marion Barry, for instance).

Which pretty much leaves the Bush administration. It's hard to pick just one out of this den of rascals, but upon reflection I'm going to award Condoleezza Rice the "Destined for Political Oblivion" award. She should have resigned on September 12, 2001, she has done nothing of any real note since (except lie to Congress with a straight face), and she herself says she just wants to retreat into academia for the rest of her life (Stanford will find some job for her, I'm sure). Which pretty much guarantees her destined political oblivion.

   Best Political Theater

Who should get this award depends on how you define the term. Democrats would likely award "Most Amusing Political Theater" to President Bush getting two shoes thrown at him by an Iraqi journalist, for instance. Or if you define "best" as "most magnificent," you would have to award it to Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. Republicans made fools of themselves complaining about Roman columns as backdrop (which is a pretty standard political backdrop, used by both parties throughout the years), and complaining that Obama was accommodating a throng of 80,000 people in a football stadium (since when has "being popular" been a bad thing for a politician?). When Obama strode up to the lectern, none of that mattered. What a speech! What a crowd! What a spectacle! What great political theater!

But I'm defining the term more towards the "theater" side than the "political" side this year, and am awarding this year's "Best Political Theater" to Tina Fey's brilliant and scathing portrayal of Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live. The first time I saw a photo of Sarah Palin, the first thing that popped into my mind (I swear) was: Tina Fey has got to play her! They look so much alike!

I was basing that solely upon looks, I should mention. All Fey needed to do to portray Palin was to put her hair up and don a red jacket. But that was before I saw her actually do it. Fey captured the accent and mannerisms of Palin so well, and the SNL writers did a great job by sticking so closely to Palin's actual words (Palin's own words needed no satirizing, they were ridiculous enough on their own, and they needed a very light comedic touch in order to make them even more hilarious). And Fey uttered the immortal line (which got quoted more than anything Palin actually said) -- "I can see Russia from my house!" Which all adds up to Tina Fey walking off with the Best Political Theater of 2008.

   Worst Political Theater

A strong case could be made for the auto executives arriving in Washington in hybrid vehicles, as a photo-op stunt after the public relations disaster of flying down previously -- each executive in his own private jet. Now this was just silly on so many levels. First, if you looked closely, those were chauffeured hybrids, since actually driving was apparently beneath such powerful executives. Secondly, we didn't hear a peep about Wall Street executives flying private planes to be grilled by Congress when they needed a bailout -- because there was no congressional grilling of these executives to begin with. But while the whole thing was just an exercise in ridiculousness, it still doesn't merit the Worst Political Theater award this year.

Because that is reserved for John Edwards. The heartbreaking press conference he gave to announce his wife's cancer had returned (and his use of his wife throughout his campaign), were seen in quite a different light when the "love child" story broke. Nothing was remotely as exploitatively bad as Edwards' political theater, at least seen in hindsight after the scandal broke. So Worst Political Theater of 2008 goes to John Edwards, hands down.

   Worst Political Scandal

With four big ones to choose from, selecting one was kind of tough this year. John Edwards' self-destruction, Eliot Spitzer's self-destruction, and the ongoing Blagojevich scandal all deserve a dis-honorable mention here.

But seen purely politically, Ted Stevens stands head-and-shoulders beneath the other three (so to speak). Because by hanging on and running again with a damn-the-torpedoes attitude, Stevens turned over what had been considered a safe Republican seat to the Democrats this year. Meaning his scandal affected more than just his own reputation. Again, I'm not saying that what Stevens did was any worse than what the rest of them did, what I am saying is that his had wider consequences politically. Also, he was convicted in a federal court for what he did, which none of the others can claim (yet).

   Most Underreported Story

As usual, there is a lot to choose from in this category. Darfur, for instance. Or, to be fair to the man, John Edwards' second-place finish in the Iowa caucus -- the mainstream news barely mentioned the fact that he beat Hillary Clinton, which only hastened his exit from the race. And the virtual media blackout on protests at both parties' national conventions this year was a disgrace.

But to me, the biggest underreported story of 2008 was the way President Bush got absolutely strong-armed during the negotiations for a Status Of Forces Agreement by Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki of Iraq. Bush started negotiations in typical "my way or the highway" style, but Maliki proved to be adept at getting virtually everything he wanted, while leaving Bush virtually nothing in the process. In the end, Bush had to sign on to a hard and fast timetable for the withdrawal of American forces, contradicting everything he had been saying about such a timetable, pretty much since the war began. This should have been big news, but somehow wasn't. Maybe it was a combination of Bush fatigue and Iraq fatigue, but the media really dropped the ball on this one.

   Most Overreported Story

As always, I shy away from all the celebrity news here (because it's just so obvious, mostly). A strong case could be made for "the Olympics," but that was mostly NBC trying to recoup the exorbitant amount of money it keeps paying for exclusive television rights to the games.

Because I am going to have to say the Most Overreported Story was the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, with Bill Ayers in a close second. Partly it was because the story broke in the middle of a long six-week break in the primary schedule, and partly because Hillary Clinton did her part to push the story, but for something like a solid month you couldn't turn on a television without seeing a five-second clip of one of Wright's sermons. Why are lefty preachers held to higher standards than righty preachers? Who knows... but the hyperventilating over Wright was just too much, in my humble opinion.

   Biggest Government Waste

And we have a tie in the Biggest Government Waste category!

First up is our reconstruction of Iraq. The Inspector General just leaked a draft report (the full report is due in February) that details exactly how much money was wasted, in so many different ways. Billions and billions, just flat-out wasted.

Larger in scale, but closer to home, we have the Wall Street bailout. Giving the Bush folks seven hundred billion dollars and not requiring them to even say how the money was or will be spent will likely go down as one of the stupidest things Congress has ever done in the entire history of the United States of America. Now, maybe the money was necessary, I'm not saying it wasn't here. But writing such a gargantuan blank check, and not requiring any accountability over the money -- and passing it faster than a speeding bullet -- is just stunning in its stupidity.

So reconstructing Iraq and the no-questions-asked Wall Street bailout are going to have to share this year's Biggest Government Waste award.

   Best Government Dollar Spent

Because it's the holidays and I'm in a mellow mood, I'd like to toss a bone (and not my shoes) to President Bush. Because he has done one thing with my tax dollars that I approve of, and he's pushed the issue more than anyone else ever has. The scourge of AIDS in Africa is something that doesn't get a lot of press here, but it has been a human catastrophe of almost unimaginable scope. And Bush sent a lot more money to Africa than ever before. Now, some of his foreign policies are still idiocy -- such as balking at distributing condoms, or the global gag rule on abortion -- but at least Bush did some things that were helpful, and he spent a lot of money on it.

But I have to actually give the Best Government Dollar Spent this year, sadly, to the extension of unemployment benefits by Congress. Economists will tell you that you get more "bang for the buck" in terms of stimulating the economy by alleviating unemployment in this fashion than by almost anything else you can do. Democrats got it passed, and they got Bush to sign it, and for that they deserve credit, and this year's award.

   Boldest Political Tactic

This is one of those "nothing else comes close" categories.

Because -- love her or hate her -- you have to admit that John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin for the Republican ticket this year was without any doubt the boldest political tactic of the year. McCain gambled, and he lost. But he threw those dice in a big way, and elevated Palin out of obscurity to being (potentially) a heartbeat away from running the country.

We'll never know his real reasoning for doing so. He may have been courting women (former Hillary supporters), he may have been courting conservatives (who had never really been happy with McCain), and he may have just picked her for her crowd appeal. But to even suggest that she was "the best and most qualified person for the job" was so laughable, that it was obvious that McCain was doubling down on his chances with an enormous political gamble. It didn't pay off, but if the economy had tanked two weeks after the election rather than just before, election night would have likely been a lot closer. Palin's pick elevated McCain's numbers to where he was beating Obama by a few points -- the only time in the entire general election campaign he managed to do so.

Of course, then Palin talked with a few reporters, and it all fell apart. But for sheer boldness, nothing else was even in the same league last year as Sarah Palin's pick.

   Best Idea

Again, I have to award a tie in this category.

First is the idea that going green and getting America off its dependence on foreign oil is a valid thing for the country to do. Before Al Gore made this idea respectable, it was in the "tin foil hat" category for a lot of Americans (including much of the mainstream media). It was considered the wacky ravings of some hippie in California, and most decidedly not to be taken seriously. Post-Gore it has become mainstream. Everybody recycles now, not just hippies. Our new president has shown a strong commitment to changing the way we all think about energy and what the future is going to look like. Some have likened it to Kennedy calling for a moon landing within a decade. But the idea that if we don't have to buy foreign oil anymore -- and therefore don't have to give billions to people who hate us -- is now well on its way to becoming conventional wisdom that nobody even questions. For this achievement, going green gets Best Idea of 2008.

But it has to share the award with Howard Dean. Because Dean changed the way Democrats looked at the political map with his "50-state strategy." And you can see how successful this has been by comparing a map of congressional districts before Dean took the helm of the DNC, and how it looked after the 2008 election. Likewise, comparing the electoral map from 2004 to the 2008 map also shows how Dean's strategy paid off. Democrats took Virginia. And North Carolina. And those are just the two most obvious examples. So although Dean thought this strategy up before 2008 even dawned, the idea was brought to wonderful fruition in the 2008 election cycle, and Dean deserves credit for that. Also, he deserves a new job, now that he's stepping down from DNC chair.

   Worst Idea

If this were "worst idea since Ronald Reagan took office" then "deregulation" would win hands down. Allowing the financial markets to police themselves was a monumentally stupid idea that we are all now paying for. But it took place over decades, not really within the scope of last year.

Florida and Michigan both deserve runner-up prizes in this category, for moving their primaries too early -- even though they were warned they'd lose their delegates as a result -- and then having the gall to complain about it when their delegates were stripped. You'd think such a monumental screwup would bring about primary calendar reform, but I'm not exactly holding my breath waiting for it.

But the truly worst idea of 2008 was the reappearance -- at both conventions -- of the "free speech zone." Will we have to tell our grandchildren, "I remember when the whole country was a free speech zone," or will we ever get rid of this abomination on our own? American citizens are guaranteed the right to protest in the Bill of Rights. But the concept of "security" is making it less and less likely that political protests will ever reach the ears of the people who matter, since the "free speech zones" are always conveniently out of ear-shot and eye-shot of the actual event. This is an outrage against the freedoms we are promised as citizens, and it needs to end.

   Sorry To See You Go

Sorry to see you go: Arthur C. Clarke, George Carlin, (very soon now) First Cat Socks Clinton, Bernie Mac, Isaac Hayes, Michael Crichton, Bo Diddley, Harvey Korman.

Sorry to see you die, but not sorry to see you leave your job: Tony Snow.

Not sorry at all to see you go: Jesse Helms.

   15 Minutes Of Fame

Truly, there can only be one. In anticipation of him becoming a trivia answer in the very near future, the 15 Minutes Of Fame award goes to Joe The Plumber.

See, you've already forgotten his last name, haven't you?

It's Wurzelbacher.

Joe The Plumber was thrust into the spotlight by John McCain during a debate, and his life will never be the same again. He showed a nimbleness in his attitudes on taxes that deserves the Orwellian "doublethink" award as well -- when he was talking about owning his own business and making over a quarter-million dollars a year, raising his taxes outraged him. High taxes for Joe are bad, in other words. Then when called on the carpet and informed that by his own income, he was going to save money by paying less taxes under Obama's plan, instead of the standard Republican talking point ("the government needs to give me back more of MY MONEY that they are taking"), he came up with a mind-blowing reversal: since he would be paying less taxes, that meant that someone richer was paying more taxes, and therefore it was nothing but (gasp!) socialism. In other words, low taxes for Joe are bad. This head-snapping mental U-turn was never given the ridicule it deserved at the time, which is why I bring it up now.

Wurzelbacher. Remember it. Wurzelbacher. When playing "Trivial Pursuit" in the year 2015, you will earn a wedge for knowing his last name.

   Best Spin

While "Hillary Clinton is the inevitable Democratic nominee" was certainly a strong contender, this year's Best Spin award goes to Sarah Palin.

She actually gets it for two pieces of choice, Grade-A quality spin. The first was she was the only candidate in the race with "executive experience." Whoooo, doggie! That's a pretty whopping amount of spin right there, you betcha! Being mayor of Wasilla was somehow supposed to be more impressive than a few decades in the Senate (Biden, McCain), or time spent in the state legislature and the Senate (Obama). My old Cub Scout den mother could be said to have "executive experience" as well... I guess... but it doesn't mean she qualifies to be vice president, if you know what I mean.

The second world-class spin that came from Palin was that Barack Obama was some sort of secret socialist. Um... excuse me? Now, I can fully understand why any true red-blooded conservative thinks pretty much anything government does for anybody is "socialism." It's part of their creed, and therefore I expect that sort of thing. But from the governor of Alaska, it is ludicrous. Absolutely insane. Alaska is pretty much our only state government which runs on strict socialist theory. They take from the rich (the oil companies) through taxes and fees, and then they pay for their entire government from this money, and what is left over is redistributed to the people in cash payments each and every year. This is about as close to the dictionary definition of socialism as you can find in America. And yet, this didn't faze Palin one tiny little bit. She gambled that the mainstream media would never notice this massively hypocritical discrepancy, and instead attacked Obama mercilessly for being a socialist and wanting to redistribute wealth.

Like I said, for any Republican outside the state of Alaska, this wouldn't even merit a mention. But Sarah Palin is the governor of the state. Her spin job on this to the media was complete, and utterly effective.

So while either one of these would win Palin the Best Spin award, taken together they show that nobody else was even in the same league.

   Most Honest Person

While Dennis Kucinich, Matt Gravel, and Ron Paul all qualified for the finals, none made it to the top. Stuart Bowen Jr. is also worth mentioning here (he's the
Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction mentioned in the Biggest Government Waste award category, earlier). The runner-up in this category is going to surprise a few, though, since I have to mention Karl Rove's honesty here.

[They fainted! Get some water... give 'em some air here... wait, they're coming around...]

OK, sitting down? I should have warned you, I'm sorry.

Shocking as it sounds, Karl Rove was hired by Fox News as a political analyst for the election this year. And Karl surprised me by actually telling the truth. Every week he'd show his little electoral map, and each time it reflected reality. Or, at the very least, the reality of what the polls were actually saying. While other stations seemingly wanted "a close race" right up to the end (to improve news ratings, no doubt), Rove showed that it was going to be an Obama landslide. Week after week, he stood up and told a heavily right-wing audience what it did not want to hear -- that Barack Obama was going to be our next president. So I have to give Karl Rove at least an honorable mention here.

