They voted to break with George W. Bush’s sorry legacy and to restore a nation’s pride and self-confidence in what the charismatic Obama, echoing Martin Luther King, calls “the fierce urgency of now.”
It proved, in the final analysis, to be a more compelling idea than McCain’s “the moderate proximity of soon.”
if you fail to vote, strongtakes.com will come to your house and tattoo an image of richard nixon on your forehead
Let me just say categorically I’m proud of the people that come to our rallies. Whenever you get a large rally of 10,000, 15,000, 20,000 people, you’re going to have some fringe peoples. You know that. And I’ve—and we’ve always said that that’s not appropriate.
But to somehow say that group of young women who said “Military wives for McCain” are somehow saying anything derogatory about you, but anything—and those veterans that wear those hats that say “World War II, Vietnam, Korea, Iraq,” I’m not going to stand for people saying that the people that come to my rallies are anything but the most dedicated, patriotic men and women that are in this nation and they’re great citizens.
And I’m not going to stand for somebody saying that because someone yelled something at a rally—there’s a lot of things that have been yelled at your rallies, Senator Obama, that I’m not happy about either.
An Obama rally.
Barack Obama: ...It’s very simple: the Rousseauist notion of a citizen-magistrate majority is not only unattainable, even in a sort of figurative sense, it is—
A Lone Voice from the Audience #1: MCCAIN’S TAX PROPOSALS SUCK
Barack Obama: I beg your pardon?
A Lone Voice from the Audience #1: MCCAIN’S TAX PROPOSALS
A Lone Voice from the Audience #1:
A Lone Voice from the Audience #1: THEY SUCK
Barack Obama: Now, that is not a fair thing to say. I repudiate that statement. That’s—that’s over the line.
A Lone Voice from the Audience #2: MCCAIN’S TAX PROPOSALS ARE ILL-CONCEIVED
Joe Biden: I would agree with that one.
Barack Obama: Yeah, that one I can get behind. They’re definitely ill-conceived. You can’t just say that they suck.
A Lone Voice from the Audience #1: WHAT ABOUT MCCAIN IS AN OLD CRAZY COOT
Barack Obama: No. Absolutely not.
Joe Biden: You’re calling him a “coot,” number one. Number two, you’re also calling him “crazy.”
A Lone Voice from the Audience #3: IT IS ENTIRELY LEGITIMATE TO CITE JOHN MCCAIN’S AGE AND HEALTH IN A DISCUSSION OF HIS FITNESS TO BE PRESIDENT
Barack Obama:
Joe Biden: I’d buy that one.
Barack Obama: Not something I intend to spend a lot of time talking about, but fine.
Joe Biden: Let me repeat: I’d buy that one.
A Lone Voice from the Audience #1: AWRIGHT LEMME TRY AGAIN
A Lone Voice from the Audience #1: UHH
Barack Obama: I feel like we’re getting sidetracked, here.
A Lone Voice from the Audience #1: SARAH PALIN IS A [VAGINA]
Joe Biden:
Barack Obama:
Michelle Obama: Sarah Palin has a [vagina]? Or Sarah Palin is a [vagina].
A Lone Voice from the Audience #1: IS
Barack Obama: Yeah, again, that’s not gonna work.
Joe Biden: Kind of a tough word, number one. Number two—well, yeah.
Barack Obama: Friend, you’re conflating—you’re proposing a significational dynamic known as ‘synecdoche.’
Barack Obama: In other words, you’re being a synecdochebag.
Audience:
Barack Obama: It’s a lot funnier if you know how that’s spelled.
McCain made a verbal flub during his speech. After laying out his policy goals, he said: ‘This is the agenda I have set before my fellow prisoners.’
According to the text of the speech released by his campaign, the word was supposed to be ‘citizens,’ not ‘prisoners.’
The text of the speech also helped clarify some of Sen. McCain’s other flubs. For example, it is now clear that when McCain yelled out, “Ah, Jesus! Ah, Jesus, Ray! I’m hit! I’m hit! I’m going down! There’s Charlie all over me!”, what he meant to say was “Friends, I have the experience and the wisdom that America needs during this difficult time of crisis.”
