I don't know how many nails this coffin needs...

... But here's another one.


Incidentally I'd also argue Palin abused her power in forcing her teenage daughter to marry that teenage guy.

Thoughts in the wake of the Palin announcement

Remember those McCain ads that acknowledged Obama’s remarkable charisma but challenged the depth of his experience and ended with the question, “Is he ready to lead?”

How does a guy go from reinforcing the importance of experience—albeit in a roundabout and competitor-promoting manner—to naming Sarah Palin as his VP candidate?

McCain would be the oldest first-term president in history and he has a history of skin cancer diagnoses. I find his choice of Palin, who governs a state with a quarter the population of Brooklyn, simply hypocritical.

The New York Times quoted Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, as saying, “On his 72nd birthday, this is the guy’s judgment of who he wants one heartbeat from the presidency?”

This is an act of looking out for America’s best interests?


Image via someecards.com.

Obama's one heck of a muse

I can’t imagine what the buzz is like in Denver right now. The vibe of the city must be really inspiring. The Denver Egotist has posted some cool guerrilla street art related to the DNC.


See more here.

Sure he’s handsome, young, charismatic, athletic, inspiring and erudite, but…

Today over at I Can’t Believe It’s Not Better, Ben posted the recent John McCain campaign ad that attempts to weaken the public’s love of Barack Obama by showing how loved he is. Or something.

Oh, and it attempts to get some Britney and Paris celebrity stink on him via simply image association.

As Ben said, the ad seems decidedly unhelpful for the McCain camp since it’s based pretty much on asking a few “tough” questions while showing Obama in a very flattering light (emphasis on the flattering light).

This afternoon, CNN.com’s political ticker announced a new McCain ad that calls Obama “The One.” Here it is:



Is the McCain camp insane?

One would assume Obama’s ads (of which I’ve seen none; are there any?) would promote Obama as the right guy for the job. McCain’s ads are at least partially—if not mostly—about how everyone believes Obama is the right guy for the job.

Wait, what?

Obviously the McCain camp’s strategy is to illuminate what they see as a baseless passion that surrounds Obama and then ask whether or not he really has the ability to lead. But they spend so much energy promoting the Beatles-esque excitement encircling Obama that the McCain ads become Obama ads.

Epic fail.

These ads don’t cause me to question Obama. If anything, they make me want to go to an Obama rally.

Wake up and smell the hypocrisy

This morning CNN picked up a story that broke about a month ago, that of South Carolina’s House and Senate passing a bill that directs the state DMV to create and make available a pro-Christian license plate.

Florida rejected a similar bill in April (proposed "I Believe" plate design above).

Not surprisingly, this has created quite a stir, with many claiming it violates the tenet of separation of church and state.

Senator Lawrence K. Grooms, the co-sponsor of the bill and a Republican who is chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, was quoted in the New York Times as saying, “We have other plates with religious symbols on them and phrases like ‘In God We Trust.’ Just because it’s a cross, some very closed-minded people don’t believe it should be on a plate.”

So I’m guessing Senator Grooms would give similar support for license plates with “Praise Allah” on them. Religious freedom and all that.

Shout Out: RNC Chairman Mike Duncan

Earlier today, Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan formally denounced the use of Barack Obama’s full name (which, as you know, includes the frighteningly evil-sounding “Hussein”) in a recent news release from the Tennessee Republican Party.

Said Duncan, "The RNC rejects these kinds of campaign tactics. We believe this election needs to be about the critical issues confronting our nation."

The news release, which also included the now-famous photo of Obama in traditional Somali tribal garb, has since been revised.

Thanks for policing your own, Mr. Duncan.

Nice to see some folks having fun with this development, like this post by AOL Political Machine’s David Knowles, which jokingly posits John SIDNEY McCain is a “one man sleeper cell from Panama.”