Community Organizers with Actual Responsibilities

How can you be concerned with the middle class when you own 7 houses?

That's a question that's been on my mind for a little while now. How exactly can you relate to the middle class, and talk about the hurting economy when you aren't experiencing that AT ALL! All of John and Cindy McCain's assets are worth a whopping 400 million dollars! This includes their all there investments, trusts, funds for their children, 7 homes, 13 cars, and $242,000 in miscellaneous income. Holy crap. How can you even start to relate to the American public when you have more money then god! And I also think its funny that Sarah Palin, miss "working class", has spent a total of $150,000 on clothing and accessories from high-end department stores. Financial disclosure statements documented by Politico.com show the retail outlay for Palin and her family since early September included a $75,062.63 expenditure at a Minneapolis Neiman Marcus and shopping trips to Saks Fifth Avenue in St. Louis and New York that resulted in a combined tab of $49,425.74, all paid by the Republican National Committee. Not only is that a wonderful way to waste donation dollars, and a responsible way to spend money during this economic crisis, but it shows that her whole campaign of "I can relate to the working class" is crap, because no working class mom of five can afford to buy a shopping mall full of clothes.

Oh the lengths they will go...

So if you haven't heard the news, one of Senator John McCain's campaign volunteers was attacked by a black man who robbed her at an ATM, who after seeing a McCain sticker on the bumper of her car decided to carve a "B" (for Barack) on the side of her face! Can you believe it! How can this be true! Wait, a minute, IT'S NOT! Oober crazy Ashley Todd made up the whole dramatic encounter to what? Make herself look like a lunatic? Embarrass the McCain campaign by showing that once more they'll stoop so low to portray Obama's followers as violent attackers? Pure boredom? This didn't make McCain's campaign look good at all, it did the exact opposite. It made them look like they've run out of bull shit things to say about Obama so they're leaving it up to the crazy's to do the dirty work. Who would've thought even Palin would run out of lies? Well Ms. Todd succeeded in making herself look ridiculous, and next time you wanna fake an attack, here's some words of advice: Don't carve the letter backwards you dumb ass.

Shananigans!

Just when I thought I couldn't be appalled enough by the Republican Party, holy crap, they proved me wrong. It makes me utterly sick to my stomach that just to gain a few votes, republicans, as my political science teacher said, “will get this deep down in the gutter." The recent verbal attacks on Obama are not only ridiculous, but down right low and dirty. And I'm sorry, but I think that if you are going to try to win an election with bashing, outright lies, and projecting an unsafe, mob behavior, you have no business running our country. As said by Frank Rich in an article in the New York Times,

"IF you think way back to the start of this marathon campaign, back when it seemed preposterous that any black man could be a serious presidential contender, then you remember the biggest fear about Barack Obama: a crazy person might take a shot at him."

Friends and I have had long conversations about this very topic, and JUST when my fear has started to subside, you have people at republican conventions yelling, "Terrorist," and "Kill him!" and using racial slurs. THIS IS DANGEROUS. If you haven't already realized, people will listen to anything and take things to the extreme! These attacks aren't made to change educated people's minds, because if you’re educated, you know they're false. But stupid, ignorant people will tell McCain that they read he's a Muslim, and truly believe it. And the saddest thing about it is it’s not just a right-radical group fueling these fires, it’s the god damn Vice Presidential Candidate! I think she finally realized what a complete idiot she is, and is now just using her evil powers to destroy Barrack's character. Palin would make an amazing comic book villain. Her glasses can burn through the souls of democrats, liberals, and puppies:)Back on topic though, Palin has hit a new low, and because she can't win votes with intelligence and insight, being as she doesn't have any, she's going to try to take away Obama votes by ensuing violence and aggression towards him.

" What makes them different, and what has pumped up the Weimar-like rage at McCain-Palin rallies, is the violent escalation in rhetoric, especially (though not exclusively) by Palin. Obama “launched his political career in the living room of a domestic terrorist.” He is “palling around with terrorists” (note the plural noun). Obama is “not a man who sees America the way you and I see America.” Wielding a wildly out-of-context Obama quote, Palin slurs him as an enemy of American troops.