Later, when McCain suddenly dropped to the ground behind the podium, hugged his knees and gently rocked himself back and forth while sobbing, “Where’s Cafferty? Why haven’t they brought back Cafferty? Oh God, I just want to go home. Oh, please God, just let me go home,” he had apparently intended to say, “Friends, my opponent thinks that what this country needs is more talk...well, I know that solving our problems will take action.”
Finally, judging from the official text, it seems that McCain had intended to end the speech by waving and giving a thumbs up while standing next to running mate Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, rather than by leaping from the stage and using his right thumb to eye-gouge a supporter in the front row, then removing his shoe and brandishing it in an effort to keep security at bay while fumbling at the downed supporter’s belt in apparent search for a pair of guard’s keys “to spring [him] at long last from this hellish prison” [the Lehigh University gymnasium in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania].
McCain’s repeated call to “bomb the rice-munching Chinaman back into the Stone Age,” however, was part of the original text.
Republican presidential nominee John McCain returns to the trail today after a dramatic but rocky four-day detour that upended his campaign, upset supporters and gave new ammunition to critics who question his judgment.
...
After arriving in Mississippi, he decided to return to the capital immediately after the debate. His late-night flight landed at 3:15 a.m. Saturday. Later that day, he made 17 phone calls from his campaign office to White House and congressional leaders, but did not take part in the late-night negotiations that finally hammered out the proposed accord.
...
McCain also defended his decision to become so personally involved in the bailout debate. “I did the best that I could,” he said. “I came back because I wasn’t going to phone it in.”
Continued McCain, “But as it turned out, the best I could do was literally to phone it in.”
[A]s the kitchen sizzled and orders were barked out, Palin found herself talking politics, calling McCain’s debate performance “awesome” and taking questions from a voter about the hunt for terrorists in Pakistan.
…
“So we do cross border, like from Afghanistan to Pakistan you think?,” Rovito asked.
“If that’s what we have to do stop the terrorists from coming any further in, absolutely, we should,” Palin responded, before moving on to greet other voters.
Those comments appear to contradict McCain’s long-standing position of negotiating with Pakistan before carrying out attacks on terrorists within their borders. The GOP nominee criticized Barack Obama in Friday night’s debate for his willingness to strike unilaterally inside Pakistan.
“He said that he would launch military strikes into Pakistan,” McCain said. “You don’t do that. You don’t say that out loud.”
When reached for comment to explain Palin’s apparently contradictory remark, McCain remained confident. “When I said, ‘You don’t say that out loud,’ I was talking directly to Senator Obama. I did not mean in general. I meant very specifically that Barack could not say it out loud. I didn’t mean for that to apply to other people, such as my running mate. See? No contradiction there. We’re a united front.”
When pressed and asked if he was implying that he agreed with Palin’s remark, McCain’s confidence waned. “Listen, she was ordering a cheesesteak. Whatever she said, she didn’t mean it. I doubt she even knows what Pakistan is.”
When asked if he really thought Palin’s lack of geographic knowledge was better than her contradictory political policy, McCain’s confidence imploded in on itself and he shouted, “I made a mistake, okay? Is that what you want me to say? Fine, I’ll say I made a mistake.”
When news of McCain’s confession of regret reached Palin she released the following statement: “Not awesome.”
[T]he campaign of Senator John McCain on Tuesday unveiled a new television advertisement claiming that [Senator Barack] Obama, the Democratic nominee, favors “comprehensive sex education” for kindergarten students [referring to a 2003 sex education bill proposed in the Illinois legislature, which Mr. Obama supported]...[T]he main objective of the legislation, as it pertained to kindergarteners [was] to teach them how to defend themselves against sexual predators.
In comments Wednesday, McCain campaign chief strategist Steve Schmidt explained the logic of opposition to such a bill. “Look, it couldn’t be simpler: a McCain-Palin administration will support abstinence-only sex education, because if you don’t teach teens about sex, then they won’t have sex. Obviously. By the same logic, if we don’t teach our children about sexual abuse, then they can’t be sexually abused. So the real question is, why do Senators Obama and Biden want your children to be sexually abused? Right? Because that’s the real question.”
