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Showing posts from September, 2008

McCain: Misleadership

More on John McCain's campaign: Truthiness Stages a Comeback By FRANK RICH Published: September 20, 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/opinion/21rich.html?ref=opinion The Push to ‘Otherize’ Obama By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF Published: September 20, 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/opinion/21kristof.html?ref=opinion

Missing McCain

I saw one of the ugliest moments of the US elections last Sunday when Rudolph Giuliani recited one lie after another with a straight face when he appeared on Meet the Press. It appears that lying to win public office permeates the entire Republican campaign. John McCain is the biggest disappointment of all. Liberal friends who wonder who they would vote for if they were Republican always conclude they would end up voting for McCain because he had one thing most Republicans do not seem to have: integrity. It appears McCain has also discard that feature. Richard Cohen's column in the Washington Post today captured my views on this matter: The Ugly New McCain By Richard Cohen Wednesday, September 17, 2008 Following his loss to George W. Bush in the 2000 South Carolina primary, John McCain did something extraordinary: He confessed to lying about how he felt about the Confederate battle flag, which he actually abhorred. "I broke my promise to always tell the truth," McCain sai

McLies

There is one other component to the Republican campaign for the presidency that I left out in the last blog: Lies. The New York Times summarized the criticisms well and Paul Krugman's latest piece is also enlightening. FactCheck . org had a specific analysis of McCain's claims about Obama's tax policy proposals and found that "McCain misrepresents Obama's tax proposals again. And again, and again." The list is already endless and the campaign has just begun.

Republican Genius

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The Republican Party had a stroke of genius during their National Convention (RNC). Before they presented Sarah Palin to the public, the Party's stalwarts took aim at the media—calling them left-leaning and blaming them for the Republican’s tarnished image. The trick worked so well that even after Governor Palin spoke, the media was uncharacteristically quiet. Instead of criticizing her speech, record, or experience, the media painted Palin as the darling of the convention who electrified the crowds. Somehow, the media glossed over the fact that Sarah Palin said nothing—like the rest of the speakers at the Convention—about the Party's policies, programs or plans for the future. These were not on the Republican menu because the RNC had two well-defined goals that week: attack the media and glorify John MaCain. Unlike the other speakers, however, Palin attacked Barack Obama. Her first major speech reeked of bile. She was mean, vicious, and inaccurate with her allegations. Her spe