By the time McCain asks the crowd “Who is the real Barack Obama?” it’s no surprise that someone cries out “Terrorist!” The rhetorical conflation of Obama with terrorism is complete. It is stoked further by the repeated invocation of Obama’s middle name by surrogates introducing McCain and Palin at these rallies. This sleight of hand at once synchronizes with the poisonous Obama-is-a-Muslim e-mail blasts and shifts the brand of terrorism from Ayers’s Vietnam-era variety to the radical Islamic threats of today."

What's sad is that it took John McCain a whole week to quiet down these attacks, probably because he can't get his hands dirty. And I am SO glad that these attacks on Barrack are not going unnoticed, because he is dropping steadily in the polls. I guess we'll see where this goes and I wonder if it will be discussed in the debate tonight.

"Obama can hardly be held accountable for Ayers’s behavior 40 years ago, but at least McCain and Palin can try to take some responsibility for the behavior of their own supporters in 2008. What’s troubling here is not only the candidates’ loose inflammatory talk but also their refusal to step in promptly and strongly when someone responds to it with bloodthirsty threats in a crowded arena."

"…But we’re not at Election Day yet, and if voters are to have their final say, both America and Obama have to get there safely. The McCain campaign has crossed the line between tough negative campaigning and inciting vigilantism, and each day the mob howls louder. The onus is on the man who says he puts his country first to call off the dogs, pit bulls and otherwise."

McCain gets grilled on 'The View.'

When I first heard that John McCain and his wife were going to be on 'The View,' I didn't really have the urge to watch it. I'm not a big day-time talk show kinda gal, I don't revolve my day around making sure I catch Oprah's newest crazed celebrity guest or Martha's new shoe whitening technique. Not on purpose, I stumbled upon the interview on television and I was completely surprised by how intriguing it was. I had never actually seen an episode of 'The View,' combining it in the category of mind-blowingly pointless talk shows, yet I shouldn't of judged it so fast. Lead by Barbara Walters, this group of women really let McCain have it, and didn't hold back! These were some of the first 'balls to the wall' questions I've heard so far, and I was very happy to see them call McCain out on certain issues. Here are some of the questions and responses from the show:

- SARAH PALIN

Ms. Walters led off the questioning of Mr. McCain, and right away set the tone for the rest of the interview. She first asked Mr. McCain to defend his earlier statement that Ms. Palin was “the greatest vice presidential candidate in the history of the United States.” Was he perhaps overlooking John Adams or George H.W. Bush?

“We politicians are never given to exaggeration,” Mr. McCain began with a smile, but then turned more serious. “The fact is,” he said, “I think she’s a great person, she’s a great governor, she’s the most popular governor in America, she understands the energy issues.” (That phrase about being the most popular governor refers to her approval ratings in Alaska, which have consistently been quite high, including a poll in July that put her approval rating at 80 percent.)

Ms. Walters also noted that Mr. McCain and Ms. Palin have said that her job will be to reform Washington. But, she pointed out, Mr. McCain has been in Congress for 22 years, the Republicans have been in the White House for eight years, so who, exactly, is Ms. Palin going to reform?

“The Democrats have been in charge of both houses for the last two years,” Mr. McCain replied. Pressed, he added: “The Republicans, the Democrat party, even the independents. She’ll reform all of Washington.”

How?

“By doing what she did in Alaska.”

What, exactly?

“First of all, earmark spending, which she vetoed a half a billion dollars worth in the state of Alaska.”

But she also put earmarks in, Ms. Walters noted.

“Not as governor she didn’t,” Mr. McCain said.

(But as governor, she did. As the Anchorage Daily News, among others, has reported, in Ms. Palin’s first year as governor, she requested 52 earmarks valued at $256 million, and this year, her office asked the Alaska delegation in Washington to help land 31 earmarks valued at $197 million. Also, Citizens Against Government Waste ranks Alaska as having received the “most pork per capita” of all states this year.)

Mr. McCain said that Ms. Palin “freed Alaska for the first time,” saying she “took government out of the hands of the special interests and the oil companies and the old-boy network and gave it back to the people of Alaska” and “that’s what we have to do in Washington.”

But what exactly will she do?

“The same thing,” Mr. McCain replied. “Break the old-boy network, the special interests that control our agenda in Washington.”