Mr. Schmidt went on to explain Sen. McCain and Governor Palin’s opposition to teaching our kids about obesity—"it makes them fat"—about pooping their pants—"it makes them poop their pants"—and about earthquakes—"it causes earthquakes”.
The selection [of running-mate Sarah Palin] [...] offers a glimpse into how Mr. McCain might make high-stakes decisions as president.
At the very least, the process reflects Mr. McCain’s history of making fast, instinctive and sometimes risky decisions. “I make them as quickly as I can, quicker than the other fellow, if I can,” Mr. McCain wrote, with his top adviser Mark Salter, in his 2002 book, Worth the Fighting For. “Often my haste is a mistake, but I live with the consequences without complaint.”
TRAITS THAT ARE ADMIRABLE IN A FREELANCE ADVENTURER, SUCH AS A PIRATE OR SPACE SMUGGLER:
See above quote.
TRAITS THAT ARE SCARY AS HELL IN A US PRESIDENT, WITH WHOSE DECISIONS AND MISTAKES THE ENTIRE WORLD HAS TO LIVE:
See above quote.
SAMPLE PHRASE THAT IS HARMLESS, EVEN CHARMING, COMING FROM A PIRATE:
“Captain Tarrington thinks he can beat the Black Osprey through the Narrows, eh? Well, not if my name is Impulsive Jack! Higgins, Gutiérrez— set a course for Satan’s Passage!”
SAMPLE PHRASE THAT IS SCARY AS HELL COMING FROM THE PRESIDENT:
“Really? Putin said that? Well, fuck that. No, you know what? Fuck that! Lieutenant Hofstadler, go get the nuclear codes. I’m serious! Quick, before I change my mind! GodDAMNit! GAAAGH! [kicks wall and falls over]”
‘Three Times’, an Obama television ad airing from Virginia to Colorado, savages McCain for lavishing $200 billion tax ‘giveaways’ on ‘big corporations’ [...] The McCain side retorted that the ‘$4 billion’ in tax breaks for oil companies mentioned in Obama’s ad was misleading because McCain is proposing an across-the-board tax cut for all corporations and is not favoring the oil industry.
A spokesman for McCain also characterized as misleading the charge that a McCain administration would pursue war with Iran. “See, this is totally unfair,” said spokesman Brian Rogers. “We will be pursuing war across the board with many countries in the Middle East, not only with Iran.”
Rogers paused, then added: “‘Middle’ being used in a more expansive sense than normal.”
Political strategists and pollsters are on the hunt for the “soccer moms’’ and “Nascar dads’’ of 2008, the blocs of swing voters with enough clout to turn the tide in the presidential race.
Pollsters haven’t yet popularized catchy labels for key demographic groups, like the minivan-driving suburban “soccer moms’’ deemed crucial in 1996.
There is one group that’s up for grabs and could swing the election to Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain: women in their 50s and 60s without a college education.
from the desk of GEOFFREY GARIN POLLING ENTERPRISES LTD.
addressed to All Employees; Garin, Geoffrey
regarding 50-69 non-college-educated female demographic naming contest
People! It’s time to put it to A VOTE!! Below are the top submissions for the naming contest for the demographic of women aged 50-69 and lacking a college education. Rank three or more. THE FUTURE OF CATCHY DEMOGRAPHIC NAMES IS IN YOUR HANDS!!?
___ mini-golf aunts
___ bowling aunts
___ field hockey aunts
___ non-GRE-taking grandmas
___ higher levels of obesity and cigarette addiction mothers-in-law
___ great-grandmas unfamiliar with a cappella
___ high school field hockey aunts
___ “Marge”
Condoleezza Rice has played down mounting speculation that she was seeking to be John McCain’s running mate. But the US secretary of state failed to stop the rumours in Washington that she is interested in the vice-presidency.
Dan Senor, a Republican strategist and former spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, set off the rumours by claiming during a television interview on Sunday that “Condi Rice has been actively, actually in recent weeks, campaigning for this”.