But the real Most Honest Person of 2008 is Thomas M. Tamm, who blew the whistle on the illegal wiretapping the Bush administration was doing. We may never have heard about it if Tamm hadn't picked up a pay phone and called the New York Times. OK, technically he did it last year, but his life has been hell ever since, and he is now publicly telling his story -- against the advice of his lawyers. Tamm saw something he thought was wrong and illegal, and he told the media so we could all have the discussion about whether we should be doing it or not. He paid a heavy price, and may some day serve a prison sentence for doing so. And for that, he gets Most Honest Person of 2008.

   Most Overrated

Hoo boy, lots to choose from here. Hillary Clinton's inevitability. Sarah Palin. Fred Thompson, for that matter. Or how about the entire media, for their pathetic issue-free coverage of the presidential election?

While all of those are worth mentioning, I'm going to give the award to Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson. They came and sang their Chicken-Little-esque song to Congress about how the planet was going to stop revolving unless we got rid of the toxic mortgages by Tuesday at 4:00 P.M., and then when Congress gave them a pile of dollar bills that would reach the moon, they turned around and used the money for other purposes. The big secret that they don't want anyone to know is that they, too, have no clue whatsoever about how to fix the economy. And for that, they both get the Most Overrated award.

   Most Underrated

This award goes, in a tie, to two Davids.

The first is David Plouffe, who was Barack Obama's campaign manager. Plouffe ran as near a perfect political campaign as I have ever seen. And this was his first national campaign.

Obama himself said of Plouffe in his victory speech: "the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the ... best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America." It's hard to argue with that.

But Plouffe will have to share his Most Underrated award with David Letterman. Laugh if you will, but almost the entire political chattering class missed this one in a big way, which is the very definition of the award.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, you don't stay up late to watch television. Because the day McCain rushed back to Washington in a vain gimmick to save the economy, he also blew off an appearance on Letterman's show. Later, Letterman learned that McCain had not, in fact, returned to Washington, but was instead giving Katie Couric an interview while Letterman's show was taping. And Letterman let McCain have it with both barrels. Night after night after night. This went on for weeks, in the closing days of the campaign. Now, you can "tut tut" at the fact that a lot of Americans get their political news solely from late-night comedians, but to do so is to underestimate their influence in the zeitgeist.

McCain did underestimate this, and it cost him. How much we'll never know, but I would bet the farm on the fact that the effect was underestimated by the media at large. Which earns him the Most Underrated award.

   Honorable Mention

Well, I just didn't know where else to put these two, so I'm sticking them in honorable mention. Maybe it should be dis-honorable mention, you decide. I don't know that they deserve any award, but they're worth mentioning because they were part of the fabric (pun intended) of political life in 2008.

"Drill baby, drill!" Wasn't this annoying? Well, yes, but the chant heard at the Republican National Convention (and elsewhere in Republican crowds) just goes to show -- once again -- that Republicans are just better at this "framing" stuff than Democrats. To reduce our energy choices for the future to three powerful words was so intimidating that Democrats in Congress immediately caved in to the pressure, and threw away offshore drilling bans that had been in place for years. That's power, boiled down into three words, and for that alone it's worth a mention.

And lastly, no roundup of the past year would be complete without mentioning Sarah Palin's wardrobe. I still say the Republican National Committee missed a huge fundraising opportunity here, and could have auctioned off anything bought for Palin (whether she actually wore it or not) at a healthy profit. Instead, reportedly, they donated the whole $150,000 worth to charity. So that homeless women have designer gowns to wear to their alley, I guess. The whole thing was just so mis-handled from the beginning that it deserves some sort of special mention here.

   Predictions

First, let's see how I did last year. Here were my predictions for 2008:

Oil will start trading in Euros and move away from the U.S. dollar.

Hong Kong or Taiwan (or possibly both) will use the fact that the world's media will be focused on Beijing for the Olympics to do something provocative right before they begin. The temptation to do so will be enormous, since they'll see it as the best possible time for some movement towards independence. Beijing's hands will be tied, at least until after the ceremonies are over and everyone goes home.

Oh, that brings up a corollary -- NBC's coverage of the Olympics will suck badly. [OK, this one's a no-brainer, I realize, but I just had to throw it in there to up my statistics next year.]

The Republicans will not know who their presidential nominee will be until March (at the earliest) and possibly even later. There's even a slight chance they'll make it all the way to their convention without a clear candidate.

Democrats take the White House. Democrats gain 25 seats in the House, and 7 seats in the Senate.

OK, one at a time. Oil is still trading in dollars, so I got that wrong. Russia was the one to bust out a military move at the beginning of the Olympics, but I called the timing right, so I'm awarding myself a half-point for that one. NBC's coverage did indeed suck. That bit about March works if you use the word "Democrats" instead of "Republicans," but I can't really call that one a win. Democrats took the White House, gained 21 seats in the House and seven (possibly eight) seats in the Senate. All around, not too shabby in the guesswork department.

Which sets the stage for predictions for 2009. Here we go...

Al Franken will (eventually) be seated as Minnesota's new senator.

Jesse Jackson Junior will win Illinois' Senate seat in a special election.

Andrew Cuomo will be New York's next senator, and Caroline Kennedy will not.

Guantanamo will cease to exist as a prison, as Barack closes the doors on this sad chapter in American law.

Some sort of Truth Commission will be appointed to look into the conduct (wiretapping, torturing, rendering prisoners) of the Bush administration during the past eight years. Many facts will emerge, but nobody will ever be convicted of any crimes as a result.

Obama will have to wait until 2010 to get his health care legislation passed, but will manage next year to get some sort of framework in place to move us off imported oil in a decade. Whether it will ultimately succeed or not is beyond my crystal ball's view, but Obama will get the process started next year.

Fidel Castro will die, and American/Cuban relations will begin to thaw.

   New Year's Resolution

Come snow, sleet, driving rain, or black of night, I will be at Barack Obama's Inauguration. You don't get a chance to see history like this very often, and I'm making the effort to be there in person.

And now, true to the McLaughlin style, I bid you:

"Bye-bye!"

Chris Weigant blogs at: ChrisWeigant.com

Cross-posted at: Democratic Underground

Read more: Stuart Bowden, Ted Stevens, Jesse Jackson Jr, Ron Paul, Guantanamo, Al Franken, Best Government Dollar Spent, 50 State Strategy, Mccain, Primary Schedule, Awards, China, Worst Political Theater, Drill Baby Drill, Sarah Palin, Most Overreported Story, Andrew Cuomo, First Cat, Howard Dean, Socks the Cat, 2008, Bailout, Sofa, Condoleezza Rice, Katie Couric, Worst Political Scandal, John Edwards, Status of Forces, Sorry to See You Go, Health Care, Aids, Global Warming, Gravel, Election 2008 Coverage, Alaska, Bobby Jindal, Thomas Tamm, Reconstruction, Joe the Plumber, Tony Snow, Bernanke, Democrat, Letterman, Socks Clinton, Most Underrated, Democrats, Barack Obama, Best Idea, Predictions, George Carlin, 15 Minutes of Fame, Honorable Mention, Michigan, Hybrid, Wiretapping, Fred Thompson, Hillary Clinton, Executive Experience, Maliki, Caribou Barbie, Best Spin, Stuart Bowen, Destined for Political Oblivion, Kucinich, Jesse Helms, Private Jet, Beijing, Truth Commission, Going Green, Iraq, Most Overrated, Isaac Hayes, Spitzer, Caroline Kennedy, Bush, Wright, Blagojevich, Paulson, Bo Diddley, Mclaughlin, Unemployment, Inauguration, Destined for Political Stardom, Biggest Government Waste, Snl, Florida, Socks, Primary, Africa, Whistleblower, Best Political Theater, Most Underreported Story, Boldest Political Tactic, Castro, David Plouffe, Jeremiah Wright, Olympics, Harvey Korman, Beau Biden, Bernie Mac, Free Speech Zone, Wall Street, Chris Weigant, Oil, Most Honest Person, Socialism, Michael Crichton, Arthur C. Clarke, Saturday Night Live, Tina Fey, Worst Idea, David Letterman, Tamm, Wurzelbacher, Politics News

Paula B. Mays: Ebenezer Scrooge - Hope, Redemption and the 2008 Election

2008-12-23T13:38:20Z
One of the most hopeful messages many of us took away from the 2008 election of Barack Obama, is the message of hope and redemption. We are hopeful in restoration of the basic beliefs, principles and democratic ideals enumerated in our great Constitution and Bill of Rights. The election of Obama also offers, many believe, a chance for redemption: redemption from allowing unprovoked warfare that has killed and injured many Americans, and an unknown amount of Iraqi citizens; tacitly accepting torture, permitting a denegation of our civil rights, and through rampant deregulation allowing economic devastation which has ripped the entire fabric of the economy.

Oddly, this Christmas season, it seems one of the old classics, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, and its protagonist, Ebenezer Scrooge, delivers the same timely message, of hope and redemption. Dickens´ metaphorical story has been resurrected at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., this Christmas season, and recently, its star, Martin Rayner, who plays the old curmudgeon Ebenezer, in this production, spoke about the character of the man, and the redemptive purpose of his dream journey at the Washington National Cathedral´s weekly Sunday Forum on December 21, 2008.

The Sunday forum at the Washington National Cathedral, is a conversation between the Dean of the National Cathedral, The Very Reverend Samuel T. Lloyd, III and influential figures in our society. The forum, which is free and opens the public, has featured such guest as Jon Meacham of Newsweek, to Tavis Smiley, radio and talk show host.

This particular forum, December 21, 2008 consisted of a conversation between Dean Lloyd, actor Martin Rayner, who plays both Ebenezer Scrooge and Charles Dickens in this year's Ford's Theater, production and Dickens scholar John Galvin, a professor at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. In examining Dickens and the character of Ebenezer, more closely, Rayner and Galvin conclude that he is more than just a mean old man turned nice. Scrooge offers a much deeper message which is relevant to the present. The journey of Ebenezer, they suggest, is really about hope and redemption. At first, Scrooge is confused that the haunting message from his old partner Jacob Marley, and the ghosts which visit him, was simply about being rich and miserly. But being rich was not the problem for Ebenezer. Losing his way, living in isolation from the world and forgetting about his responsibility to his fellow man, was the real problem for Scrooge.

The parallel to the present, was personified when actor Martin Rayner demonstrated some of his monologues from this Christmas Carol production. When asked by the Cathedral Dean about the more spiritual or deeper message of the work, both Rayner and Gavin made the analogy to the recent election of President elect Barack Obama. In America, as it was with Mr. Scrooge, being rich is not per se the problem. In America, too, in recent times, we have been operating in isolation from the world, starting wars of aggression, not abiding by our own idealistic notions, such as the Geneva Convention, and permitting and condoning torture.

Likewise, "Want," and "Need," were two of the most haunting figures for Scrooge, and he is sternly admonished by the Ghost of Christmas Present, for ignoring these two looming figures. And so it has been with America, as we have watched the disparity between the rich and poor dramatically increase in the past 8 years. It seems analogous that the 3 Ghost have visited America as they came to Ebenezer Scrooge, and offer us hope and a chance of redemption. 1. The Ghost of our past racism and arrogance, 2. The Ghost of a present, where we have allowed ourselves to demolish our ideals and principles; and 3. The .Ghost of the future, a warning of a devastated and decimated super power, if we don't find our way. But the good news is, like Scrooge, we have been offered hope and our opportunity for redemption, and if as a nation, we heed the ghastly warnings, perhaps we will grow a better and even stronger nation, a real representative model to the world.

Read more: Election 2008 Coverage, Obama, 2008 Presidential Election, Christmas, Obama Hope, Barack Obama Hope, Hope, 2008 Election, Living News

Jane Hamsher: Caroline Kennedy Hires Joe Lieberman "Fixer" Josh Isay

2008-12-16T10:13:28Z

In her first move after announcing that she would like to be appointed to the New York Senate seat, Caroline Kennedy has hired "major Democratic fixer Josh Isay."

Isay did the honors for Joe Lieberman during his general election race against Ned Lamont, after Lieberman withdrew from the Democratic party and ran as a member of the "Connecticut for Lieberman" party.

Here's one of Isay's ads, where Lieberman tells people about how much he wants to bring the troops home:

Of course, at the time Lieberman was getting hammered in the polls by Lamont, and needed to quickly change his rhetoric or risk a loss in Connecticut where the anti-war sentiment was strong.

The month after he was re-elected to the Senate, Lieberman called for an immediate increase of 15,000-30,000 troops.

Isay's ads were critical in deceiving voters and paving the way for Lieberman's reelection. Now that it's clear where Lieberman really stands, Daily Kos polling indicates Lamont would overwhelmingly defeat Lieberman.

It's telling that Caroline Kennedy has never wanted to run for office, and never thought to put her case before the public when she decided she wanted this job. Her first move was to pick up the phone and start working the elites, then hire a political fixer whose specialty is deceiving voters:

"She told me she was interested in the position," Mr. Paterson said at a news conference outside Albany on Monday. He added, "She'd like at some point to sit down and tell me what she thinks her qualifications are."

I think many people who aren't emotionally leaping into the cult of personality would like to know that too, because at this point in time, nobody knows what she stands for.

I guess the public will just have to wait until Isay appropriately "packages" it for our consumption.

Jane Hamsher blogs at firedoglake.com
Read more: Election 2008 Coverage, Josh Isay, Joe Lieberman, Entitlement, Kennedy Scandal, New York Senate Seat, Cult of Personality, Caroline Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy Senate Seat, Politics News

Jane Hamsher: Caroline Kennedy Lets Political Elites Know She Expects A US Senate Seat

2008-12-15T15:26:23Z
It seems Caroline Kennedy has decided she'd rather have a US Senate seat than a pony for Christmas:

Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of an American political dynasty, has decided she will pursue the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, a person told of her decision said Monday.

The decision came after a series of deeply personal and political conversations, in which Ms. Kennedy, who friends describe as unflashy but determined, wrestled with whether to give up what has been a lifetime of avoiding the spotlight.

Ms. Kennedy will ask that Gov. David A. Paterson consider her for the appointment. The governor was traveling to Utica today could not immediately be reached for comment.

If appointed, Ms. Kennedy would fill the seat once held by her uncle, the late Robert F. Kennedy.

Ms. Kennedy has been making calls this morning to alert political figures to her interest.

Really? She's "making calls this morning to alert political figures to her interest?"    I guess it was either that or get her nails done.

Ms. Kennedy first telephoned the governor Dec. 3 to inquire about the job, but Mr. Paterson described that conversation as "informational" and said it was clear Ms. Kennedy had not decided whether she wanted to pursue the position.