- MCCAIN'S AD CAMPAIGN

Ms. Behar brought up two of his recent ads against Mr. Obama, one suggesting that when Mr. Obama had used a colloquial expression about putting “lipstick on a pig,” he was referring to Ms. Palin and the other suggesting that Mr. Obama wanted sex education for children. “We know those two ads are untrue, they’re lies,” she said, and yet at the end of each, you say you approve these messages. Do you really approve these?"

“They are not lies,” Mr. McCain said. “And if you’ve seen some of the ads that are running against me…”

The conversation broke off in cross-talk, and Mr. McCain then rejoined to say that Mr. Obama “chooses his words very carefully and he shouldn’t have said it.”

-ROE v. WADE

Hasselbeck asked, "There has also been a question burning amongst voters and actually our viewers, and that is the question of Roe v. Wade. And as president, if you were, no softballs coming from me, even though you have my vote. Would you as president work to overturn that? And then would Sarah Palin be working to overturn Roe v. Wade?"

John McCain responded, "I think what we would be doing is appointing or nominating justices to the United States Supreme Court and other courts who strictly interpret the Constitution of the United States. We would not impose a litmus test on any issue because that's not fair to the American people. But they would have to have a clear record of strict interpretation."

Barbara Walters responded, "That's kind of the other way of saying people who would want to overturn Roe v. Wade."

John McCain agreed with the insight. "That, that, well, that is saying that, I believe Roe v. Wade was a very bad decision, Barbara. I think it was a bad decision. I thought other, I thought other decisions of the United States Supreme Court were bad decisions. But I want people on the Court who, quote, "do interpret" and not just on the issue of Roe v. Wade, but on other issues."

This prompted Whoopi Goldberg to worry that if he wanted to return to the constitution as it was written, and not as it was amended, she would be returned to slavery.

“I understand your point,” Mr. McCain said, as Ms. Goldberg theatrically fanned herself as if recovering from a big scare. “An excellent point.”He then said that while he is “pro-life” because he believes that life begins at conception, “I also respect the views of those who don’t.”

That prompted Ms. Walters to ask, “So, you believe in choice?” but before he could answer, they all agreed to move on to other topics.

-THE GOD QUESTION

Whoppi asked the question that I thought was one of the best-asked questions of this election. It started by her asking if he believed in the separation of church and state, and he answered yes. Seeing as Palin is very religious, Whoppi asked, “Does it make you pause to know that Sarah Palin does not have the same beliefs as you, and god forbid anything happen to you, knowing she doesn’t have the same beliefs, should she run our country?” McCain went on to say that he was a religious man, and that he respected our founding father’s view on God; how our country was built on Christian beliefs, we have god in our everyday society, etc, but that he respects that not everyone believes in god. Then Whoppi asks THE question: “ Knowing that you are a man of strict faith, will you govern this nation as god would have you do it, or do you govern this nation for the greater good of the people in it?” He responded in part, "God has a plan for the world and that we should do what we can to lead as good a lives as we can..."

-THE WIFE

Shortly thereafter, Cindy McCain, the candidate’s wife, arrived on the set. She was asked if she agreed with Ms. Palin that there should be no exceptions for abortions, even in cases of rape and incest. (Ms. Palin has indicated that she would allow an exception only if the mother’s life were at stake.)

“We disagree on that issue,” Mrs. McCain said.

So, there are exceptions? “Yes,” Mrs. McCain said, adding, “John and I agree on this issue.” Mr. McCain has said he favors exceptions for rape and incest and to save the life of the mother.

Mrs. McCain also went on to say that the greatest thing about women is “we put our family’s first.” (Interesting seeing how Palin’s family is currently on the back burner during this campaign, see previous ‘Nutshell’ entry)

All in all I think McCain perhaps expected a fun session chatting with the ladies about the softer side of his presidential campaign, but once he settled onto the couch, he got a pretty good grilling which I feel was much needed. Kudos to the women of ‘The View.’

Deepak Chopra: The most amazing analysis of this election to date.

For months I have heard millions of people's opinions and views on this years' election and its candidates, and while some of them are ridiculous and some are pretty on point, there is one that speaks to me the most. Deepak Chopra has successfully described the deeper psychological differences between Obama and Palin and what each person represents in terms of consciousness. He explains how Obama represents harmony and enlightened thinking, where as Palin spews fear and hatred. Higher consciousness vs. reptilian fear based thinking. Check it out!