She attended a recent meeting hosted by Grover Norquist, the chairman of Americans for Tax Reform and a leading conservative figure, where she was asked about the vice-presidency. Accounts by those present said she did not offer a flat denial.
You have been invited to a conference chat with dAn.SeNoR and GardenGrover. Do you accept? Y
dAn.SeNoR: hi condi.
GardenGrover: Condi… how’s it going…
Condi1114: HELLO
Condi1114: ITS GOING GREAT THANKS 4 ASKING
GardenGrover: That’s nice…
dAn.SeNoR: condi, we’ve decided to be proactive
Condi1114: CAN I JUST JUMP IN REAL QUICK & ASK GROVER 2 STOP W/ THE ELLIPSES
dAn.SeNoR: and put an end to all this vp speculation
Condi1114: THEYRE REALLY CREEPING ME OUT
GardenGrover: I didn’t even notice I was doing them…
dAn.SeNoR: uh
Condi1114: UR STILL DOING THEM
GardenGrover: Wow, it’s like this involuntary… reflex…
Condi1114: OMG STOP
dAn.SeNoR: i can’t tell if you’re being serious or not
GardenGrover: I’m being totally serious....
dAn.SeNoR: uh
dAn.SeNoR: still can’t tell if this is serious
Condi1114: I DONT SEE HOW THAT COULD B INVOLUNTARY
dAn.SeNoR: so, condi, we wanted to give you this chance to talk with a certain someone
dAn.SeNoR: and see how much you have in common
Condi1114: UR SUCH A CREEP I LOVE IT!!!
Raising_McCain has entered the conference chat.
Raising_McCain: JOHN MCCAIN IN TEH HOUSE
Condi1114: LOL
Raising_McCain: CONDI LETS TALK VEEP
Condi1114: JOHN IM FLATTERED BUT IM NOT SURE THIS IS THE RIGHT STEP 4 ME
Raising_McCain: WHAT
Raising_McCain: GODDAMIT I THOUGHT YOU GUYS SAID SHE WAS TOTALY DOWN
dAn.SeNoR: condi, wtf
GardenGrover: You said you wouldn’t deny that you were interested…
GardenGrover: (you coy vixen...)
Condi1114: EW GROVER STOP IT
Condi1114: I SAID I WAS 98% SURE I WASNT INTERESTED
Condi1114: & THE OTHER 2% WAS ALSO PRETTY SURE
Raising_McCain: WHAT THE HELL YOU GUYS
dAn.SeNoR: thanks a lot, grover
dAn.SeNoR: now we look like morons
GardenGrover: She still hasn’t firmly denied that she’s interested…
dAn.SeNoR has left the conference chat.
GardenGrover: ...
GardenGrover has left the conference chat.
Condi1114: GOD HE CREEPS ME OUT
RaisingMcCain: TELL ME ABOUT IT
Condi1114: U KNOW JOHN
Condi1114: WE DISAGREE ON A BUNCH OF BASIC POLICY QUESTIONS
Condi1114: & I REPRESENT AN ADMINISTRATION U WOULD LOVE 2 ESTABLISH A CLEAN BREAK FROM
Condi1114: BUT THERES SOMETHING ABOUT UR STYLE
Condi1114: THAT REMINDS ME OF MYSELF
Condi1114: I CANT QUITE ARTICULATE WHAT IT IS
RaisingMcCain: I WAS ABOUT TO SAY THE SAME TIHNG
RaisingMcCain: YEAH WHAT IS IT
Condi1114: I DONT KNOW
RaisingMcCain: LOL
Condi1114: LOL!!!
RaisingMcCain: OMG WE JUST SHARED A LOL
Many Iraqi politicians are closely monitoring the American presidential race, and some said the visit bolstered their belief that if Mr. McCain, of Arizona, succeeded President Bush in the November election, the American military would have a large presence in Iraq for a very long time.
...
Mrs. Clinton’s advisers said she would also take on Mr. McCain for a recent comment in which he said American troops could be in the country for 100 years.
Mr. McCain has defended that comment, made at a town hall meeting earlier this year in New Hampshire, arguing that he did not mean they would still be fighting but simply maintaining a presence in the region.
