US General Election: McCain vs. Obama

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I'm a little confused, Ragusa -- what does the Men in Black clip have to do with the campaign?

 

It's the facial expression and somewhat unnatural pose on that pic. I went through the possible explanations: (a) McCain acting the rude teenager, (b) spasms or (c) someone wearing McCain as a costume, like Edgar ... ah never mind ... has anybody seen Karl Rove lately?

 

Did anyone watch the Al Smith dinner last night? For those who don't know - it's a white-tie charity dinner hosted every election year where the candidates running roast each other (kind of like the White House Correspondents Dinner). I'd completely forgotten about it. It was broadcast on a couple of the cable news nets. McCain KILLED. He was really funny. Barack was OK, but not as comfortable with the comedy as McCain was. McCain's deadpan is nearly flawless. I guess his many appearances of the Daily Show, Letterman, etc. yielded some results.

The cool part was, they both seemed magnanimous and seemed to be genuinely enjoying each other's jokes and company. McCain can't fake a smile that well, so it really seemed like the real deal. It was refreshing to see. It was like a one-night cease-fire. I assume that's the point of the evening, but still - it was nice to see.

 

For once I agree with DR. McCain totally killed. His performance was so good, that it is bringing tears to the right that he hasn't shown that to anyone else in this 3 year campaign cycle before last night. It was way too little, way too late.

Barack was in a tougher position. McCain went first and in the last part of his speech he spent some time saying some very nice things about Barack. It was obvious (at least to me) that Barack didn't have anything nice in his "script" to say about McCain so he had to wing it otherwise he would have looked like a jerk. It was sincere, but weak.

 

Mac was great on Letterman as well. It was refreshing to see the Mac of old.

 

I've never heard of this dinner -- sounds like things would be better if everyone campaigned this way all the time -- you know, with respect for the other fellow, focusing on your own platform and not vilifying the other guy, etc. Sad thing is, the dirty campaign often wins, and that's not just an American phenomenon.

 

Just read that Colin Powell is supporting Obama, not all that surprising considering the very rough treatment he got from the Bush people. I am actually starting to think that Obama has a chance to pull this off.

 

Yes, it was great to hear Powell on MtP. He managed to articulate what many of us are feeling about the way in which this election has shaped-up. I have to agree with most everthing Powell commented on:

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27265369/

 

Put simply, Colin Powell is one of the best men we've ever had in our government IMO, and I hope he finds a place in an Obama administration. This is a must-watch, from outside just after his MTP appearance. Considering the party he belongs to, this level of honesty and maturity takes guts to say out loud:

 

So he finally did it. Steve Clemons has been reporting on Powell endorsing Obama (or not) for a while now. He gives the issue an interesting twist in pointing out how he has been prodded especially by Bill Kristol (who also recommended Palin) to do that.

Waving Good-bye to Bill Kristol, Colin Powell "Might" Endorse Obama
When it Comes to Colin Powell, What is Bill Kristol Up To?

From the latter article:

A rovian/ neo-con co-effort in cleaning the Republican party of those despicable and troublesome 'Realists'? It appears that they have now succeeded. I find the idea disturbing, to say the least, to have a party that only has hard core ideologues or disoriented people like Palin influencing the party's foreign policy line, and no place or voice for everyone else. Permanent neo-con dominance over foreign policy in a GOP permanently dominated by it's right-wing?

Then think of the prospect of a Project Palin, say, for 2012.

 

I would not worry too much Ragusa. The Republican Party is shooting itself in the foot. It is on the way out. In the late Sixties and early Seventies the Democratic Party almost did it to itself. It appears that it's the Republicans turn at this. They are carving their own political tombstone at the moment. Powell is proof that the Republican adults are on their way out of the party. Can't say I blame them....

 

The toxic waste Powell and the Republican adults leave behind on their way out is what concerns me. They are perfectly capable of poisoning US politics for years to come.

