Friday, October 31, 2008

Powerline sums up McCain beautifully:
McCain himself seems to me beautifully captured in the almost Churchillian quote from JFK's inaugural with which we conclude our column. JFK described himself as the representative of a generation "tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage--and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world."

Obama will ...

Obama will pay my mortgage ...

How gullible can people be?

Hattip: Powerline.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Obama: I apologize for ...

Obama: I apologize for being late:



What a sterling example of leadership in action.

The Gathering MSM Anti-Obama Swarm

Growing consensus is that Obama's 30 minute infomercial has strengthened McCain/Palin's odds of winning the White House. The MSM's tradition of fawning coverage of Obama appears to be on the wane. Consider this from CBS News:

Without question, the Barack Obama infomercial served as a very slick and powerful recitation of the biggest promises he's made as a presidential candidate. But the very bigness of his ideas is the problem: he seems blind to the concept his numbers don't add up.


Is saying that "his numbers don't add up" tantamount to calling Obama a lier? Are we witnessing a gathering MSM anti-Obama swarm? It is about time the 'professional' journalists stop writing opinion pieces and start writing news. Assuming they know how.

Big Brother is Looking in Your Pocket: More Inquiries into Joe "the Plumber's" Ohio records

News reports indicate that abuse of restricted access databases in Ohio, in search of dirt on Joe 'the Plumber' is greater than initially reported:

Helen Jones-Kelley, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, disclosed today that computer inquiries on Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher were not restricted to a child-support system.

The agency also checked Wurzelbacher in its computer systems to determine whether he was receiving welfare assistance or owed unemployment compensation taxes, she wrote.

Jones-Kelley made the revelations in a letter to Ohio Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, who demanded answers on why state officials checked out Wurzelbacher.

Harris called the multiple records checks "questionable" and said he awaits more answers. "It's kind of like Big Brother is looking in your pocket," he said.

Extremely chilling is this quote from Helen Jones-Kelley, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services:

'"[the] department frequently runs checks for any unpaid child support obligations "when someone is thrust quickly into the public spotlight."

This is troubling for so many reasons. One is that is reveals how haphazardly the ODJFS approaches locating individuals that are behind in their child support payments. A second is the apparent privacy violation.

I can't help but wonder: were similar checks run when Jennifer Brunner, Ohio's Secretary of State, was thrust quickly into the public spotlight due to law suits challenging her one-stop register and vote program.

Obama: Fighting to Stop the Outsourcing of America's Shitty Jobs


Obama Promises To Stop America's Shitty Jobs From Going Overseas

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Obama Family Values

Obama family values on display:

Barack Obama has lived one version of the American Dream that has taken him to the steps of the White House. But a few miles from where the Democratic presidential candidate studied at Harvard, his Kenyan aunt and uncle, immigrants living in modest circumstances in Boston, have a contrasting American story.

Zeituni Onyango, the aunt so affectionately described in Mr Obama’s best-selling memoir Dreams from My Father, lives in a disabled-access flat on a rundown public housing estate in South Boston.

A second relative believed to be the long-lost “Uncle Omar” described in the book was beaten by armed robbers with a “sawed-off rifle” while working in a corner shop in the Dorchester area of the city. He was later evicted from his one-bedroom flat for failing to pay $2,324.20 (£1,488) arrears, according to the Boston Housing Court.

If these were Palin or McCain relatives, the press would have been all over this story months ago. Here, a paper from the UK is doing the spade work.

Perhaps it is unfair, but I have to wonder: If this is how Obama treats his family, how should the American people expect to be treated if Obama were to become president?

Ohio Vote Fraud Alert: Ohio Judge Rules Park Bench is Official Residence for Voter

This is incomprehensible:
A federal judge in Ohio has ruled that counties must allow homeless voters to list park benches and other locations that aren't buildings as their addresses.
At minimum, this seems a green light for voter fraud. Unbelievable.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Obama's "Small Donor" Problem

"Ninety percent of our contributions are from small donors" claims B. Obama in his standard lawyerly parsing. Unsaid is the fact that many of those contributions are from small donors that are either nameless or give repeatedly under a false name.

CBS News is now on the hunt for Obama's mystery donors. Can the rest of the MSM be far behind? Will Obama explain the mystery of his "small donor" problem?