But since, then, she has begun reaching out to key political figures in New York, such as Sheldon Silver, the speaker of the state Assembly, and State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. She has also hired Knickerbocker SKD, a prominent political consulting firm headed by Josh Isay, a former chief of staff to Sen. Charles Schumer, to advise her.

How about the public, huh? How about them? You know, those little people whose ordinary lives she hopes to enrich by her presence? How about getting out and talking to them? Maybe she could overcome her legendary shyness and tell people what she stands for? Now there's a thought. What exactly does she believe in? Why does she feel she's qualified? What does she hope to accomplish in office?

It doesn't seem to have occurred to her that letting people know where she stands on important issues of the day should matter, or that she should have to subject herself to public questioning. At best it seems like a political afterthought -- because she hasn't troubled herself to do so.

It appears Ms. Kennedy thinks that US Senate seats are something to lobbied for amongst political elites when one decides one wants them, and that the public should be happy to simply fall in line. The fact that one has a family political machine currently in the process of steamrolling David Paterson and a famous last name should be enough for the little people.

I thought at least she's get out before the cameras and start making her case to the public before she announced her intentions, because simply lobbying your well-connected buddies just oozes an outrageous sense of entitlement and insufferable pomposity.

I guess she'll take entitlement for a thousand, Alex.

Jane Hamsher blogs at firedoglake.com
Read more: Election 2008 Coverage, Hillary Clinton Senate Seat, Caroline Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy Senate Seat, Politics News

Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman: Last US House Seat Filled on Grave of Stolen 2004 Election

2008-12-12T13:39:07Z
The last US House seat has been filled by a Democratic County Commissioner in a vote count defined by the ghosts of 2004.

And the provisional ballot system installed by former Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell -- now a candidate for chair of the Republican National Committee -- continues to haunt the electoral process in the nation's premier swing state, a legacy underscored by a landmark election protection conference held just as this final House race was being decided.

Mary Jo Kilroy of Columbus will be the first Democrat to represent any part of Franklin County in Congress since 1982, and the first to represent her 15th Congressional District since the 1960s.

In 2006, Kilroy barely lost to incumbent Deb Pryce as thousands of contested provisional ballots went uncounted. Under then-Secretary Blackwell, voters in Democratic precincts were routinely challenged on minor details and forced to cast provisional ballots to allegedly be counted at a later time.

But thousands were merely pitched in the trash or otherwise negated. Some 16,000 provisionals and 93,000 machine-rejected ballots have never been counted from a 2004 election decided by an official margin of less than 119,000 votes. Independent observers believe a fair vote count would have given Kilroy her House seat in 2006. Also in that election, e-voting machines had statistically unlikely high rates of undervotes in central city polls.

This year, the Ohio Secretary of State is Democrat Jennifer Brunner. Publicly committed to a full and fair voting process, Brunner repeatedly went to court to defend an expanded right to vote and have as many votes counted as possible. Various Republican maneuvers would have eliminated some 800,000 voters and given Ohio to John McCain, had Brunner not fought for voter's rights.

As part of Blackwell's legacy, a shocking 10% of the state was forced to vote provisionally on Election Day, more than 16 times the percentage in Missouri, and 30 times the percentage in Virginia. (Our next article will focus on Blackwell and his candidacy for RNC Chair).

This year, as Pryce retired, Kilroy ran against State Senator Steve Stivers, who successfully petitioned the Ohio Supreme Court to trash some 1,000 provisional ballots, allowing poll worker error to disenfranchise known registered voters. But the bulk survived, giving Kilroy her belated 2,311 vote victory.

Overwhelmingly Democratic, Franklin County has been gerrymandered into three separate Congressional Districts, each including heavily Republican rural areas that have kept the seats in GOP hands. With a Democratic Governor and a 3-2 edge on Ohio's Apportionment Board, the districts are scheduled to be redrawn in 2010.

Fittingly, the Kilroy victory came less than a week after Brunner hosted an historic Election Summit at the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus.

Deemed the "first of its kind" by Attorney Lawrence Norden of the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, the conference examined Ohio's provisional ballot aberration. Prof. Ned Foley of Ohio State's Moritz College of Law decried the "over-reliance" that produced 181,000 provisional voters, including one out of every ten that voted on Election Day.

Brunner convened the conference by endorsing "citizen-run elections" where application of the law is "smooth and even."

Noting that GOP challenges to voting rights "all took place in battleground states," she endorsed mail-in and early voting expansion, which in 2008 enabled some 40% of Ohio's 2008 votes to come in before Election Day.

As a result, Election Day waits rarely exceeded one hour. Brunner fought the GOP to provide paper ballots to be used when voting machines malfunctioned, which further reduced waiting times. Nonetheless poor poll worker training and a "lack of high-speed scanners" sometimes slowed things down.

Brunner invited Board of Election officials who disliked her positions to speak at the conference, including Richland County's Deputy Director Jeff Wilkinson, who said her insistence on providing paper ballots cost $24,000 in unneeded administrative costs. Wilkinson said only 708 of 14,700 Richland's voters chose paper over the machines.

Delaware County presiding Judge Al Siegal said Franklin County's "two-line system"-one for paper, one for machines -- could be improved by providing long tables with ballots instead of having one clipboard in a cubicle. E-voting advocate Dan Tokaji, of the American Civil Liberties Union, said paper ballots produced higher rates of under-voting than machines, an assertion repeated by the Columbus Dispatch.

But when Free Press editor and this article's co-author Bob Fitrakis asked a panel why partisan for-profit vendors were allowed to conduct elections and manage poll books on secret, proprietary software, Wilkinson replied that the machines could be observed for accuracy and logic. He failed to mention that accuracy and logic tests do not confirm security.

Meanwhile, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Farrell said the SOS office reimbursed counties for the paper ballots, and that "two lines come in handy" if the e-voting machines fail. Brunner required BOE's to vote in public this year on how machines would be allocated, avoiding 2004's infamous race-based mis-allocations that forced voters to wait up to seven hours in Columbus.

Dr. Ted Allen, an OSU Associate Professor, said voters using machines took two minutes longer to vote on average than those using paper ballots. An expert in "waiting line analysis theory," Allen said that without early voting this year, voters in Franklin County using the same number of machines as in 2004 might have waited as long as 30 hours to vote. Paper, he said, "pushes down waiting times." Allen also stated that without Brunner's early voting reform, waits would have been up to 15 hours on Election Day in Franklin County even with the newly added voting machines.

Peg Rosenfield of the League of Women Voters demanded that Ohio "go back to the signature" in verifying voter registration. Computerized poll books, she said, open the door to provisional ballots and disenfranchisement of the kind that may have cost Kilroy her 2006 race. Rosenfield advocated random audits after each election and scanners that could immediately spot undervotes that would immediately alert voters of their potential omissions.

A major shift at the conference came with Cuyahoga Director Jane Platten, who has taken over a county plagued by irregularities in 2004 and 2006. Platten advocates full transparency and has established "hotlines" for stakeholders including all minor parties on the ballot so they could directly access BOE officials on Election Day.

The big red elephant in the room was underscored by Candace Hoke, Director of the Center for Election Excellence, who complemented Brunner on making "security front and center." The $1.5 million Everest Report commissioned by Brunner has shown that e-voting machines are vulnerable to manipulation. With registration lists in the hands of private partisan vendors like Triad in half of Ohio's counties, without reliable security checks, potential mass disenfranchisement remains a major problem.

The conference underscored the fact that the legacy of J. Kenneth Blackwell and 2004's stolen vote continues to permeate Ohio's electoral process. But the Kilroy outcome and the conference that accompanied it underscored the change that has come to the Buckeye State, and that is likely to push even further toward secure, reliable elections.

Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman have co-authored four books on election protection, including As Goes Ohio: Election Theft Since 2004, available at www.freepress.org, where this article first appeared. Their radio shows are broadcast at WVKO-AM 1580, Air America in Columbus.
Read more: 2008 Elections, Election 2008 Coverage, Congress, Voting Problems, Mary Jo Kilroy, Jennifer Brunner, Voting, Politics News

Leo W. Gerard: America's Choice: Destruction or Construction

2008-12-12T11:41:20Z
From sea to shining sea, America is suffering.

She is, however, afflicted with an avoidable condition she brought on herself, like a hangover. Only this one's interminable and internationally contagious.

She did it by choosing over the past 30 years to establish an economy that worshiped avarice. That decision has destroyed her financial system and taken down with it much of the world's.

Now America must decide whether to be swayed by the greedy urging her to continue basing her economy on the destructive policies of deregulation, de-unionization, globalization and privatization or to construct a new financial system focused on industry and profit shared by the workers who produce it.

Over much of the 20th century, the nation created real wealth by manufacturing -- taking raw materials from the ground, using machines, energy and labor to convert them into products and selling those here and overseas. That process, to make steel or tires or washing machines, was the engine of the economy. In 1947, 32 percent of the workforce engaged in it belonged to unions, which meant workers received good wages and benefits. This enabled them to churn real money throughout the economy by buying homes and cars and television sets and sending their children to college. And it enabled them to save 7.5 percent of their earnings.

Then, in the 1980s, a new narrative for the economy emerged. In this story, greed was good. Self-interest was supposed to lead to the best outcomes for business. To accommodate this concept, Government de-regulated and, in fact, passed laws favoring big corporations and the nation's wealthiest citizens. The idea was that some of the prosperity they created as a result of the abolished protections for workers and the environment would trickle down.

This was the new economy.

This was a scam to move wealth from the middle class to the affluent. And it worked. In 1976, the richest 10 percent in this country possessed 49 percent of the wealth. In 2007, it was 73 percent.

During this time of bowing to corporate demands, the government actually gave multinational corporations tax benefits to offshore their U.S. manufacturing facilities. Sometimes they shut down, throwing hundreds of Americans out of work, then packed the factory pieces into crates, numbered piece by numbered piece, and shipped them to China or Indonesia or whatever country would allow blatant violation of its own labor and environmental regulations. Sometimes they closed American factories and built brand new ones overseas with breaks from foreign governments. As U.S. companies closed, union membership dropped to below 12 percent. And America found herself importing toxic lead-coated toys, paper made from trees illegally harvested in Indonesian national forests and untested pharmaceuticals.

Companies that remained here threatened to leave if workers didn't accept wage and benefit concessions. American workers were vilified for seeking a living wage while CEOs pulled millions out of corporations in annual bonuses.

The American economy began to depend less on manufacturing and more on the "financial sector," where profit was made moving money around, betting on stock trades, and participating in asset bubbles. Remember the tech bubble? That was manufactured value -- not manufactured goods -- and that's why it disappeared when the bubble burst.

The same has now happened with the housing bubble. Those smart guys on Wall Street, among the brilliant ones who sold America on the idea that greed was good, bet on housing prices never falling. A decline in home values never entered their calculations.

Then they fell. And they took down with them a couple of Wall Street banks and the largest insurance company in the world and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, credit markets and then the economy of the nation and the world.

Now workers are really in trouble.

They were struggling before the crash as manufacturing jobs disappeared and wages stagnated. Personal savings declined so that the average family now owes $8,000 to credit card companies. Without sufficient wage increases to sustain their lifestyle, families borrowed against their major asset, their homes. Now, because the housing bubble burst, a quarter of mortgage holders owe more than their homes are worth and 2.5 million have lost theirs to foreclosure.

All of this is because America failed to give greed the wide berth warranted by one of the seven deadly sins.

Alan Greenspan, who served as steward over the rise of the culture of avarice for nearly two decades as chairman of the Federal Reserve, admitted to Congress in October that his opposition to federal regulation was a blunder:

"I made a mistake in presuming that the self-interests of organizations, specifically banks and others, were such that they were best capable of protecting their own shareholders and their equity in the firms."

In the song "America the Beautiful," from which the lines "from sea to shining sea, come, lyricist Katharine Lee Bates counseled in the second verse, "America! America! God mend thine every flaw."

Clearly, this greed-based economy is a flaw. It was created by covetous humans. It must be mended by Americans of better grace, people Katharine Lee Bates described as those, "Who more than self their country loved."

America's workers must seize back control of their country and wrest back determination of its priorities. They must re-regulate the financial markets and remove the onerous restrictions placed on unions to prevent organization of new workplaces and bargaining of new contracts to raise worker salaries and benefits.

But, most immediately, America's workers must insist Congress immediately pass an economic renewal package that will reinvigorate Main Streets across the nation. This is essential to prevent a prolonged and excessively painful deep recession resulting from the housing bubble collapsing.

This public investment has two purposes. It will stimulate the economy by providing jobs. In addition, it will strengthen America's manufacturing competitiveness in the international marketplace.

The Institute for America's Future has developed a plan called A Main Street Recovery Program calling for investment of $900 billion over two years.

The money would be targeted to areas that would create sustained, long-term, shared economic growth. This includes investing in green technologies to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil and the threat of global warming. Another focus is repair and modernization of the country's physical infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, and intellectual infrastructure -- its education system. And finally, the third targeted area is assistance to workers most in need, which would include moves toward universal affordable health insurance, a middle class tax cut and expanded unemployment insurance.

More than 250 organizations and economists have endorsed this program. President-elect Barack Obama's recovery plan outlined last weekend includes many of its aspects. Its passage would signal the beginning of conversion to an economy that values production and workers, something the self-interested greed-mongers will oppose.

But let's work for realization of Katharine Lee Bates' final verses:

"America! America"
God shed his grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!"

Read more: Institute for America’s Future, Election 2008 Coverage, Trickle Down, Election Day, Economy, Katharine Lee Bates, Main Street, Federal Reserve, Globalization, Fannie Mae, Election Anxiety, Congress, A Main Street Recovery Program, Barack Obama, Freddie Mac, Wall Street, Privatization, Off-Shoring, Deregulation, Foreclosure, America the Beautiful, Alan Greenspan, Tech Bubble, Housing Bubble, Business News

Paul Jenkins: GOP: Imploding, Meaningless, and Run by Crazies, But not Dead

2008-12-07T17:18:00Z
For the past couple of decades, the consensus in the mainstream media was that the Democratic Party was in dire trouble: politically close to irrelevance and on the wrong foot demographically. Even Bill Clinton's eight years in power were considered a fluke: brought on by a third-party candidate, Ross Perot, and reliant on a centrist triangulating strategy that threw Congressional Democrats under the bus. Red states were growing the fastest, gaining congressional seats and electoral votes which would ensure a permanent GOP majority.

Obviously, it has not quite worked out like that. From Arizona to North Carolina, and Nevada to New Hampshire, the scope of the defeat for the Republican Party in 2008 is stunning. The very states that the GOP was counting on to build on its electoral successes of the past 20-some years turned against them the hardest. Much of it has to do with the ineptitude of the party's leadership, from the economy to the war in Iraq, but it is also about simple math: did Republicans really think that newcomers to Colorado, Virginia and a dozen other fast-growing states were of the same mind set as the backwards-looking social conservatives that had dominated local politics? Or were they more likely to be transplants from blue states with little appetite for fights about abortion, gay rights, and English-only initiatives?