Of course there is the hope they kook themselves into irrelevance, but why so optimistic they do so without a dirty fight? If there is anything that characterises both the Christian Right and the neo-con's it is persistence and a Manichean world view.

 

Ragusa - I would not be happy to see the demise of the Republican Party, as much as it has been taken over by hardline party ideologists. The more moderate Republicans, such as Powell, have been good for this country. I believe that there will be an internal stuggle for power after the next election and that the good parts of the party will win out, and the Republicans will rebuild themselves back into a mainstream party again.

Even if Mac wins, I believe that the demise of the Republicans in Congress will begin a change. If Obama wins, it will be a matter of pure survival for them and change will come quicker. Since, the Democrats will control Congress, it will be difficult for any Republican president to accomplish much without moving to a more moderate agenda, especially after the way they have conducted themselves in this last election. They have thrown the kitchen sink at the Democrats, including the plumber to go with it, and there will be a lot of fence mending to do with a Democratic Congress. The days of GWB are over. IMO, and it's only my opinion, you are seeing the last gasp of the evangelical/neocon movement within the Republican Party. I guess I am an optimist.

When I say they have thrown eveything, I mean just that. Take a gander at this idiot:

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/10/rep_michele_bachmann_tells_chr.html

But look at this:

It's just a little glimmer of hope.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/10/18/1565775.aspx

 

I believe many were saying the same thing about the Democratic party during the Reagan years ... I believe the democrats are still around with much the same rhetoric they had when Carter was elected.

 

The Republican party does not need to die. It's a very important part of our political system with some invaluable people among its ranks. What it needs is to fumigate for wingnuts and return to reality, putting an emphasis on policy, seriousness and the ideals their icons like Reagan and William F. Buckley held so dear. People with their philosophy and temperment are unfortunately the outcasts of the party right now. When Sarah Palin is lauded by prominent conservative thought leaders as "the next Reagan," with a straight face, you know it's time for a decade or so in the wilderness so they can get their s*** together. The GOP needs to hit rock bottom. They don't seem capable of change otherwise.

 

I completely disagree. The Democratic Party reformulated itself after the 80s. There is a reason why Dems like Bill Clinton are known as "New Democrats."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Democrats

 

So.Colin Powell endorses Obama - and expresses his disapproval with the conduct of the McCain campaign. Oh, and he criticizes the choice of Sarah Palin.

I used to think it would take a momentous event for McCain to win. Now, I think it would take ... well, a miracle or a disaster, and even then I'd be wary of voter fraud

 

The way things are going, I would tend to agree with you, Shaman. However, I still have not discounted the (unfortunate) role of race in this election -- I greatly fear that McCain's gaffes, policies, and the Bush albatross notwithstanding, it might boil down to race. I pray to God that I'm wrong, though. See the VP thread for why.

 

Michele Bachmann of the GOP:

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Yes ma'am, you nailed it! America is in two wars, the economy is tanking, national debt and the deficit are soaring, a depression is perhaps looming, the US has zero international standing - what America needs to do now is to take on the inner enemy: Those Americans who hate America and subvert it from within! Obama, Liberals in congress and academia! The 'Liberal Elite' (everybody with a college degree)! We need congressional hearings on this pressing issue, and we need them right now!

Snark aside, that was probably the most awful piece of I heard in a long while.

That rant was so awful I couldn't hear it in one piece. If divisive, inflammatory, plain nutty and irresponsible talk like that is allowed to continue there will be blood somewhere. This is not the average wingnut like Anne Counter of Michelle Malkin - that's a veritable Congresswoman taking a bath in the gutter, with obvious delight.

 

Your hyperbole aside Ragusa, Bachmann is a perfect example of the kind of intellectual rot in the GOP I was alluding to above. This isn't some nut radio host or pundit, this woman was elected and, if memory serves, re-elected. Thanks for posting this. This woman scares me, but not nearly as much as the people who think she's awesome (and they dominate the GOP voter base these days).

Fumigate. Please.