Monday, October 27, 2008

We Don't Need Another Eight Years of Lawyers in the White House

Obama's wealth redistribution advocating history is increasingly dominating the campaign discourse. The Obama campaign doesn't like it:
The Obama campaign immediately pushed back, arguing that the Right is deliberately misinterpreting a narrow legal argument Obama was making about decades-old court cases.

Hmm ... how many times has Obama directly, or his campaign surrogates, said some variation of, "what I meant to say was ...," when folks run with the plain meaning of Obama's words? Note also the extremely narrow lawyerly parsing: "a narrow legal argument ... about decades old court cases." Yep, let's distract by trying to refocus the discussion on the trees rather than the forest.

After eight years of Clintonian lawyerly parsing of the of the obvious, haven't we had enough of lawyers in the White House?

You Liberals are supposed to be open minded, well now's your chance. ...

You've likely seen this before, but it's worth another watch:


H/T to LightSeekingLight

Obama Campaign Lawyers Threaten Ohio Collegiate Journalists

Obama campaign lawyers are again striving to stifle reporters and suppress freedom of speech. Maggie Thurber has a great round-up in this blog post. The latest targets are Tiffany Wilson and Shelby Holliday, reporters for a college news service.

Update: LGF is on the beat.

Obama's Got Friends: Carole King is on the Stump

In one of the more bizarre episodes of this election cycle, singer Carole King is stumping for Obama:
King, whose "You've Got a Friend" is just one of many blockbuster songs she's written, is visiting small towns across the Midwest to urge voters to cast their ballot for Obama. On Saturday, she stopped at the Hancock County Democratic Headquarters in Findlay and spoke to a crowd of about 100 people, many of whom brought worn copies of King's albums to be autographed.
I'm guessing that the "about 100 people" that mobbed King's stop were more interested in seeing the (true) legend than in hearing what she had to say about Obama. Just a hunch.

I do wonder: Why do Democrats have such a fondness for celebrity?

Obama: Advocating "Redustributive Change"

Obama speaks clearly about redistributing wealth in a 2001 interview:


Hat tip: LGF
Obama opines that the civil rights movement "wasn't that radical" because it didn't include massive wealth redistribution. Interesting.

UPDATE: McCain and Boehner are using this interview as additional ammo in the campaign.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Killing the Conversation

Democrats proclaim to value nuance and considered thought. Democrats claim that Republican lack nuance and don't think. Democrats also are masters of claiming x while acting out y. The latest installment is this interview with VP candidate Joe Biden. On encountering questions that required nuance and considered thought, Biden ended the interview:



What does this portend of an Obama presidency? Will they end they conversation every time it deviates from their preprogrammed talking points?

UPDATE: LGF weighs in:

Biden claimed that the Obama campaign did not pay “one cent” to ACORN.

That’s true. They paid at least $832,598 to ACORN. And 29 cents. Obama paid ACORN for voter registration.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

ACORN Fraud Map

Election Journal is crowdsourcing a map of confirmed cases of vote fraud related to ACORN:

View Larger Map
Those of us in Ohio should be extremely concerned about the sanctity of our vote.

Obama "probably won't" Cut My Taxes

Truth is finally emerging from the Obama campaign about his infamous claim that 95% of Americans will receive a tax cut. I took the Obama tax calculator for a spin. It definitively proclaimed that I "probably won't" get a tax cut under the Obama tax plan. OK, so much for truth. "Probably" strikes me as mighty weaselly.

UPDATE: To counter Obama's "you probably won't get your taxes cut" calculator,he McCain campaign should publish a "spread the wealth" calculator.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

McCain Tags Obama

McCain finally takes off the gloves and is starting to call out Obama for what he is:
"At least in Europe, the Socialist leaders who so admire my opponent are upfront about their objectives," McCain said in a radio address. "They use real numbers and honest language. And we should demand equal candor from Sen. Obama. Raising taxes on some in order to give checks to others is not a tax cut; it's just another government giveaway."

Glen Johnson, the AP stringer that wrote the story, sensationalizes McCain's observation by calling it "his charge." Unclear to me how giving a shout-out about Obama's wealth redistribution program is a "charge." But then, in this election cycle, the Obama campaign prefers to shoot the messenger rather than the message.

How to Show Understanding of the "Middle Class"

Obama continues to demonstrate his immense understanding of the "middle class" voters he claims his policies support:



Note that Obama misrepresents what "Joe the Plumber" said. Joe didn't say that he would make $250,000+ per year, he said that the business he wanted to buy makes about that much a year. Again, Obama appears to not understand small GROSS income.