The answer is in the numbers, and they are ugly for the Republican Party. On the presidential level, the fastest-growing state last year, Nevada, flipped to the Democrats, as did two others among the top 10: Colorado and North Carolina. Georgia swung 14 points, coming close to giving Barack Obama an unexpected victory, and Arizona actually voted more Democratic than four years ago, even with John McCain on the ticket. Rather than strengthening the Republican Party, internal migration and immigration have diluted its strength in some critical strongholds.

It is in the Congressional results that the scope of the disaster for Republicans is best illustrated. Democrats now outnumber Republicans in the delegations of Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. Indeed, New Mexico's entire delegation, as well as its governorship, is Democratic. Among other Western states, California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii and Montana all send more (often far more) Democrats than Republicans to DC. The GOP's Western front now consists of Utah, Alaska, Idaho and Wyoming, some of the smallest states in the country; and even those are showing cracks, with Alaska and Idaho electing Democrats to Congress for the first time in years.

The GOP's ambitions in the Northeast have long been limited, but they nonetheless managed to fall short of even the lowest expectations. New England's six-state, 22-person House caucus is now entirely Democratic thanks to the defeat of last GOP Rep standing Chris Shays in Connecticut. In New York, the Republican delegation now stands at three, less than 10% of the 31 members of Congress from the state.

The Midwest may remain a battleground, although one that was lost resoundingly by Republicans this year: only three of the twelve states in the region now send more Republicans to Congress than Democrats: Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri, the latter now having officially forfeited its bellwether status.

Even in the South, cracks are beginning to show. Virginia and North Carolina, in addition to swinging to Obama, both contributed to the growth in the Democrats' Senate majority and feature Congressional delegations dominated by Democrats. Victories in previously scarlet-red districts in Mississippi and Alabama may also prove problematic for the Republican Party. Overall the GOP has an edge in the region (80 to 62 in the House; 19 to 7 in the Senate) but that is far less of an advantage than the Democratic Party's in the Northeast and the West Coast, for instance.

Those members of Congress from the South represent nearly half the entire GOP representation, and it is not an exaggeration to call the current Republican party a regional one. This in itself is a severe problem for the GOP, especially as the West is actually a faster-growing region, but other demographic data from exit polling should be even scarier for party leaders.

Losing the youth vote is something most Republicans expect, but losing 18-29 year-olds by 66% to 32%, as McCain did this year, is a preposterously high obstacle to future growth. By the same token, the only age group the Republican candidate won, those 65 and older, is not one the party can rely on to stick around forever.

Ethnically and racially, too, the Republican party is in a bind, winning among the only group that is shrinking nationally: non-Hispanic whites. McCain lost by the GOP's usual massive margin among African-Americans, but also by 2 to 1 among Latinos and Asians, the fastest growing groups. The Republican Party lost among urban voters, of course, but also among suburbanites; it scored only among rural voters, a shrinking demographic group.

The loss of the suburbs remains one of the biggest challenges for the GOP, one that has been years in the making, and will not be solved overnight. Here too, a look at Congressional results over the years shows how, one by one, quintessentially suburban districts started falling to Democrats in the 1990s, culminating in this year's victory by Obama in the suburbs. It was not so long ago that places such as Walnut Creek outside of San Francisco, or Long Island, NY, were staunchly Republican bastions. Contra Costa County, where Walnut Creek is located, voted for Obama 68% to 31%, and both Long Island counties favored him too. Both regions are have solely favored Democrats for Congress in recent years. Entire swaths of suburbs around New York, Chicago, Washington, Philadelphia, Detroit and large California cities are represented by Democrats in Congress, who often win by massive margins. On the suburban level, GOP strength is concentrated around a handful of Southern cities such as Houston, Dallas, and Atlanta.

Beyond its regional concentration, the Republican Party's face is from another time. The party's only Hispanic Senator has just announced he is not running for reelection, leaving an entirely white, non-Hispanic GOP Senate. In fact, the party's Congressional caucus overall includes only three Latinos, no African-Americans, and just one Asian-American elected this week in a Louisiana district that is so Democratic he is sure to lose in two years. Republican women are a dwindling group in Congress: down to four in the Senate (including the two Senators from Maine), with one, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, likely to retire soon too. In the House, they are down to 18. There are three openly gay Democrats, but no Republicans. Overall, straight white men represent about half of the Democratic Party in Congress, but close to 90% of Republicans. Indeed, nearly half of the Republican caucus is composed of Southern white men.

The conservative remains of Republicanism are likely to yield an ever more right-wing direction, as evidenced by the current race for the party leadership. One strong candidate calls for change that emphasizes "commitment to be the party of [...] respect for the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, the importance of family." It is far from clear that disgust with the Republican position on social issues is the sole culprit for the alienation a growing majority of voters feel towards the party: after all, majorities of voters in California, Arizona and Florida, defeated same-sex marriage recently. But it is certainly clear that right-wing campaigns that focus on the "sanctity" of marriage, life and guns are doomed for failure, at least nationally.

This surely means that in the long run, self-preservation will take precedence, and some form of reason will prevail, as it did, for instance, within the UK's Conservative Party. Drained of life post Margaret Thatcher, the party became increasingly insular, focused on older, native-born, white, male, rural voters, as the country became younger, more diverse and suburban. The current leader of the Conservatives, David Cameron, has brought his party close to victory after 14 years in the wilderness, and his potential success bears some lessons for Republicans, even accounting for transatlantic differences.

The cultural warfare that exists in the United States does not define British political life in the same way, except perhaps on immigration. Nonetheless Cameron has aptly put behind him topics such as gay rights and abortion that are sure losers in the long-term because of cultural and demographic shifts. Indeed, he has co-opted some of the governing Labour Party's stances on these issues, and even taken what in the US would be considered a more liberal attitude than the Democratic Party's. He has also emphasized policies on the environment, for instance, that are of growing concern to suburban and younger voters. Even if the environment is not the top vote-getting issue in most countries, in the UK, at least, it gives Cameron a modern sheen that his party has desperately lacked. The recruitment of candidates who are not straight old white men has also been given a priority, and time will tell how successful that effort will be, but, again, at the very least (and quite cynically) it gives the party a contemporary look that has been sorely lacking. At the very least, Britain's Conservatives have developed a viable marketing strategy.

No one expects a Southern-dominated GOP to abandon its single-minded focus on social issues but, at some point, Republicans will want to win again. After all, many up-and-coming party members have staked entire careers and livelihoods on winning, and winning as Republicans. There are only so many elective offices in rural Alabama and suburban Houston, and they cannot satisfy even a dwindling group of ambitious Republicans. They will start to show more pragmatism, perhaps get lucky, perhaps the Democrats will overplay their hand on taxes and bailouts, but they will be back: the US electoral system is built that way and big business has too much invested in the party to let it fail (just call it the Citigroup of political parties).

For some perspective, two years ago, one mainstream conservative commentator described the Democratic Party as "imploding," "meaningless" and run by "crazies." Just one national election later, Peggy Noonan looks like the fool that she is. And even though we know that it is the Republican Party that is imploding, meaningless and run by crazies, we also know better than to assume it is dead.

Read more: Suburbs, Proposition 8, Latinos, Atlanta, District of Columbia, Chicago, Connecticut, Oregon, Colorado, Missouri, Same-Sex Marriage, Nevada, Virginia, Montana, New Mexico, Margaret Thatcher, West, Walnut Creek, Mississippi, Republican Party, Detroit, African-American Issues, Kansas, North Carolina, Abortion, Election 2008 Coverage, Citigroup, Alaska, Alabama, Congress, Barack Obama, Idaho, New York, Midwest, Bill Clinton, South, Great Britain, Wyoming, David Cameron, Utah, Hawaii, Nebraska, United Kingdom, Washington, Immigration, Iraq, Arizona, Democratic Party, Dallas, Maine, New Hampshire, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Houston, Long Island, New England, Philadelphia, John McCain, Contra Costa, Peggy Noonan, Louisiana, Chris Shays, Hispanic Issues, Asian-Americans, Ross Perot, Georgia, Environment, San Francisco, Gay Issues, English-Only, Calfironia, Politics News

Jane Hamsher: Caroline Kennedy? Thanks But No Thanks

2008-12-07T11:50:10Z
Everyone seems to be salivating because Caroline Kennedy called David Paterson and is apparently interested in the Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton.

It's a truly terrible idea.

Her leadership could have been really helpful when we were trying to keep the progressive lights on and getting the stuffing beaten out of us by a very well-financed right wing for the past eight years. But when things were tough, she was nowhere to be found.

Now that the Democrats are in power, she'd like to come in at the top. We have absolutely no idea if she's qualified, or whether she can take the media blast furnace of being a Kennedy in public life. She's certainly shown no appetite for it in the past. She'll have a target on her back and if she can't take it, if she crumbles, she will become a rallying point that the right will easily organize around.

The woman has never run for office in her life. We have no idea how she'd fare on the campaign trail, or how well she could stand up to the electoral process. She simply picks up the phone and lets it be known that she just might be up for having one of the highest offices in the land handed to her because -- well, because why? Because her uncle once held the seat? Because she's a Kennedy? Because she took part as a child in the public's romantic dreams of Camelot? I'm not quite sure.

There's an enormous problem in the Senate right now with entitlement, with the sense that its members owe their allegiance to each other and not to the public. Witness Joe Lieberman's recent confirmation of Homeland Security Chairman, when Democratic Senators circled the wagons and helped him hold on to power -- despite the fact that he refused to hold hearings into the government's response to Hurricane Katrina and protected billions of dollars in contractor graft from being investigated.
Nobody, including Howard Dean, seemed to think that his performance record as head of the Committee was something that should even be taken into consideration.

The new Senate is going to face incredible challenges in the upcoming session, and we're lucky this year that it will be infused with some much-needed new blood. It's not a place for anyone to be wearing political training wheels.
For what it's worth, I think David Paterson should appoint himself.   He's quite the wonk, in a way that would make him better suited for being a senator than being a governor. With Obama gone from the Senate and Blagojevich's future a total crapshoot, there are no African Americans in the Senate.
One president, zero senators -- neither diverse nor representative.
Clinton's seat will be up for grabs in 2010 and 2012. That means, as George Stepanopoulos pointed out on This Week today, that the person who wants it will have to raise close to $100 million to hold it. Caroline Kennedy would certainly have the fundraising prowess to do that. Let her hit the road now, press the flesh, meet the public and start auditioning for New York voters. It could be a tough year for Democrats in 2010. It would be good to have her in the game.

In the mean time, I'm glad she had fun being part of a winning campaign in a year that saw a rather rosy playing field for Democrats. But simply being well-known and a member of the "American nobility" in a celebrity-driven society shouldn't be enough to axiomatically entitle her to be a member of the US Senate.

Jane Hamsher blogs at firedoglake.com
Read more: Election 2008 Coverage, Caroline Kennedy, Barack Obama, George Stephanopoulos, Rod Blagojevich, Caroline Kennedy Senate Seat, Senate, Hillary Clinton Senate Seat, David Paterson, Caroline Kennedy Senator, Politics News

John Kerry: Keep the Momentum Going

2008-12-02T15:43:07Z
One thing we know about politics, you are either moving forward, or you are falling behind. The progressive movement had what we want to believe was a seismic win on election day -- but it's really only seismic if it continues to reverberate.

So -- here's the next most immediate round: the Republicans aren't resting, they're trying to
staunch the bleeding -- sending Dick Cheney out to help out in the runoff election in Louisiana this weekend. I won't repeat that Paul Carmouche needs our help to grab his seat. Putting aside the MN recount and today's GA run-off, this is the last election of 2008, and I want us to end it as winners.

Tomorrow, I'll have a post here at Huffington Post looking forward to what we can do next year on foreign policy, but let's make sure to finish this year strong. I sent out this email to some of the johnkerry.com community, and I just wanted to flag it here at Huffington Post as well:

Victory is sweet, but we're not done yet. On November 4, you made history but even after today's election in Georgia and the recount in Minnesota, there's still one more fight in 2008.

Down in Louisiana, there's a runoff election in what the pundits like to call a "deeply red" district where Democrat Paul Carmouche is neck and neck WITH HIS REPUBLICAN OPPONENT. This is a district the Republicans consider so conservative that even Dick Cheney has been allowed to come in and campaign and the GOP candidate isn't running in the other direction! STILL, you are on the verge of turning one more piece of red America blue.

We need your help. Dick Cheney is working hard. We need to work harder. Dick Cheney needs to hear from you one last time before you send him home in January.

Please donate to Paul Carmouche's campaign today.

This is your chance to show that real change starts with the grass roots. We need to keep building the 21st century governing coalition that WILL keep progressives in power for years to come. This is no time to let up.

Let's end 2008 with one last message to Dick Cheney and the Republicans: Change is on the way. Please do what you can to help.

Please donate to Paul Carmouche's campaign today.

You've already made history this year. Now let's win one more race together.

Thank you,
John Kerry

Read more: Election 2008 Coverage, Paul Carmouche, John Kerry, Dick Cheney, Politics News

Shahid Buttar: Defending Liberty: How to Shift the Center

2008-12-01T14:03:41Z
In the wake of Barack Obama's election to the presidency, many progressives have bemoaned the seeming betrayal of his electoral mandate by the political moderation apparent in the President-Elect's early appointments. These concerns stem from fundamental misimpressions about his capacity: Obama will indeed introduce change to Washington, but his election to the White House -- without more -- does not portend the sea-change in America's political culture that some of his supporters have heralded.

But progressives have an opportunity in the wake of the 2008 elections, not only to capture any set of offices or dominate a single election cycle, but even to transform the political landscape. Fusion candidates representing an agenda shared by marginalized minor parties can split the Republican alliance between fiscal and social conservatives, capturing the support of disaffected libertarians within the GOP and shifting the center of our national policy debate.

That opportunity begins with a federal election in 2008 -- not the one on November 4, but another one later this week.

This article suggests a series of national and local issues on which several minor parties share interests. It also proposes an electoral strategy to promote those issues without inadvertently helping Republicans through the "spoiler" dynamic, and identifies a specific candidate whose election this week could spark a transformation in American politics.

Mainstream Parties Ignoring Major Issues

Several issues vital to Americans across the political spectrum have long been disregarded by both Republicans and Democrats. With both major parties ignoring the nation's most pressing concerns, political insurgents willing to assertively champion these disregarded issues enjoy an opportunity to claim values as fundamental -- and as widely shared -- as liberty.

