Now that Senator Obama's Berlin address is in the can, get ready for the backlash from the very serious corporate media. Get ready for profuse around-the-clock praise of Senator McCain and/or unfair, invented criticism of Obama. Because reporting news, however accurate, about his successful trip to the Middle East and Europe isn't news. It's obviously biased reporting against the McCain campaign.
Berlin is girding itself for up to a million spectators. The security cost to the city is closing on $500,000. And some Germans are already preparing not to like what Obama has to say.
At no point does the McCain campaign or anyone in the media point out what, exactly, is the danger to America if our closest allies actually, you know, don't hate us.
McCain aides said that the senator's journey to the Internet will span five days and will take him to such far-flung sites as Amazon.com, eBay and Facebook.
In the wake of the New Yorker flap, a shock Obama t-shirt has made news, raising questions about whether the provocative message it bears is ironic or just plain ugly.
This type of insulting nonsense will not go unnoticed or unchallenged by the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who've fought in both McCain's war in Iraq, and in the other war in Afghanistan.
Both candidates are embracing, rather than challenging, the fundamental irrationality of Bush's "war on terror," which substitutes hysteria for rational analysis in appraising the dangers the country faces.
If managing a presidential campaign is any indication of how these candidates will perform day one in the White House, it is McCain's campaign, not Obama's that should be worrying American voters.
As Obama's plane touched down in Afghanistan, Maliki's comments had a far-reaching effect on the war and presidential politics, with the Maliki government withdrawing from Bush and making McCain appear foolish.
"Be Obama, be change, be Berlin," the Berliner Zeitung babbles this morning. Obama is clearly campaigning here, no matter what Americans think, and certainly young Europeans embrace him as a leader.
It isn't just the American people who want us to leave Iraq. Now it's the U.S.-backed Prime Minister of Iraq. That leaves Bush, McCain and the neo cons as the only people still committed to this war.
The part I find so maddening about this turn of events is the reason given for the absence of a female contender.
Activists here say there are at least 100,000 dual national Israeli-American voters. During a 4th of July picnic in Jerusalem, "the volunteers were constantly busy, not a moment to rest. People were lining up to register."
What would you do differently in Iraq? Say it up top and be specific. Get readers and morning commuters to spill their coffee, what I call the "shock and awe" lede. Ok, maybe a bad pun.
We drove around the West Bank searching for Obama supporters, but even at venues with names in English, such as the Stars & Bucks cafe or Supermarket Baghdad, there were no Gobama banners to be seen.
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
McCain and staff are spending all their energy attacking everything Obama does. First they attack Obama for not traveling to Iraq to understand the war on the ground. Then they attack when he does travel to Iraq. First they attack by saying he isn't presidential enough. Then when he looks all too presidential, easily communicating with the world's leaders, they attack that too. In fact, attacking Obama's every move is pretty much all McCain is doing.
And with the help of the media, the vast majority of the American public - which gets all its news from television - gets a very skewed picture of reality. A picture shaped only by the right wing.
Yet, there is hope. Every candidate who spends his energy attacking his opponent is by definition, working from behind. Reacting, not acting. Such candidates lose.
McCain doesn't need a transition. He'll be continuing all of Bush's policies so he can even keep all of the staff too.
Most presidents dump their predecessor's staff no matter what the party is. McCain shares many things with Bush, but they won't be sharing White House staff or executive branch officers. Look for new faces, but not necessarily any new ideas.
Lately, everything out of McCain's mouth is about Obama. . . McCain simply does not have the time, nor the the energy, to think about anything else. . . Transition planning? . . . Not a chance!
He has such a huge obsession going on about Obama, I am surpised if he gets his shoes to match each morning.
It never fails to amaze me how silly our arguments can get. I mean during the Primary Hilary kept harping about how Obama wont be ready from day one that the Presidency is not a place to do training yada yada. 55% of the American people think that he is a risky choice and he is trying to allay their concerns by saying I'll be ready I'm going to have my team in place. Lets not even forget that we have two wars, a 4 trillion dollar deficit, global warming, energy crisis etc and we are worried about whether someone who can be the next President is planning too soon I mean seriously that some messed up crap how the heck can you plan too soon considering the stuff thats going to come at you from day one.
I mean we need to stop this silliness and get serious there is a lot of problems we face.
Carol
C A I N doesn't need any transition planning operation - remember he has the "experience" and it is also "presumptuous" of B O (who Repubs say doesn't have any experience) to start planning just about 100 days to an election that would usher in the person responsible for the lives of 300 million people and an economy in excess of $11 Trillion.
What's there to plan?
" I know how to win wars" - that takes care of Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Milk is now more than $4" - that takes care of the economy.
"We removed that ban on drilling and within days the price of crude dropped by more than $10" - that takes care of high price of crude.
So what's there to plan? We are in good hands.
that about takes care of it. (the paper work to follow in Jan 09)
You must be logged in to reply to this comment. Log in