Even more unsettling is that Obama is attacking the messenger and not the message. What does this episode portend for an Obama administration?

Which Party was the Canary in the Economic Coal Mine?

A timely reminder of party engagement in the history of the current economic fiasco. Clearly Republicans were the proverbial canary in the economic coal mine while Democrats preferred to insist that evidence of crumbling tunnel supports was erroneous:

McCain & Letterman

McCain returned to Letterman and "gave David Letterman his highest viewership in nearly three years." McCain the Politician provided better comedy than Letterman the comedian. Me thinks it is past time for Letterman to retire.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Joe the Plumber ... Does Obama understand GROSS income?

McCain made Joe the Plumber famous. Listening carefully to the video it is clear that Obama either does not understand business income, plans to raise taxes at a lower income threshold than reported previously, or both. Note that Joe states that the business he plans to buy "makes about $250, $270, $280 thousand dollars a year ..." It seems reasonable to assume Joe is reporting GROSS income. If so, Obama's reply to Joe is beyond troubling. Obama appears to not understand the relationship between a GROSS INCOME from a business and a business owner's take home pay. Does Obama intend to tax GROSS INCOME?



Gateway Pundit has an excellent Joe the Plumber round-up.

UPDATE: Hmm ... how many factual errors or irrelevant, but mis leading, details can you identify in this paragraph:

A day after making Joseph Wurzelbacher famous, referencing him in the debate almost two dozen times as someone who would pay higher taxes under Barack Obama, McCain learned the fine print Thursday on the plumber’s not-so-tidy personal story: He owes back taxes. He is not a licensed plumber. And it turns out that Wurzelbacher makes less than $250,000 a year, which means he would receive a tax cut if Obama were elected president.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Guilt by Participation

Ayers Troubling Present

Obama tries hard to dismiss le affair de Ayers as a bit of ancient history that occurred when Obama was a mere lad of 8.  This posturing intentionally deflects attention from the role Ayers has played in Obama's adult life.  As the Post observes:

All told, Ayers and Obama won more than $150 million to ladle out.

McCain, to be sure, has never accused Obama of sharing Ayers' terrorist views.

He's merely questioned the Democrat's judgment in having worked with Ayers - and having launched his political career from the ex-terrorist's living room.

It's a fair point.

Incredibly, an Obama aide suggested that the senator didn't know about Ayers' terror past - which is a little disquieting, if true.

But he had to know what Ayers was up to with his school efforts - because Obama himself was helping him.

Bad judgment?

What an understatement.

Obama owes the citizens of this country an accounting of his activities as a "Community Organizer" in Chicago.

Leading Economists Oppose Obama's Tax Plan

TaxProf reports:
Hundreds of economists (including Nobel Prize winners Gary Becker, James Buchanan, Robert Mundell, Edward Prescott, and Vernon Smith) have signed letters opposing Barack Obama's economic and tax plans (here, here, and here):
We are equally concerned with his proposals to increase tax rates on labor income and investment. His dividend and capital gains tax increases would reduce investment and cut into the savings of millions of Americans. His proposals to increase income and payroll tax rates would discourage the formation and expansion of small businesses and reduce employment and take-home pay, as would his mandates on firms to provide expensive health insurance.

After hearing such economic criticism of his proposals, Barack Obama has apparently suggested to some people that he might postpone his tax increases, perhaps to 2010. But it is a mistake to think that postponing such tax increases would prevent their harmful effect on the economy today. The prospect of such tax rate increases in 2010 is already a drag on the economy. Businesses considering whether to hire workers today and expand their operations have time horizons longer than a year or two, so the prospect of higher taxes starting in 2009 or 2010 reduces hiring and investment in 2008.

What will be the response latency before someone brands this a racial smear?

Political discourse at its finest

Political discourse at its finest NYC style:

Back to Basics: Tax Cuts & Flat Tax, Too?

The Wall Street Journal is quoting Lindsey Graham:
"It will be a very comprehensive approach to jump-start the economy by allowing capital to be formed easier in America by lowering taxes," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said on CBS's "Face the Nation." "Now is the time to lower tax rates for investors -- capital-gains tax, dividend tax rates -- to make sure that we can get the economy jump-started."
That's good news. Simplify the message.  Lower taxes = Economic growth created by the people for the people. 