Democrats and Republicans alike have failed to heed the overwhelming popular mandate to stop the Bush Administration's unconstitutional, illegal and ineffective domestic wiretapping program, and neither has aggressively sought executive accountability for the Bush Administration officials responsible for creating it. In fact, neither has even pressed for disclosure of other surveillance programs whose contours remain secret, despite affirmative confirmation of their existence.

The liberty to marry the partner of one's choice is also under assault by both Democrats and Republicans. While President-Elect Obama has supported many LGBT rights in the past and favors secular civil unions as a solution to the inequality imposed by official discrimination, he has stopped short of calling for full marriage equality for same-sex couples. Worse yet, many Democrats and most Republicans fail to come even this far, supporting formal discrimination against the LGBT community.

Pervasive racial bias throughout the criminal (in)justice system is yet another liberty interest ignored by the major parties. While Congress rewards Wall Street for devastating the American economy, arrests for marijuana-related offenses have accelerated and convictions have grown increasingly severe. Our courts now "punish a person more harshly for selling marijuana than for killing somebody with a gun." Across the country, penalties are disproportionately born by people of color, who are further penalized through electoral disadvantages imposed by felony disenfranchisement.

Beyond liberty issues, Democrats and Republicans alike have failed to take action addressing the existential threats posed by either climate change or peak oil, let alone the terrifying historical coincidence of both at the same time. Measures to meaningfully curb carbon emissions -- by supporting international protocols, upgrading local public transportation infrastructure, or even simply requiring significantly better vehicle mileage standards -- have all failed to find assertive support from either mainstream party. Government support for research into renewable fuel technologies has finally emerged in the policy discourse, two generations after progressives first identified dependence on foreign oil as a vulnerability threatening our nation's future.

Finally, the major national parties have failed to fix several problems uniquely threatening working people, including crises in healthcare, housing and education. Education is consistently a rhetorical focus for candidates, yet the most visible recent federal effort to remedy educational inequities has done more harm than good. At least 42 million Americans continue to lack adequate access to healthcare, harming the working class even more than the middle class. And the housing crisis on which the nation remains most focused relates to the sudden increase in foreclosures as the housing bubble has burst -- rather than the longstanding crisis in affordable housing created by the irresponsible and fraudulent speculation that caused the current crisis.

An Alliance of Electoral Convenience Built on Liberty

On the one hand, the solutions to these crises could take many forms, and no apparent consensus has emerged among marginalized political groups about what shape they might take. For instance, Greens generally favor more assertive government intervention to provide basic needs, while Libertarians reject it in favor of market-based or volunteer solutions.

But most excluded groups can find common ground on several issues at the core of their respective agendas. For instance, pervasive domestic surveillance is anathema to both Greens and Libertarians. Calling to curb surveillance could help unite a Green-Libertarian alliance at the national level and create opportunities for candidates running for congressional seats. However, it can't help win local & state races (where minor parties can achieve their greatest successes) since local governments have so few opportunities to address national policy.

But other issues lie within reach of local & state governments, such as supporting same-sex marriage equality (as have San Francisco, Los Angeles and Santa Clara County in California) and de-criminalizing marijuana possession. 12 states have made marijuana legally available to the chronically ill, and at least 13 have either de-criminalized, or reduced penalties for, non-medical use.

Green-Libertarian fusion candidates who aggressively champion such measures could plausibly claim to lead on several fronts. Because thousands of non-violent prisoners around the country are people of color incarcerated for marijuana-related offenses, such candidates would be at the forefront of addressing racial bias in the criminal justice system. They could also claim leadership on the economic recovery and balancing the federal budget, since the national marijuana market generates as much as $100 billion per year, which could generate jobs and tax revenue if de-criminalized and regulated.

Candidates assertively promoting individual liberty interests against marijuana prohibition would find significant existing support in the electorate. Even law enforcement officials have argued that the War on Drugs has caused more harm than the drugs it aims to stop. And even without political candidates aggressively drawing attention to its faults, 75% of Americans already perceive the War on Drugs as a failure and over 30% support "legalizing some drugs" or "ending the War on Drugs."

Why -- and How -- to Challenge Democrats Without Helping Republicans

While Democrats in discrete races may perceive a Green-Libertarian entrant as a potential threat, the party writ large must invite such a presence.

Republicans have impeded long-overdue progress on a range of fronts. But once new political entrants expand the policy discourse to include marginalized liberty interests, Democrats would gain an unprecedented chance to advance their policy agenda, despite the threat posed by those new entrants to specific Democratic officeholders.

To the extent Democrats emerge as the middle road between competing ideological poles, they would gain increasing appeal to the majority of Americans who view themselves as non-ideological pragmatists. Re-positioning Democrats at the center of the policy discourse could, in turn, enable a consensus to address issues including not only climate change and health care, but also education, housing, and reducing runaway military spending.

Moreover, the entrance of Green-Libertarian fusion candidates need not create a "spoiler problem" in several regions of the country where Democrats have attained a local political monopoly: the Northeast, where no Republicans remain in the House; the west coast between Central California and Seattle; and urban enclaves in the upper Midwest and rust belt. Candidates in these areas on a Green-Libertarian ticket could split the liberal vote and yet still face only a limited risk of inadvertently supporting Republicans, because the local conservative presence is so marginal.

In addition, trends among young people render a progressive transformation inevitable. Youth are defecting from the conservative movement in droves, and many controversial issues -- including marriage equality and climate change -- reflect a profound generational shift favoring progressives. Green-Libertarian visionaries who get "out in front" on these issues will find increasing support as the electorate ages.

Finally, even Republican stalwarts have defected from the party to endorse Barack Obama. The families of Reagan, Eisenhower, and Goldwater, not to mention Colin Powell himself, all rejected McCain. If the GOP continues to pander to social conservatives, those supporters (and their supporters) will remain in the Democratic fold for years to come.

Elect Malik Rahim to Congress on December 6 (or Donate to His Campaign)

The greatest near-term opportunity for progressives around the country is the December 6 congressional election in New Orleans.

The incumbent, William Jefferson (D-LA), won a run-off against fellow Democrats in the November election. Yet he faces federal corruption charges on at least eight counts of bribery, supported by the FBI's seizure of nearly $100,000 in marked bills from an undercover informant that Jefferson stored in his freezer. It's not merely that Jefferson is electorally vulnerable -- he's also a liability to his own party. Jefferson's ethical problems have become the target of GOP attacks and a saving grace for a corrupt Republican party infrastructure that found in his indictment evidence that corruption in Washington affects both parties.

Beyond Jefferson's faults, the race happens to include a strong Green candidate, progressive activist & organizer Malik Rahim. Rahim is no politician. Described as "the living embodiment for post-Katrina reconstruction," he is a leader who took it upon himself to step in where the Bush Administration failed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. And his presence in Congress could pave a road for others to follow.

The Common Ground Collective, which Rahim co-founded the year before the hurricane, ran the first health clinic in New Orleans after Katrina struck. It also mobilized well over 10,000 volunteers to clean up devastated neighborhoods ruined by flooding. Rahim had previously founded a separate organization to promote affordable housing, as well as a program for ex-offenders that has helped over 1,000 former inmates find their place in society.

While inundated with volunteers, his campaign is (predictably, given his hostility to corporate interests) starved for cash. Yet Rahim is poised -- with enough support from progressives outside his district -- to win the Green Party's first congressional seat.

Start Preparing for 2010

While Rahim's election to Congress would not likely prove transformative in itself, it could illustrate the range of fronts on which a significant Green presence would challenge the artificial consensus that impedes meaningful change in Washington. He has assertively called to repeal the PATRIOT Act, bring the troops home, establish universal healthcare, address the affordable housing crisis, and fix the school-to-prison pipeline.

After electing Rahim to represent New Orleans in DC, the next step for Greens, Libertarians, and other marginalized parties will be to begin collaboratively preparing for the 2010 mid-term elections. Recruiting candidates in Democratic strongholds, building grassroots volunteer & fundraising networks, and creating national online and other infrastructure are key.

America showed the world last month that "anything is possible," but the range of opportunities to achieve real progress are unfortunately limited by the persisting array of institutions in DC that continue to entrench an outmoded conservative consensus. Progressives around the country have an opportunity to translate last month's presidential election into meaningful change, by supporting the Rahim campaign this week, and then minor party fusion candidates over the next two years.
Read more: Election 2008 Coverage, Malik Rahim, Youth Vote, Surveillance, Decriminalization, Criminal Justice, War on Drugs, Libertarian Party, Housing Crisis, Marriage Equality, Politics, Liberty, Education, Democratic Electoral Strategy, Climate Change, Green Party, Healthcare, Congressional Elections, Politics News

James Zogby: Arab- and Muslim-Bashing Failed in '08

2008-11-28T15:01:03Z
In looking back at the now-completed presidential contest, it is striking to note the degree to which Arabs, Muslims, and Islam itself, were factored into the race.

While Arab Americans and American Muslims were, in fact, deeply involved in the election (especially on the Democratic side, where the Obama campaign hired Arab American staff, formed an official Arab American committee, launched a website, etc.), more often than not these communities found themselves (and, in the case of Muslims, their religion) slighted or used in hurtful ways.

A principal precipitator of much of this was, of course, the mere presence of Barack Obama on the Democratic ticket, and the efforts by his opponents to negatively exploit his name, parentage, and upbringing. Early in the campaign, emails began virally circulating alleging not only that Obama was a Muslim, but a "secret Muslim" with a dark agenda to undermine America. The stories were bizarre, but even the most bizarre tale told often enough and echoed on talk radio, can take hold and be believed - at least by some. The story morphed into different forms, and so what began as "Barack Hussein Obama is a Muslim" became "He's not a real American" or "He's an Arab" became "He doesn't share our values," etc. These stories, if not countered, might have proved fatal to his candidacy.

In their zeal to stomp out this smear campaign, the Obama camp spared no effort, at times reacting with what amounted to an excessive aversion to all things Muslim. It was this that prompted two Obama staffers, on their own initiative, to ask two hijab-wearing women to move their seats out of camera sight at a June 2008 event. And while churches and synagogues were venues for campaign events, Muslims took note that mosques were avoided. It was this same degree of excess that caused, at the first hint of controversy, the hasty dismissal of a young Arab American Muslim who had been hired to do outreach for the campaign.

Finally, toward the very end of the campaign, Republican Vice- Presidential candidate Sarah Palin attempted to smear Obama on the basis of his friendship with Rashid Khalidi, a distinguished Columbia University Professor who had once been a neighbor of Obama's in Chicago. Apparently, for Palin, the mere fact that Khalidi is Palestinian provided sufficient grounds to argue that Obama "consorted with terrorists and terrorist supporters." Once again, the Obama campaign quickly separated themselves from the story -- albeit a bit too abruptly for some Arab Americans.

None of these incidents passed unnoticed, with the mainstream media writing extensively on each, sometimes causing even greater concern for Arab Americans and American Muslims who wanted to be part of the election '08 story, but not in this manner.

The assault on Islam wasn't limited to blind emails smearing Obama, or baseless attacks by his opponents. It also came in the form of a frontal assault on the religion, itself. Early in the campaign, when John McCain needed to shore up his support from the Evangelical Christian Right, two pastors associated with that wing of the Republican Party came to his side. Capturing the endorsements of the Reverends Rod Parsley and John Hagee was initially viewed by McCain as a coup; but as media reports about their bizarre theologies and Islamophobic attitudes (as well as their hostility to Catholics, Jews and others) proliferated, McCain was forced to renounce the endorsements of both.

From late summer through November, a shadowy group with ties to the Republican Party (and also to an Israel-based charity) attempted, in their own way, to insert Islam into the campaign. Beginning at both conventions, they were the responsible for the distribution of tens of millions of copies of an Islamophobic DVD called Obssession: Radical Islam's War against the West. In September alone, the group sent out 28 million copies of "Obsession" to households in battleground states playing the fear card to influence voters. The group has strong ties to the above-mentioned Reverend Hagee and his Christians United for Israel, and the National Jewish Republican Coalition - both of which also engaged in Muslim-baiting tactics this year in an effort to influence voters.

There was more. Arab-baiting was used in a number of Congressional campaigns, and by a plethora of right-wing bloggers and talk radio hosts - all of whom worked overtime in an effort to impede Arab American or Muslim involvement and/or smear Islam.

It was hurtful and harmful, to be sure; but the real story of 2008 is that none of this dissuaded Arab Americans and American Muslims from playing a significant role in this year's elections, from the presidential contest to state and local races. In the process of shrugging off troubling slights, the communities were strengthened, deepening their roots in the political process. And it is important to note that, in no instance, was this Arab- or Muslim-bashing successful, since from Barack Obama on down, candidates, who were targeted, defeated their opponents.
Read more: 2008 Elections, Election 2008 Coverage, Muslims, Muslim Bashing, 2008 Election, Muslim Americans, Arab Bashing, Arab Americans, Politics News

Covering The Election For $4,000

2008-11-19T20:03:35Z

Sam Zell needs to know about this. Veteran political observer Stump Connolly covered the latest presidential campaign for 21 months and spent less than $4,000. "Thank God for the buffets in the press room," says Stump.

If Stump were a fly-by-nighter that would be one thing. But he's been in the game as long as those fancy-pants Tribune Company pundits with the big salaries Zell's methodically dumping. Stump's first convention was the Democrats in Chicago in 1968, though sticklers won't count it, since Stump -- or at least his alter ego, Scott Jacobs -- was there as a protester. But Jacobs wrote up TV coverage of the '72 conventions for the Milwaukee Sentinel, and in 1992, after leaving newspapers for video, he collaborated with Chicago's Tom Weinberg on documenting the Democratic convention for PBS. By 2004 Jacobs, writing as Stump Connolly for theweekbehind.com, was a fixture on the campaign trail. Theweekbehind.com began as a house organ for IPA, an editing house Jacobs founded in the 80s and sold in 2000. It continues as a repository of reporting and commentary by Jacobs and friends who have written things close to their hearts that they don't know what else to do with.
Read more: Scott Jacobs, Stump Connolly, Election 2008 Coverage, Election Coverage, The Week Behind, Chicago News

Michael Sigman: Delusion Profusion

2008-11-18T17:07:25Z

"The absurd is the essential concept and the first truth." - Albert Camus

It's human nature to be in denial. How else could we bear the multitude of horrors we're exposed to every day? But outright delusion? Not so healthy.

Years ago, I briefly dated an attractive, intelligent therapist. I thought we were two peas in a garden-variety neurotic pod until our second date. When, over a seaweed salad, she described how she'd telephonically healed a client's tumor via "energy waves," I hoped she was kidding. Then she "visualized" the contents of my living room, intuiting chairs and a couch that didn't exist. At this point I began to doubt her grasp of reality, but she was so unusual -- and did I mention attractive? -- I decided to give it another shot.