You have been invited to a conference chat with Raising_McCain. Do you accept? y
Raising_McCain: HILARY
Raising_McCain: HOWS TEH CAMPAIGN
thatshillaryous1026: its going well
Raising_McCain: THATS NICE
Raising_McCain: LETS STOP BEATING AROUND THE BUSH
thatshillaryous1026: lol
thatshillaryous1026: and lets start just beating bush!!!!
thatshillaryous1026: ;)
thatshillaryous1026: like president bush
Raising_McCain: UM, SURE
thatshillaryous1026: lol…
Raising_McCain: ...
Raising_McCain: YOUR ADVISERS NEED TO STOP TALKING TRASH
thatshillaryous1026: whats that supposed 2 mean
Raising_McCain: THE “100 YEARS” THING
Raising_McCain: AMERICAN TROOPS, IRAQ, 100 YEARS, BLAH BLAH
thatshillaryous1026: oh that
Raising_McCain: THE POINT IS:
Raising_McCain: THERES A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FIGHTING AND MAINTAINING A PRESENCE
Raising_McCain: LIKE THE TROOPS COULD BE IN IRAQ JUST SORT OF HELPING OUT
thatshillaryous1026: umm
Raising_McCain: YOU KNOW
Raising_McCain: LIKE LEGISLATING CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM FOR IRAQIS
Raising_McCain: ADVOCATING STATES RIGHTS ON CONTROVERSIAL SOCIAL ISSUES
thatshillaryous1026: that really doesnt sound like our troops
thatshillaryous1026: theyre better @ shooting stuff
thatshillaryous1026: actully that sounds more like u!!! rotfl
Raising_McCain: SETTING UP A REALLY GOOD BARBEQUE SHACK
Raising_McCain: LIKE, REALLY GOOD
thatshillaryous1026: waaaaait a minute
thatshillaryous1026: omg
thatshillaryous1026: john u totally r going 2 move 2 iraq!!
Raising_McCain: WHAT
thatshillaryous1026: like for good!!
Raising_McCain: NO
thatshillaryous1026: it all makes sense!!!
Raising_McCain: I AM DEFINATELY NOT PLANNING A COUP WITH THE AID OF HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF LOYAL AMERICAN TROOPS
Raising_McCain: IF THATS WHAT YOURE SUGGESTING
thatshillaryous1026: its “definitely”
Raising_McCain: WHATEVER
thatshillaryous1026: didnt u even buy a house there???
Raising_McCain: ITS A VACATION HOME
thatshillaryous1026: its in like downtown baghdad
Raising_McCain: THE WARM CLIMATE SUSTAINS MY SCALY ECTOTHERMIC BODY
thatshillaryous1026: ...
thatshillaryous1026: dick cheney are u sitting behind john right now telling him what 2 type
Raising_McCain has been censored by the Chat Administrator.
Raising_McCain has been censored by the Chat Administrator.
Raising_McCain has been censored by the Chat Administrator.
thatshillaryous1026: stop typing swears
Raising_McCain: POOOOOPP
Raising_McCain has been censored by the Chat Administrator.
Raising_McCain has been censored by the Chat Administrator.
Raising_McCain: I HAVE TO GO LEGISTLATE SOMETHING OKAY BYE
Raising_McCain has left the conference chat.
thatshillaryous1026: john please dont go
thatshillaryous1026: ur…
thatshillaryous1026: ur my only freind
thatshillaryous1026: barack still wont play teh appropriations bill drinking game with me
[Clinton strategists Mark] Penn and [Mandy] Grunwald engaged in a 15-minute squabble that later made it into the media over which ad to run in Virginia. He wanted an ominous one called “Freefall” that warned of bad economic times, while she wanted one called “Can Do” featuring the candidate talking against patriotic music about solving problems. [Political director Guy] Cecil grew so exasperated, he stood up and left. “This is ridiculous,” he said, according to people in the room, “You guys need to grow up. You’re acting like kids. I’ve got work to do.”