If McCain takes this approach, it will offer a clear contrast from Obama's classic "let's spend our way out of this" government funded approach which relies on funds the U. S. Treasury does not have.  Besides, the kind of infrastructure needed is not more bridges and highways. If the U.S. were to embark on a serious infrastructure project, the emphasis must be on installing a new energy infrastructure.

McCain could further distinguish his message by reviving his call for offering us a voluntary Flat Tax alternative

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Twittering ACORN

If Twitter activity is any indication, Obama's ties to ACORN are definitely now part of the conversation.

Obama and ACORN

Obama's ACORN past:

Pull a Judo Move on Obama: Thoughts on How McCain/Palin Should Close the Deal

While Obama's enjoyed a nice run the last couple of weeks, McCain/Palin are still clearly in the running.  One might look to the 2004 election for parallels.  "Who 'ya gonna' trust?" is a question that loomed large in 2004 and looms large in the final stretch of this campaign season.  The current economic climate is a top-of-mind issue for many. As are energy and international issues. McCain/Palin are well positioned on all of these issues. Both are hightly effective communicators. This is doable. 

A two-pronged approach for squeezing Obama seems fruitful. 
  1. Prong one is to shine a ray of hope. To make clear that McCain has a vision that can simultaneously navigate us through current challenges and transcend them.  Take on the Democratic leadership. Take on how the Democrats came into leadership promising improved ethics, etc.  Take on how ineffective they have been. And how Obama is part of the effectiveness problem.
  2. Prong two is to pull a judo move on Obama. Obama has frequently held up his days as a community organizer as evidence of his leadership skills.  Obama is silent on what he has organized. Turn Obama's history of community organizing against him by shining the light on the issues around which he organized communities, the effectiveness of those efforts, and the Chicago context in which those efforts took place. 
This isn't terribly different from the path the McCain campaign has been following, but they must become more focussed and more effective in making these points. In particulary, they must be more effective in communicating how  McCain intends to lead through the financial crisis and beyond.  Make the path clear!  

When the truth becomes uncomfortable, it becomes a smear

The Anchoress is on a roll:
Now, the GOP is trying to shed some light on the clear and important connection between Barack Obama and the corrupt ACORN - whose activities are on the verge of discrediting the election in 11, or perhaps as many as 14 states - and even Thom notices that their effort is “seen mostly as ‘another right wing attempt to smear Obama.’” Because you know, when the truth is uncomfortable, it becomes a “smear.”
The choice of many in the press to champion Obama is beyond disgusting.  How they behaved during the Clinton era is a mere shadow compared to current efforts.  

Shout Out: Grizzly Groundswell

A shout-out to Grizzly Groundswell for doing fantastic work this election cycle bringing to the fore issues the msm are too blind, lazy, or inept to touch. 

On Limited Government: KISS?

While ruminating this afternoon about the current presidential election campaign, something shifted in a way that revealed how the concept of limited government has been emasculated. The concept of limited government has been reduced to war cries about two issues: abortion and taxes. To be clear both are vital issues. However they have become means to different ends, rather than two manifestations of a common theme: limited government or minimizing the role of government in our daily lives.    

The abortion 'debate' gets pitched as a debate about "individual rights," "reproductive rights," and myriad other "rights."  At risk of being overly simplistic, the discussion should be about individual choice.  A less government approach would preclude the government from entering this arena; would allow individuals to make decisions about their lives. Simplistic, yes. 

Taxes reflect the scope and range of government programs.  Fewer government programs translate to less demand for government funds. Lower demand for government funds translates to a lower tax burden.  Simple. 

Encourage discussions about programs to take place at the local level. The closer a program is to the source of need and support, the more efficient the program is likely to be in terms of financial and human resources.  

Would that our politicins be able to communicate clearly about what government programs, especially federal government programs cost -- both in financial and human terms.  Would that our politicians could effectively make the case that less government translates to greater individual  freedom, greater efficiency in delivery of programs (if decision making is moved to the local level), and a more dynamic set of choices as market forces are not impeded.

Simplistic? Yep. But there's much to be said in support of the KISS principle. 

Catching Up

For reasons of convenience, I have been posting on the 2008 Presidentail Campaign over at Digito Society. I'll try to resist the pull of convenience and return to posting political ditties here. Digito Society will return to its normal apolitical issues.