Our third date started out promisingly. She came to my house, -- don't ask about the couch and chairs -- made dinner and we built a fire. Things had just started to get cozy when she sighed and, apropos of nothing, asserted that she could make "a certain Doris Day movie" come on the Lifetime Channel just by thinking about it.

Now I needed to make her see her delusion. So I asked, Socratically, "Would the movie be listed in the already-published TV Guide?"

Without missing a beat, she replied, "Obviously." I countered, "But then how could you be making it happen now, by your thoughts?" She nailed me, replying, "Oh, I get it. You're looking at time as a 'linear phenomenon.'"

Thankfully, I've forgotten the rest of the evening.

American presidential politics often have a similar theatre-of-the-absurd quality.
Think Ronald Reagan's patently false, self-serving World War II "recollections," which his speechwriter Pat Buchanan later defended by saying, "For Ronald Reagan, the world of legend and myth is a real world. He visits it regularly, and he's a happy man there."

Delusion is the neighborhood to which Republicans have returned to explain away their recent "thumpin'." Has-been Karl Rove, master of the vicious personal attack, pontificated in the Wall Street Journal that "Mr. Obama's victory was personal rather than philosophical," as though Barack had simply won a popularity contest.

It's more than two months before Inauguration Day, but talk show bullies Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have decided that we're in an "Obama recession." And South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint told CNN on Sunday that "Americans do prefer a traditional conservative government. They just did not believe Republicans were going to give it to them." And the Democrats would?

Back to Pat Buchanan. The omnipresent conservative pundit argues that if it weren't for that pesky financial meltdown, everything would have been fine for his party: "Perhaps no Republican, in these circumstances, could have won." Earth to Pat: the crisis isn't an invasion from outer space; it's happening because of Republican policies; they've had the Presidency since 2000, the Supreme Court since before that -- remember, they put W. in office in the first place -- and controlled Congress from 1994-2006.

And in the universe according to Pat, the liberal media are also to blame: "... the feline and feral press went on a wilding attack on Sister Sarah." Feline AND feral? Wilding? Sister Sarah? Oh, my!

Speaking of Palin, her delusions are many and hilarious, but here's my current fave: When asked why she waited until nine days after the election to hold her first news conference, she replied, straight-faced, "The campaign is over."

Maybe, as some scientists postulate, we live in one of an infinite number of parallel universes, each with its own laws of physics. In that cosmos, there could be a universe in which these excuses would make sense, and Sarah Palin might actually win national office.

It might even be possible to conjure something on the tube just by thinking about it. But would it be in the TV Guide? And why a Doris Day movie? How about a third season of "Mad Men," a reunion of the cast of "The Honeymooners" or a bonus episode of "The Wire?" You say they haven't been filmed yet? Oh, I get it -- you're looking at time as a linear phenomenon.

No. Our universe is absurd enough, and it's the only one we've got.

Read more: Election 2008 Coverage, TV Guide, Obama, Delusions, Republicans, Dating, Sarah Palin, Politics News

Denis Campbell: Did John McCain Lose Arizona?

2008-11-18T15:53:24Z
While Maricopa County (Phoenix) Judge Edward O. Burke agreed with the state's Libertarian Party that county elections director, Karen Osborne, did not follow election law, ensure ballot integrity and provide an unbroken custody chain, he ruled against them saying, "in a county the size the size of Maricopa (sic), perfect compliance with the statutory electoral scheme, while desirable, is not possible due to time, space, the practicalities of the electoral process and the number of persons involved" in denying their injunction for a hand recount last Friday.

Pardon me, but, WTF?

We still do not have a final Presidential result in the state of Missouri, 14 days after the election. We still do not have all ballots counted in Alaska in their razor close Senate race. We still do not have a result in the Minnesota Senate race and will have a mandatory recount. We still do not have a result in Georgia where a run-off election will be held on December 2nd, but John McCain's state and home county (the largest in AZ) need not follow election laws because it may be inconvenient for them to so do?!

What kind of a banana republic state does the former Republican Presidential candidate represent? I reported extensively in the run-up to this election about problems in Tucson's Pima County (2nd largest county see citations at article's end) where now even the County Manager is distancing himself from the justifiably embattled Elections Director there (http://blog.tucsonweekly.com/?p=1691).

At first glance, John McCain appears to have comfortably won his home state by about 9 percentage points. Barack Obama won Tucson (Pima) and John McCain won Phoenix (Maricopa). Those two counties though account for almost 70% of the total vote. So, if one wanted to hack a series of memory cards or alter the vote's results, these two counties would have the greatest impact and make the most sense.

I'm puzzled. Aside from losing a wild-card pool pick state (I had AZ going to Obama against the odds), how can so many states surrounding Arizona... New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada and California turn blue, yet this one stay so conspicuously red? Why did team Obama, who had a solid run, spend money and time in AZ? Did McCain actually lose Maricopa County, because if he did, he would have lost his home state. When the stakes are so high, it makes one think.

John Brakey is as passionate as they come. This citizen warrior is part of AUDIT AZ and they work tirelessly for election transparency and integrity. Since 1996 they have been battling election authorities in Pima County. Their work has uncovered major systemic problems with Diebold and ES&S machines, Indeed as covered earlier, the state's Attorney General still refuses to seize questionable ballots from a 2004 election and order a recount that could resolve this issue once and for all.

Said Brakey about Maricopa County, "the point of all this is to force this out-of-control election department to resolve chain-of custody issues, to force the county to follow the rules of law."

At trial, evidence was introduced but not addressed in the court's decision. This included testimony given orally and by affidavit about:

-unsigned poll register tapes,
-the lack of security handling and transporting memory packs and
-the flimsy and easily manipulated ballot containers and seals.

Jim March, an elections security expert with BlackBoxVoting.org testified in an affidavit introduced at trial, "the elections department used flimsy plastic containers purchased at Fry's Electronics store that can be easily opened by removing the hinges. This keeps the election department seals intact."

Without a proper chain of custody, properly sealed bags, and memory card on walkabout throughout the county, if someone wanted to ensure a victory there are many ways in which to do that.

This film shows election results arriving without proper seals and custody and elections director Osborne unconcerned then belligerent. All it takes is one infected card to alter the entire tabulation computer's result.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNkf2jHkel8

As was shown time and again this election, our nation's voting systems are badly broken. That people have to give up a day or half day's wages to vote is, as MSNBC's Rachel Maddow suggested, a new form of the Jim Crow era poll tax.

That they stood on line for so long and did so in record numbers is a reason for us all to feel proud.

That belligerent "public servants" can treat an independent election observer and the process with such disdain should be a dismissible offence. There is no room for that kind of behaviour.

Earlier this election season we highlighted a public-private cooperative effort in Humboldt County, CA that should be the model for election departments across the USA. Uniform national election laws and procedures for recounts should be a priority before the mid-term elections.

Defensiveness, confrontation and belligerence have no place in such a sacred place as the local election department. It is the one right we must all fight for responsibly and the sooner both sides come out of confrontation and into cooperation the better it will be for us all.

http://www.laprogressive.com/2008/09/21/voting-transparency-through-the-looking-glass-of-technological-ballot-boxes/

Did John McCain lose his own county and state? We will never know.

And we should.

===========================================

1st Story on this subject: http://www.vadimuspost.com/it's-the-ballot-count-stupid/
2nd Story on this subject: http://www.laprogressive.com/2008/09/16/keystone-cops-or-shrewd-criminal-conspiracy/

Read more: Humboldt County CA|, Citizen Warrior, Obama, Mccain, Missouri, Minnesota Senate Race, California Turn Blue, McCain Won Phoenix, Colorado, Nevada, Denis Campbell, Jim March, Ensure Ballot Integrity, New Mexico, 14 Days After the Election, December 2nd, Public-Private Cooperative Effort, Elections Director, Election 2008 Coverage, Maricopa County (Phoenix), John McCain, Conspicuously Red, Razor Close Senate Race, Georgia Run-Off Election, Barack Obama, Mandatory Recount, Judge Edward O. Burke, Libertarian Party, Banana Republic State, Did John McCain Lose Arizona, Systemic Problems Diebold, Problems Pima County, Unbroken Custody Chain, Election Authorities Pima County, Auditaz, BlackBoxVoting.Org, Obama Wins, Breaking Election Law, Tucson, Election Law, Republican Presidential Candidate, Battling Election Authorities, Obama Arizona, John Brakey, 2008 Presidential Race, Wtf, Politics News

Obama Says Local Press Tougher Than National Media At McCain Meeting (VIDEO)

2008-11-17T16:36:32Z

President-elect Barack Obama gave a little media analysis during his meeting with John McCain Monday in Chicago, Abdon Pallasch reports in the Sun-Times.

As media filed into the room for what was supposed to be a no-questions photo-op of Obama, McCain, Obama's incoming chief of staff, Rep. Rahm Emanuel, and McCain ally, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Obama said, "The national press is tame compared to the local press."

As if proving his point, ABC 7's Andy Shaw continued to ask questions even as the press was being herded out of the room.

Watch the photo shoot below:

Read more: Obama Chicago Media, Election 2008 Coverage, Obama Local Media, Obama McCain Photoshoot, Obama Mccain Meeting, Andy Shaw, Obama McCain Chicago, Barack Obama Media Coverage, Barack Obama, Chicago News

Charles Karel Bouley: Explain? How Do You Explain Saying

2008-11-15T17:48:04Z
I can't. I won't. Because it won't matter. There is nothing I can say here that won't be picked apart in to a million bits by those that are looking for more grist for their mills.

I said words deemed profane by the FCC over commercial radio at a time when I have always been historically off the air, during a break. Not an excuse; a fact. The engineer left the mike hot and left the board, and thus the dump button to prevent my obscenity-laden, Tourette's-like outburst. Because of the airing of this outburst (and the cut off statement which became perverted in to a death threat), two people lost their jobs and the station may be fined by the FCC.

Haters hated, some of them through actual violence or vandalism, supporters supported, some seen as supporters bolted and some seen as detractors came to aide.

Why?

I said words deemed profane by the FCC over commercial radio at a time when I have always been historically off the air, during a break. Not an excuse; a fact. The engineer left the mike hot and left the board, and thus the dump button to prevent my obscenity-laden, Tourette's-like outburst. Because of the airing of this outburst (and the cut off statement which became perverted in to a death threat), two people lost their jobs and the station may be fined by the FCC.

During the national election I became a story. Why?

I said words deemed profane by the FCC over commercial radio at a time when I have always been historically off the air, during a break. Not an excuse; a fact. The engineer left the mike hot and left the board, and thus the dump button to prevent my obscenity-laden, Tourette's-like outburst. Because of the airing of this outburst (and the cut off statement which became perverted in to a death threat), two people lost their jobs and the station may be fined by the FCC.

I've apologized. I've accepted responsibility. Why?

I said words deemed profane by the FCC over commercial radio at a time when I have always been historically off the air, during a break. Not an excuse; a fact. The engineer left the mike hot and left the board, and thus the dump button to prevent my obscenity-laden, Tourette's-like outburst. Because of the airing of this outburst (and the cut off statement which became perverted in to a death threat), two people lost their jobs and the station may be fined by the FCC.

And with that, I've said enough.

I am sorry that during an election cycle the media was dumb enough to pervert this in to a national story. I'm sorry that anyone thought I really wanted anyone dead. I won't apologize for my speech during a break, off air. Like it or not, even I am an American. I can say adult words and yes, even make off color statements (and, partial or not, it truly was a dumb thing to say since I didn't mean it. Yes, I'm an idiot at times). There is still a First Amendment in this country, however limited. It was a mistake, a dumb mistake, and I realize now that I am the only broadcaster ever in history to make such a blunder. It's not like I said I wanted to cut the nuts off a candidate for President or anything (ah, Rev. Jackson).

And where's that dialogue? If I had said this on satellite radio would this blog post be needed? If I had said this on the Bill Maher program would we be having this national outrage?

The fact is, if you can afford cable TV or satellite radio, the speech you hear is free (with a $19.99 a month price tag or whatever it costs these days). If you can afford a WiFi radio from CCrane you can listen to radio from other lands, and get truly unregulated speech. If I had said this in Europe, there'd be no controversy at all. Well, except for the off color remark, but not the F-bomb.

But if you are an American that doesn't want to pay, that listens to commercial radio or watches commercial TV, the religious right and puritans still have a hold on what you hear, when and why, and act as these guardians in your name, in the name of common decency.

Common decency? Whom did I offend, really? Joe? Nope, his publicists said, and I quote from the letter they sent me:

Karel, I'm so sorry to hear about your suspension. Let me throw out an idea that might possibly help:

If you can provide me the e-mails of the appropriate individuals, I will contact your supervisors and say that you made a proactive effort to contact us before you were aware of your suspension. I will say that I am satisfied you are not a credible threat to Joe Wulzbacher, and I will suggest an interview with The Press Office on accidental celebrities and advice for ordinary people who are thrust into the spotlight. We wouldn't even need to discuss Joe at all at that point if that isn't desired, but rather focus on the domino effect of publicity and even address how accidents like yours quickly mushroom out of proportion. It may help you and your station do damage control.

If you'll give me that contact information, I'll give it a try.

Take care,

The Press Office

And that's the real absurdity. These good conservatives and liberals who have distanced themselves from me, taken me off their station, removed my writing, what is their outrage?

John McCain and Sarah Palin called Barack Obama a terrorist by association. They put his life in danger by raising racial tensions and anti-Islamic sentiment towards him. That was allowed.

George Bush called for death to anyone that was not for us. Period. Whatever that meant. On a national level. Death to the Evil Doers, whomever they may be. Hate crimes rose against Muslims.

Right now politicians and "clergy" are legislating actual hate in many states, amending documents that protect rights to take them away from tax paying Americans based on nothing more than a religious condemnation. They do this by calling people abominations, not right with the Lord, lesser individuals. They say on TV that these people can be "fixed" or "repaired," negating their whole lives, calling them nothing more than an illness. They say "Rev." in front of their name and say the most hateful things. I said on air I wanted someone dead (not really, but let's go with what you heard). They say on air every day that I will burn forever in hell if I don't see things their way. I have been told by good conservatives I should die of "AIDES." Yes, I know it's spelled wrong, but that's how the bigot wrote it in red paint on my garage door during all this: "Die of AIDES." Guess his speech is protected as well.

You want to talk about hateful speech? Any "Yes on Prop 8" rhetoric is pretty damned hateful. You want to talk about hateful , damaging, go back and listen to some Palin and McCain rallies. Listen to their supporters on tape, live, on the web, on TV , on radio talk about "the blacks" taking over, about "Muslim" agendas. Go through the papers the day after Obama won and look at the hatred and vile racism described as political punditry.