Guy Cecil: Thanks for coming, everyone. I don’t need to tell you that Virginia is looking pretty bleak for us right now, and
Mark Penn: [has hand in the air]
Mandy Grunwald: [also has hand in the air]
GC:
MP, straining to put hand even higher in the air, muttering: call me call on me call me please please call me please
MG: hillary. hillary. hillary-y-y-y-y. hillary i have a great idea. hillaryhillaryhillaryhillaryhillary
MP: THAT’S NOT FAIR I WAS FIRST. HILLARY I WAS FIRST YOU SAW I WAS FIRST.
Hillary Clinton: Mark, what is it.
MP: i think we should run a commercial.
MG: [exhales loudly and with exasperation]
HC:
GC: Yes, there’s no doubt that we should step up our ad presence in Virginia.
MP: yeah yeah yeah and, and in the commercial, we could have, like
MG: [is eating skittles]
MP:
MG:
MP: I THOUGHT WE WEREN’T ALLOWED TO EAT IN MEETINGS
HC: Mandy, please put those away.
MG, muttering: you always take his side.
MP: okay we should do a commercial with president bush, where he’s like, blah blah blah, i’m so terrible, and… and he looks really ugly, and his nose has boogers coming out.
GC:
HC:
MP: this commercial is named “Free Fall,” and… it’s also about the becomony.
MG: MY TURN i think we should have a commercial where hillary looks really PRETTY, and, and she’s talking about how she’s going to fix EVERYTHING, and it’s called “CAN DO,” and i think there should be a WHOLE TEAM OF PONIES.
MP: IT’S NOT YOUR TURN YET
MG: YOU’RE JUST MAD BECAUSE EVERYONE THINKS YOU’RE A DORK
MP, beginning to cry: MR. C MANDY CALLED ME THE D-WORD
MG: MR. CE-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-ECIL
GC, standing up and leaving: This is ridiculous. You guys need to grow up. You’re acting like kids. I’ve got work to do.
MG:
MP:
HC: “Free Fall,” you say.
MP: she started it.
Although Mrs. Clinton has been in the Senate just four more years than Mr. Obama, she has been on the Armed Services Committee and traveled around the world with Mr. McCain.
Examples of their mutual respect typically include a tale of holding a vodka-drinking contest in Estonia. Such a celebration may have been unlikely to happen with Mr. Obama, who on a trip to Russia in 2005 asked that his shot glass be filled with water.
You have been invited to a conference chat with Raising_McCain and thatshillaryous1026. Do you accept? y
Raising_McCain: BARRACK
Raising_McCain: WHATS UP
thatshillaryous1026: lol
thatshillaryous1026: u just called him “barrack”
thatshillaryous1026: like from teh army
BarackObama: Good evening, Senators.
Raising_McCain: SO YOURE PROBABLY WONDERINIG WHY WE ASKED YOU HERE
BarackObama: John, are you aware that your caps lock is on?
Raising_McCain: WE WANT TO DISCUSS THE UPCOMING APPROPRATIONS BILL
Raising_McCain: YES IM AWARE
thatshillaryous1026: rotfl
thatshillaryous1026: i seriously <3 u guys
BarackObama: I believe I have already conveyed my stance on the Supplemental Appropriations Bill to you.
Raising_McCain: WELL LET ME CONVEY MY STNACE TO YOU
Raising_McCain: POOOOOPP
thatshillaryous1026: >:0
thatshillaryous1026: no u didnt
thatshillaryous1026: john ur hamared
BarackObama: Perhaps I should convene with you at another time.
thatshillaryous1026: like dag hamarskjold LOL
Raising_McCain: JESUS HILLRAY
Raising_McCain: HOW ARE YOU SUCH A GODDAM NERD
thatshillaryous1026: barack stay
thatshillaryous1026: do some shots
BarackObama: I’m afraid I don’t have any alcohol at my immediate disposal.
Raising_McCain: GET SOME
BarackObama: Nor do I feel that it is professional to work on legislation while drunk.
BarackObama has left the conference chat.
thatshillaryous1026: everytime we use the word “appropriated” we have 2 do a shot
Raising_McCain: THE JOKE IS THAT ITS TOTALLY INAPPROPRIATE