Obama and the Palin Effect

Sometimes politics has the uncanny effect of mirroring the national psyche even when nobody intended to do that. This is perfectly illustrated by the rousing effect that Gov. Sarah Palin had on the Republican convention in Minneapolis this week. On the surface, she outdoes former Vice President Dan Quayle as an unlikely choice, given her negligent parochial expertise in the complex affairs of governing. Her state of Alaska has less than 700,000 residents, which reduces the job of governor to the scale of running one-tenth of New York City. By comparison, Rudy Giuliani is a towering international figure. Palin's
pluck has been admired, and her forthrightness, but her real appeal goes deeper.

She is the reverse of Barack Obama, in essence his shadow, deriding his idealism and exhorting people to obey their worst impulses. In psychological terms the shadow is that part of the psyche that hides out of sight, countering our aspirations, virtue, and vision with qualities we are ashamed to face: anger, fear, revenge, violence, selfishness, and suspicion of "the other." For millions of Americans, Obama triggers those feelings, but they don't want to express them. He is calling for us to reach for our higher selves, and frankly, that stirs up hidden reactions of an unsavory kind. (Just to be perfectly clear, I am not making a verbal play out of the fact that Sen. Obama is black. The shadow is a metaphor widely in use before his arrival on the scene.) I recognize that psychological analysis of politics is usually not welcome by the public, but I believe such a perspective can be helpful here to understand Palin's message. In her acceptance speech Gov. Palin sent a rousing call to those who want to celebrate their resistance to change and a higher vision.

Look at what she stands for:
Small town values: a denial of America's global role, a return to petty, small-minded parochialism.

Ignorance of world affairs: a repudiation of the need to repair America's image abroad.

Family values: a code for walling out anybody who makes a claim for social justice. Such strangers, being outside the family, don't need to be heeded.

Rigid stands on guns and abortion: a scornful repudiation that these issues can be negotiated with those who disagree.

Patriotism: the usual fallback in a failed war.
"Reform": an italicized term, since in addition to cleaning out corruption and excessive spending, one also throws out anyone who doesn't fit your ideology.

Palin reinforces the overall message of the reactionary right, which has been in play since 1980, that social justice is liberal-radical, that minorities and immigrants, being different from "us" pure American types, can be ignored, that progressivism takes too much effort and globalism is a foreign threat. The radical right marches under the banners of "I'm all right, Jack," and "Why change? Everything's OK as it is." The irony, of course, is that Gov. Palin is a woman and a reactionary at the same time. She can add mom to apple pie on her resume, while blithely reversing forty years of feminist progress. The irony is superficial; there are millions of women who stand on the side of conservatism, however obviously they are voting against their own good. The Republicans have won multiple national elections by raising shadow issues based on fear, rejection, hostility to change, and narrow-mindedness.

Obama's call for higher ideals in politics can't be seen in a vacuum. The shadow is real; it was bound to respond. Not just conservatives possess a shadow -- we all do. So what comes next is a contest between the two forces of progress and inertia. Will the shadow win again, or has its furtive appeal become exhausted? No one can predict. The best thing about Gov. Palin is that she brought this conflict to light, which makes the upcoming debate honest. It would be a shame to elect another Reagan, whose smiling persona was a stalking horse for the reactionary forces that have brought us to the demoralized state we are in. We deserve to see what we are getting, without disguise.

My feelings about Sarah Palin in a nutshell....

Oh jebus, where do I begin. I have a lot of opinions about her, but to sum it up, I really, truly, deep down, can't stand this woman. Everything she stands for makes me sick, and I think that if she were our next VP, not only is everything we as women have worked hard for is going to go down the drain, but our nation is going to take a huge turn in the wrong direction. I think this whole "family oriented" spiel is a bunch of crap. She says she's all about family, yet what’s going to happen when she's VP? She has a 17-year-old pregnant daughter, three other children, and a brand new baby with Down syndrome. This is a time where her family is seriously going to need her, so where do her priorities lay? I think the way somebody is with their family says a whole lot about a person, and right now I think that she should be concentrating on what’s more important: her family's well being. In Joe Biden's case, after his wife and child were killed in a car accident, he resigned from congress to stay home and raise his kids. I think that shows great character and where his priorities are.