Yes, I said, ""Fuck goddamn Joe the God Damn Motherfucking Plumber! I want motherfucking Joe the Plumber dead!" I didn't mean it literally and I apologized immediately. I didn't make a campaign platform out of it. I didn't make it the focus of my final show the next night. I moved on. Because ultimately the only person I hurt was myself. My engineer hurt himself (and me and the station), as did I. But no one else was harmed. In fact, I gave many papers, bloggers, radio hosts, TV hosts, lots to talk about. Another non-issue that proves nothing.

And here's the difference: John McCain, Sarah Palin and all the zealot conservatives meant what they said. They still mean it, and they've never apologized for it.

That's not an excuse for me. I'm fired, I'm taking my lumps. But perspective, people. Someone telling you they're taking $700 billion of your money in a press conference harms you more than my screaming "Fuck!"

Love me. Hate me. What you see and hear is what you get. If you are around me off air, you know my language is a bit "blue." Oh well. Some of us curse, some don't, I do. It's all language to me. I have never, ever cursed on air, radio, TV, ever in over 20 years. Ever. So now I have. I often say "off with their heads" or "they must perish!" because I'm a drama queen with a real passion for the Founding Fathers and Henry VIII (lived for The Tudors on Showtime). Every day I say, "Oh, he should just die." I don't mean the people. I mean the idea. Sink into a tar pit like a dinosaur. No one that knew me thought for a moment I was serious. I now realize you must speak at all times on air to people who don't know you. I was wrong to say I want anyone dead on the radio, in jest or not. If my friends know the difference, fine, but some nut out there...well, it's just not good to do and I won't ever again.

For the 1,245,359th -- and final -- time: I'm sorry. I am sorry anyone thought I wanted a real person dead, I did not. I am sorry that anyone has to go through any trouble over what I said while making tea in my home studio with my always live mike.

I wonder if this will be a chapter in Joe's upcoming book. Maybe a track on his album.

Glad I could help.
Read more: Satellite Radio, Election 2008 Coverage, Talk Radio, John McCain, Fcc, Apologies, Charles Karel Bouley, Profanity, Sarah Palin, Joe the Plumber, Hate Speech, 2008 Election, Media News

Joshuah Bearman: Margaret and Helen Are Taking Requests!

2008-11-15T15:28:55Z
Cross posted, of course!

Sure, sure, everyone loves Rachel Maddow and her sexy lesbian librarian glasses. But the best new political pundits minted in 2008 were not on cable news, or even on Huffington Post. They were Margaret and Helen, the two octogenarians whose blog caused a sensation with Helen's post: Sarah Palin is a Bitch ... There I said it. Margaret and Helen -- friends for sixty years, as their banner problems -- pride themselves on being old ladies who speak their minds. In practice, Helen does most of the speaking, since Margaret never actually posts and just calls Helen to make comments about their newfound conversation with America. Here is Helen kicking it all off with thoughts on Sarah Palin:
Look. I am going to say what everyone at CNN, CBS, ABC and NBC is
thinking but is afraid to say. Governor Palin is a stupid, conniving
bitch. And it's not because she is a strong woman - I like strong
women... worship them... It's actually the opposite. She is a weak,
pathetic woman who thinks big hair, winking, baby talk and self
deprecation is somehow becoming of a woman who wants to lead the free
world. My god, where is Margaret Thatcher when you need her!

Oh and my favorite - my husband Todd (the first dude) and I sit around the kitchen table wondering about the cost of college like many of you...
oh really. Your oldest son went from high school into the military.
Your next oldest is pregnant with plans to be married to some hockey
jock at age 17. Seems to me you've got lots of time before you have to
worry about college tuition especially being college doesn't seem to be
a priority in your family.

Please take your ridiculous hair, your over lipstick-smacking mouth,
your Lenscrafter look smarter glasses and your poorly fitted designer
jackets back to Alaska.   And when you get there, shove a piece of the
pipeline up your considerable ass. I'll be damned if we'll put our
children's future in your hands. And the same thing goes for McCain -
the ass wipe who gave her this national platform effectively pushing
the woman's movement back into the dark ages - knowing McCain that
might have been his plan all along.

The post was accompanied by a graphic made by Helen's grandson, which said: I CALL BULLSHIT. This was in early October. The election was in fever pitch. Not surprisingly, Helen's rant drew attention. Thousands of hits and hundreds of comments. Her response:
Hello world. Well where do I begin? I am shocked at
the response to my little rants. You sure do know how to make an old
gal feel special. Of course there is another woman out there who feels
special, but that's only because she's been shooting caribou out the
window of her Straight Talk Express on the way to her next Republican hillbilly rally.

For crying out loud America. How bad does it have to get? Senator
McCain is practically crumbling to dust before our very eyes while
Governor Palin is out in the hinterland screeching about some 60's
hippie who bumped into Obama once or twice over the years. This from
the woman who panders to secessionists in Alaska. Please, dear God, somebody throw a stone because that glass igloo needs to be shattered!
And so it continued. Margaret and Helen, whose grandson taught her how to "blog" so as to keep up with her best
friend for more than six decades, wound up offering the most concise, funny and even analytically astute commentary on an election where everyone had something to say. She fulminated about The View's Elisabeth Hasslebeck. And called Elizabeth Dole a jihadi. On the eve of the election, Helen asked everyone to share thoughts on their grandma as the best way to honor Barack Obama. (Unhappy thoughts about grandmas were referred to Dr. Laura's blog.) After it was over, the 82-year-old lady from Texas said all that ever needs to be said about California's Proposition 8:
I posted yesterday that love is about the heart not the body. Trust
me, if it was about the body a lot of us would be in a world of
trouble. You can't legislate love between two consenting adults. You
just can't no matter how hard you try. If you want to save marriage,
marry someone you love.

That post, like all the others, was signed off with. "Thanks for stopping by. I mean it. Really." With the election done, there's less to get riled up about in the papers each day, and Helen says she feels like she is running out of steam.
Now that the election is behind us I have tried my best to keep up the hospitality, but watching The View everyday is too much to ask. I mean I love you and all but that show
is torture.

Luckily, the old ladies have a plan to speak their mind on the topics of our choosing:

So Margaret and I have been talking and we wanted you to know that
we have enjoyed your comments - your conversation - as much as you seem
to be enjoying ours. In that spirit we have asked my grandson to add a
page where you can leave ideas and ask questions for us to write about
on this web page blog.

But be warned. We are not Dear Abby or that other one - her
sister. We call 'em as we see 'em. We won't hold back no matter how
much we like you!

So let's all provide Helen and Margaret with fodder for keeping us all humbled and entertained. They want you us to sop by and leave a comment. They mean it. Really.

Read more: Election 2008 Coverage, Obama, Election Results, Mccain, Margaret and Helen, Sarah Palin, Politics News

Barbara Dehn: Election Withdrawal

2008-11-14T20:25:36Z
As part of my post on Election Obsession, I was interviewed by CNN. Recently they asked me about an update from people who had been obsessed with the Election. As Nurse Barb, I sent out a survey to people who might have been obsessed with the election about whether they were experiencing "Election Withdrawal." Here's what they had to say:

Are you going through "Election Withdrawal?"

• "I guess it's withdrawal, because my nerves are shot. I couldn't last much longer."

• "I am because I find myself looking at various news channels and thinking, I really don't have a reason to watch the news so intently anymore."

• "I am still obsessed with all the election post mortem... especially the annihilation of Sarah Palin. I have to openly admit, my competitive, combative spirit loves seeing this woman taken out. It (selfishly) gives my own ego great pleasure to see this "shadow" figure of all our egos taken down. Funny thing is, I do not feel this way about John McCain, I feel he fought a more decent battle, lost and gracefully exited the scene."

• "My first reaction to the election was that I felt liberated (like the Berlin Wall crumbling!). I feel that as people we have been belittled and somewhat philosophically oppressed by the current administration....as in "if you aren't with me you are against me".

• "It's good to have the Obsessive Compulsive Election Disorder (OCED) in remission. No longer searching the blogs for polling updates. No longer reading stories about the 'Bradley effect' and Joe the unlicensed plumber. No longer wondering how the ballots are going to be misinterpreted by voters. No longer anxious about the long lines and how people would be turned away from voting. No longer dreading the intervention of the courts in the vote counting process. It's amazing how the antidote of an overwhelming electoral win cures this disorder."

• "A little bit. I am more happy to have it over. The commercials & robo-calls were getting annoying."

What are you doing with your time now?

• "My 6 year old daughter was a Barack Obama supporter and now wants to know what winning the election means for him. Thus, I am now the 'educator in chief' about presidential issues. I am answering lots of questions about what the White House is like. She had previously asked if it had an elevator. Thanks to CNN I now know that it has 3 elevators."

• "I find myself watching the news all the time. I haven't followed the news for years, 6 or 7 years at least. In fact, CNN is on in the background as I'm typing this (Paulson just spoke regarding the Economic Crisis and the Automakers issues) with hopes that I will hear some news from the Obama team."

• "Still watching all the same news shows to see what is going on with the transition and to watch the Republican damage control. No where near as much concern but still trying to keep up and wean myself off the pundits. After 911 it took me 3 months to stop listening to news programs on the radio on the way to work and get back to listening to music."

Are you focusing on the economy, your jobs, your family?

• "I am homeschooling mom that now has many relevant and timely lessons to incorporate in my daughter's curriculum (sic). I am a legitimate version of 'Joe the Plumber' in that I am a small business owner trying to keep my company going."

• "I'm depressed, but my baseboards are clean. I spent the first day after the election in a bit of shock. I know that everyone else knew he was going to win, but I can't permit myself that kind of optimism. So the day after was a surreal haze. Anyway, there were no more poll to watch (sic) and the smell of windex seems to revive me so I started cleaning. I often do this while I'm processing things and it's also an excellent cover up to simple procrastination. When I found myself on my hands and knees vacuuming that little vent on the bottom of the refrigerator (don't feel bad if you have no idea what I' talking about, you obviously have better things to do) I knew it was time for serious help. Or at least a martini."

• "Yes, of course we're selling our home and are now looking at new 8x11 tents at Walmart! Should be enough room for two unless the pesky kids want to move in to save money!"

Are you depressed? Elated? Cautiously optimistic?

• "My emotional reaction is one mainly of relief. Interesting note: when my son and I were watching Saving Private Ryan last night, and the end of the opening D day scene, one of the soldiers sits down and starts to cry. My son asked me why he was crying! As I teared up, I explained to him that he was relieved that he survived a very stressful experience and that's pretty much analogous to how I feel, (though not on the same scale, obviously). What's amazing to realize, is just how stressful these last 8 years have been on some level. I'm just relieved not to be embarrassed and angry and frustrated any more. I'm relieved to have an adult in charge."

• "I am cautiously optimistic that the new administration will make things better for the country. I hope that people don't expect Barack Obama to solve all the world's problems."

• "I am Elated and anxiously awaiting the change. I must say as an African American I feel different. I can't put my finger on it but I feel good!"

• "So I am a bit depressed. In a perverse sort of way, I always looked forward to the next gaff by McCain or especially Sarah Palin."

What are you doing with the time that you previously devoted to following the election?
• "I am trying to resume my daily life and do more of the things that I should have been doing prior to the election. I hope to exercise more, read more, and spend more time being productive."

• "I am now on the web following the recount of the senate race in Minnesota to see if Al Franken can pull it off. I have however drawn the line at looking into the schools in DC that the Obama's are considering for their girls or weighing in on what kind of puppy they should get. I have used the leftover nervous energy to clean my house and I am considering repainting the outdoor furniture."

Clearly the entire country is coming to terms with the outcome of the election. Many are getting back to their routines, others are more engaged in current events. I want to know what's different for you since the election.

Be well,
NurseBarb

Read more reaction from HuffPost bloggers to Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 presidential election
Read more: Election 2008 Coverage, Mccain, Obama, Election, Barack Obama, Palin, Obama Eleciton Day, Obama Wins, Post-Election, Election Anxiety, Election Results, Electon Anaylsis, 2008 Presidential Election, President Elect Obama, Living News

Menachem Rosensaft: Why American Jews Voted for Barack Obama

2008-11-14T16:27:14Z

We know that while defeat is an orphan, victory's illegitimate fathers come out of the woodworks like cockroaches to claim paternity, but the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) claiming credit for Barack Obama's election? That's almost as credible as John McCain saying that he does not regret picking Sarah Palin as his running mate.

RJC executive director Matt Brooks has written that his group "helped the Jewish community get clear answers" on "critical issues like our troubled economy, the threat of a nuclear Iran, continued Hamas violence against Israel and the need for energy independence." Nonsense. Throughout the campaign, the RJC engaged in ugly fear mongering by attempting to smear Obama as a shadowy associate of anti-Semites and terrorists. The group's ads were so offensive that the Obama campaign refused to debate surrogates of the RJC, opting instead to share platforms with representatives of the more above-board McCain operation which, to its and John McCain's credit, stayed away from subliminal but blatant racist messages.

Brooks disingenuously argues that "Obama was unable to exceed Bill Clinton or Al Gore, and only slightly improved on John Kerry's support in the Jewish community." A more realistic assessment is that American Jews overwhelmingly rejected the RJC's propaganda designed to scare them away from Obama and instead remained true to their traditional ideals and values.

In fact, the expensive RJC ad campaign does not appear to have changed anyone's vote, giving new meaning to the Yiddish accounting term, aroysgevorfen gelt (thrown out money). The Republican base has a solid base of around 10-11% of the Jewish community - the proportion who voted for Barry Goldwater in 1964 against 90% for Lyndon Johnson, and for George H.W. Bush in 1992, against 80% for Bill Clinton and 9% for Ross Perot. This core group will vote Republican regardless of who is on the ballot.

Similarly, there are those Jews who will always vote Democratic - the 45% who voted for Jimmy Carter in 1980, against 39% for Ronald Reagan and 15% for John Anderson; or, more charitably, the 64% who voted for Michael Dukakis in 1988 against 35% for George H.W. Bush, the 67% who voted for Walter Mondale in 1984 against 31% for Reagan, or the 65% who voter for George McGovern in 1972 against 35% for Richard Nixon.

In other words, a controversial Democrat like Carter or McGovern will lose a chunk of traditional Jewish voters, and a highly popular Republican like Reagan can attract them. No great surprise there. Dwight D. Eisenhower, whom many Jews credited with liberating Nazi death camps, received 36% of the Jewish vote in 1952, and 40% in 1956.

But the 2008 results resemble those of more conventional, less extreme election years. John F. Kennedy in 1960, Hubert Humphrey in 1968, and Bill Clinton in 1992 received, respectively, 82%, 81%, and 80% of the Jewish vote, without any concerted, high profile attempt on the part of Republican Jewish operatives to depict them as dangerous, radical or disloyal. In 1996, Clinton won 78% of the Jewish vote - same as Obama this year; Al Gore won 79% in 2000, with Joe Lieberman on the ticket; and John Kerry 74% in 2004.

In other words, just about the same proportion of American Jews voted for Barack Obama as have historically supported mainstream Democratic presidential candidates. And John McCain's 22%, while better than Richard Nixon's 18% in 1960 and 17% in 1968, or Bob Dole's 16% in 1996, was in the same general ballpark as George W. Bush's 19% in 2000 and 24% in 2004, and not all that much lower than Gerald Ford's 27% in 1976.

What does this all mean? For starters, that the American Jewish community for the most part is smart enough to recognize and disregard unsavory scare tactics. Also, most American Jews are mainstream progressive, with a highly developed social conscience. They support civil and human rights. They are generally pro-choice, especially since even the strictest Orthodox interpretations of Jewish law require an abortion when the mother's health is at issue. They believe that protecting our environment is a good thing, and have spent too much money on their children's college tuition to dismiss science as somehow godless. They are, by definition, not fundamentalist or evangelical Christians, which means that Sarah Palin turned them off for many of the exact same reasons that she energized the Republican base.

The Republican attempts to depict Obama as less supportive of Israel than McCain had no traction because they were so obviously without foundation. Obama has had a longstanding close relationship with the Chicago Jewish community, and he has a consistent record of strong, unwavering support for Israel. Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch reflected the instincts of most American Jews when he said, "Take it from me, I know. I know Israel would be protected by an Obama-Biden administration."

If the Republicans want greater Jewish support in the future, they will have to stop pandering to what they erroneously believe to be our fears, and instead move politically and ideologically in our direction. Barack Obama received the support of 78% of American Jews because his values are our values, his principles are our principles, and his goals for the United States are our goals, too.

Menachem Z. Rosensaft, a lawyer in New York City, is the Founding Chairman of the International Network of Children of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, and a former National President of the Labor Zionist Alliance

Read more: Republican Jewish Coalition, Election 2008 Coverage, Ed Koch, Matt Brooks, Barack Obama, Jewish Voters, Jewish Vote, Obama Jewish Vote, Obama Jewish Voters, Obama Jews, Politics News

Joan Garry: CNN-ema

2008-11-14T12:27:39Z
Hi. I am Joan Garry and I am a news addict. In the months and weeks leading up to Election Day, I couldn't help myself.

CNN, realclearpolitics.com, five-thirty-eight.com. I didn't just check in at these sites. It got to the point where I would become furious at the lack of new content even though I'd last visited a mere ten minutes before. And it wasn't just me. Eileen became an addict, too. "Joan, I think Ohio just went from dark blue to light blue!" she would say with panic in her voice. "No honey, it was like that yesterday," I'd respond, working to quell my own anxiety about the color of Ohio.

Maybe it was just better than keeping an eye on the Dow. Maybe as a fierce Obama supporter and fundraiser, I felt I had a real and personal stake. Whatever the case, I simply couldn't stop myself.

With Election Day behind us and a victory secured for our candidate, I breathed a sigh of relief. I could go back to life as I knew it. But I'll be honest. It hasn't been easy.

Was the motorcade that left the Obama office garage in Chicago really carrying Hillary? How did the visit at Georgetown Day go for Malia and Sasha? Did Joe Biden's new Chief of Staff graduate magna or summa cum laude from college?

I was beginning to see myself being drawn back in until something stopped me. Someone stopped me. The Governor of Alaska. No, I take that back. It was Wolf Blitzer. And Keith Olberman. And Rachael Maddow. My dealers.

But I won't have it. I will not listen to Wolf Blitzer -- with or without holograms -- talk about Palin's prospects for 2012 for another minute. I don't want him talking about 2012 at all and I sure don't want him to say "Palin" and "2012" in the same sentence.

I've had enough. So thank you Wolf. You helped me get it out of my system. My friend David calls it a CNN-ema.
Read more: Election 2008 Coverage, Media Coverage of 2008 Election, Cnn, Wolf Blitzer, Media News

Aemilia Scott: Campaign Ad or Ad Campagin?

2008-11-13T17:48:17Z
Progressives, halt your celebration! A moment of your time, please. We can go back to our Kleenex-clutching Obama acceptance speech replay-a-thons in a moment. There is still one thing left to learn from Campaign 2008. Who will teach us the lesson that we should take with us into 2012? Sarah Palin, of course. Sarah Palin and Applebees.

Let's not focus on all the things we knew about Palin. Let's focus on all the things we didn't know. At issue here is the small flood of info about the Vice Presidential candidate, both public and private, that were leaked after the election ended.

It's true, some of these claims about Almost Vice President Palin were fabricated. Brilliantly, brilliantly fabricated. But let's not waste time in the flagellant posture of a seasoned intellectual, and adopt the erect stance of the rhetorician: nine out of ten nutso claims made about Palin were actually true.

Forget about that witchdoctor exorcism in an Alaskan megachurch. It seems this candidate couldn't identify the three countries in NAFTA, one of which is the one she was trying to become Vice President of. Forget that she was duped by a Canadian morning radio jockey into thinking that the Pepe Le Pew-sounding guy at the other end of the line was Nicolas Sarközy. Imagine the towel-clad tantrums she threw when she saw the press clippings, attacking her staff like some sort of 50-foot teenager, too powerful to silence.

What we should learn from this news is that the McCain-Palin campaign was the well-oiled deception machine that we remember fondly from 2000 and 2004. Republicans have been making smarter moves than Democrats for a while now, and they've been doing so because they've been treating candidates not as political entities, but as products to be sold. With a good ad campaign any product is palatable.

Before we were sold Applebees Restaurant, and now we've ended up starving outside The Ritz. This year, Americans seem to be savvier cultural consumers than they were before. Either that, or the product being sold to us was too crazy even for the country's best ad team. Again they tried to sell us Applebees, but even with all the framing and posturing, something about the product just didn't smell right this time.

What makes this election season so scary is that although McPalin didn't smell right, and although we decided not to buy into the ad campaign this time around, none of us had the slightest clue how dangerous the product actually was. That's because ad campaigns craft a message, and crafting a message has absolutely nothing to do with informing you about the product. Vioxx! McGriddle! Thalidomide! I can't believe I've lived this long without them!

To keep us from making some unhealthy choices in the future, presidential campaigns need to be read with the eye of the consumer. Then we won't be stuck with a president dangerous enough to require a recall.
Read more: Election 2008 Coverage, Karl Rove, Mccain, Martin Eisenstadt, Steve Schmidt, Advertising, Applebee's, Palin, Campaign, Palin Nafta, Sarah Palin Post-Election, Political Ads, Mccain-Palin, 2008 Presidential Election, False Advertising, Sarah Palin Rumors, Applebee's Restaurant, Vice Presidential Candidates, Politics News

Brandon Friedman: Election Data: Military Communities Shift Democratic in 2008

2008-11-13T13:22:32Z
For the past week, people have been coming to me asking if I had any data on the 2008 military vote. The questions were typical: Did the myth of overwhelming military support for Republicans bear out? Did Obama change that? Just who, exactly, do military communities support? And to what extent?

Unfortunately, I hadn't really come up with much until today. But now, using general election data provided by the New York Times, I was able to determine that the military communities most affected by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan shifted significantly toward Barack Obama and the Democratic Party in 2008 when compared to the numbers from 2004.

Here's how I did it: The New York Times put together a set of graphics that showed every county in the United States. Each county was color-coded to reveal the shift in that county's vote--whether it went more Republican or more Democratic--from 2004 to 2008. They were done according to percentage changes, and shades of red symbolized movement toward McCain and the Republicans, while shades of blue represented a shift toward Obama and the Democrats.

After examining the New York Times data, I consulted the Los Angeles Times graphic that shows for whom each county in America voted--Obama or McCain.

With that information, I identified the county's across the country that contain military bases housing America's primary Army and Marine Corps ground combat forces--the very forces responsible for most of the fighting.

What I found was striking, though not all that surprising: Of the 15 military communities I looked at, 11 shifted toward the Democrats and Barack Obama, two had insufficient data to make a determination, and only two shifted toward John McCain and the Republicans.

That said, despite the overwhelming gains made by Obama and the Democrats, the Republican Party in some of these communities still enjoyed enough support to put McCain over the top in eight of the 15 communities. Six of the 15 military communities ultimately voted for Obama, and one community split its two counties between McCain and Obama. Here are the results:

Military Base: Camp Pendleton

Service: Marine Corps

County: San Diego

State: California

Major Combat Unit: 1st Marine Division

Shift from 2004: 10-20%

Shift in Favor of: Democrats/Obama

Elected: Barack Obama

Military Base: Camp LeJeune

Service: Marine Corps

County: Onslow

State: North Carolina

Major Combat Unit: 2nd Marine Division

Shift from 2004: 10-20%

Shift in Favor of: Democrats/Obama

Elected: John McCain

Military Base: Fort Benning

Service: Army

County: Muscogee

State: Georgia

Major Combat Units: 3rd Infantry Division, 3rd Ranger Battalion

Shift from 2004: 10-20%

Shift in Favor of: Democrats/Obama

Elected: Barack Obama

Military Base: Fort Bragg

Service: Army

County: Cumberland

State: North Carolina

Major Combat Units: 82nd Airborne Division, 3rd Special Forces Group, 7th Special Forces Group

Shift from 2004: 20%+

Shift in Favor of: Democrats/Obama

Elected: Barack Obama

Military Base: Fort Campbell

Service: Army

Counties: Christian and Montgomery

State: Kentucky and Tennessee

Major Combat Units: 101st Airborne Division, 5th Special Forces Group

Shift from 2004: 5-10% (KY) 10-20% (TN)

Shift in Favor of: Democrats/Obama

Elected: John McCain

Military Base: Fort Carson

Service: Army

County: El Paso

State: Colorado

Major Combat Units: 4th Infantry Division, 10th Special Forces Group

Shift from 2004: 10-20%

Shift in Favor of: Democrats/Obama

Elected: John McCain

Military Base: Fort Drum

Service: Army

County: Jefferson

State: New York

Major Combat Unit: 10th Mountain Division

Shift from 2004: 0-5%

Shift in Favor of: Democrats/Obama

Elected: John McCain

Military Base: Fort Hood

Service: Army

County: Bell

State: Texas

Major Combat Units: 4th Infantry Division, 1st Cavalry Division, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment

Shift from 2004: 20%+

Shift in Favor of: Democrats/Obama

Elected: John McCain

Military Base: Fort Lewis

Service: Army

County: Pierce

State: Washington

Major Combat Units: 2nd Infantry Division, 2nd Ranger Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group

Shift from 2004: Insufficient Data

Shift in Favor of: Insufficient Data

Elected: Barack Obama

Military Base: Fort Polk

Service: Army

Parish: Vernon

State: Louisiana

Major Combat Unit: 10th Mountain Division

Shift from 2004: 5-10%

Shift in Favor of: Republicans/McCain

Elected: John McCain

Military Base: Fort Richardson

Service: Army

County: Anchorage

State: Alaska

Major Combat Unit: 25th Infantry Division

Shift from 2004: 10-20%

Shift in Favor of: Republicans/McCain

Elected: John McCain

Military Base: Fort Riley

Service: Army

Counties: Geary and Riley

State: Kansas

Major Combat Unit: 1st Infantry Division

Shift from 2004: 10-20% (both)

Shift in Favor of: Democrats/Obama

Elected: John McCain

Military Base: Fort Stewart

Service: Army

Counties: Liberty and Bryan

State: Georgia

Major Combat Units: 3rd Infantry Division, 1st Ranger Battalion

Shift from 2004: 20%+ (Liberty County) 10-20% (Bryan County)

Shift in Favor of: Democrats/Obama

Elected: Obama (Liberty County) McCain (Bryan County)

Military Base: Fort Wainwright

Service: Army

County: Fairbanks North Star Borough

State: Alaska

Major Combat Unit: 25th Infantry Division

Shift from 2004: Insufficient data

Shift in Favor of: Insufficient data

Elected: John McCain

Military Base: Schofield Barracks

Service: Army

County: Honolulu

State: Hawaii

Major Combat Unit: 25th Infantry Division

Shift from 2004: 20%+

Shift in Favor of: Democrats/Obama

Elected: Barack Obama

While this is certainly no academic study, we can still learn a lot from it. First, however, it should be noted that no conclusions can be derived from this data to support the idea that military communities are either conservative or liberal. What the data does show is that, in 2008, the communities most affected by repeated deployments of ground combat units overwhelmingly shifted their votes in favor of Barack Obama and the Democratic Party. Of the two that shifted toward John McCain and the Republicans, one of them--Fort Richardson--is located only a few miles from Sarah Palin's hometown of Wasilla, Alaska.

It's also worth pointing out that six and a half of the 15 communities experiencing significant shifts toward Obama still voted for McCain. To me, this comes across as some serious anger. We're talking about communities that were obviously deeply conservative in 2004--like Fort Hood, TX and Fort Stewart, GA--which were able to shift more than 20 percentage points in favor of Barack Obama in 2008, and still lose to McCain in the end.

With these numbers, there can be no doubt that the military communities that have paid the most in time and lives lost over the past seven years have moved considerably away from both Bush policies and McCain's attempts to extend them. While Republican support is still strong in these communities, the election of 2008 demonstrates that without comprehensive changes in the way the military is utilized by the government, that support is on a trend to evaporate. Combat-experienced military communities sent a message in 2008: Keep the year-long deployments going, keep the bellicose rhetoric up, and you will lose elections to Democrats.

Another way to look at this is that military communities like George W. Bush more than they like John McCain. And that's bad.

I also find it slightly amusing to consider, then, that John McCain ran his entire campaign on the "success" of the "surge" in Iraq--a "fact" that meant we were "winning." And yet the military communities to whom he was directly speaking moved in the direction of Obama. Talk about out of touch.

UPDATE: It's been brought to my attention that some of these Obama/Democratic counties are quite large--like San Diego and Honolulu--and have much more diverse populations than the others. This, of course, is true and it definitely dilutes the affect of the military communities in those counties. Nevertheless, the fact that counties like Muscogee (Fort Benning, GA) and Cumberland (Fort Bragg, NC)--which are much more homogeneous--both shifted to Obama and elected Obama is quite telling.

Also available at VetVoice
Read more: Election 2008 Coverage, John McCain, 2008 Elections, Military, Barack Obama, Politics News