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Democrats set sights on Texas:

Reporting from Washington — As they review the results of Tuesday’s election victories and begin looking toward future campaigns, some Democrats have settled on a rallying cry: Texas is next.

It sounds improbable for the Republican bastion that produced President Bush and served as an early laboratory for Karl Rove’s hard-nosed tactics. But Texas is one of several reliably red states that are now in Democrats’ sights as party strategists begin to analyze a victorious 2008 campaign that they believe showed the contours of a new movement that could grow and prove long-lasting.

The main problem for Democrats with Texas is that there are parts of the state that are extremely small-c conservative, in the sense that they do what they’ve always done and it’s very rare that they change. Generational turnover will help them somewhat (as will the demographic changes mentioned in the article), but I don’t expect Texas to be truly competitive at the presidential level again for a while (maybe three or four additional cycles).

I’m willing to be proved wrong, though.

I’ve never been one for conspiracy theories. The 9/11 Truth movement? Not credible. Alex Jones from InfoWars? I’m from Austin, TX, and he’s been our town idiot with a cheesy cable access show for as long as I can remember. Nevertheless, there’s something curious going on in California with regards to their ballot initiatives. I don’t mean to suggest fraud, necessarily, but these questions need to be answered by supporters of gay marriage and gay rights if they hope to understand what went wrong.

As I write this, the No on Prop 8 organization has not yet conceded, clinging to the hope that projected turnout will yield additional uncounted ballots.

Unfortunately, I now believe that this is unlikely, given that projected turnout results nationwide were wildly inflated. States from every region are reporting lighter than expected turnout (Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, West Virginia, Wisconsin). With turnout projected at a low end of 130 million (and a high of 140 million), it’s looking more likely that we’ll just surpass 2004’s record turnout of 122 million. (Although it’s worth noting that turnout projections are all over the place right now as final results are certified, including absentee and provisional ballots.)

However, even supposing that turnout only barely increased nationwide (and actually decreased in some states), there are turnout results within California that are difficult to explain. For instance:

Why is it that turnout in San Francisco was barely 50%?

With no other city as invested in the outcome of Prop 8, and no other city in America with as large a gay population, what is the explanation for the fact that turnout fell dramatically there?

In 2004, San Francisco saw turnout of nearly 75%.

It’s certainly not the case that historically San Franciscans fail to show up at the ballot box.

What about other counties? Los Angeles saw much higher turnout of 65%. Although LA had turnout of around 79% in 2004, why did LA’s turnout decrease by only 14 points, while San Francisco’s decreased by 25?

What about the broader Bay Area? Of the nine county region, only one county (Solano) voted for the proposition. Alameda, the largest (by registration) saw turnout of about 55%. In 2004, turnout was 76% (PDF), a 21 point drop.

Between only San Francisco and Alameda, had they voted at their 2004 turnout levels, somewhere between 250,000 to 300,000 additional Yes votes might have been obtained.

Some might suppose that early returns on the east coast depressed turnout. I’m not convinced that this is the case. Certainly, Prop 8 was such a large and expensive campaign that most Californians knew about the initiative, even beyond the presidential election. Second, if knowing Obama was winning would discourage any voters, surely it should suppress the votes of McCain voters–who are more closely tied with support for Prop 8. (See chart–although it’s not a perfect correlation, generally as Obama’s win percentage goes up, Prop 8’s win percentage goes down.)

The GLBT community and its allies need to figure out what caused this precipitous drop-off in voter participation in this very important election if they’re to effectively mobilize voters in the future. Whatever the reason, these are questions that should be answered to better fight such ballot initiatives.

Technorati Tags: ballot-measures, civil-rights, civil-unions, election-2008, elections, gay-marriage, gay-rights, initiatives, lds, lds-church, marriage, mormons, prop-8, proposition-8, rights, same-sex-marriage, state-initiatives, voting

Via the Wall Street Journal:

Barack Obama said a storm like Hurricane Gustav raises “bipartisan concerns” and it’s “fine” that John McCain visited Mississippi’s emergency operations center Sunday morning.

But he reiterated his worry that the security required for either presidential candidate could divert local law enforcement and other personnel from storm preparations. For that reason, Obama, the Democratic nominee, has said he has no immediate plan to travel to the area.

I’m trying to think of a good reason for McCain and Palin to visit the Gulf Coast before Gustav makes landfall that’s not political, but I can’t come up with one. Is his presence necessary? He doesn’t have any direct authority as a candidate to do anything, so other than photo-ops with Republican governors, why is he there?

Obama, on the other hand, is priming his donor network to donate money and supplies as requested (via Forbes):

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said Sunday he will tap his huge political network of donors and volunteers to help U.S. victims of Hurricane Gustav after it comes inland.

“I think we can get tons of volunteers to travel down there, if it becomes necessary,” Obama told reporters after attending St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Lima, Ohio.

Obama is staying out of the way, but still expressing interest, concern, and planning to offer assistance when it becomes necessary. He’s not, however, diverting resources from first responders or tying up elected officials in the pomp of a presidential election campaign. Any person under Secret Service protection surely requires the input and cooperation of, at least, local and state police where he or she visits.

Admittedly, I am a partisan. Perhaps there’s a perfectly innocent explanation which requires McCain’s presence in the region. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Technorati Tags: barack-obama, democrats, gulf-coast, gustav, hurricane-gustav, hurricanes, john-mccain, louisiana, mississippi, new-orleans, republicans, us-news

Hotline On Call: AFL-CIO Drops New Mailers In OH, MI, PA, WI: One of the mailers aims directly to dispel myths and rumors about the IL senator. The other features worker testimonials on Obama’s record on jobs, health care reform and workers’ rights.

Union officials tell On Call that the mailers mark the launch of a massive August campaign to clearly define Obama for millions of union voters, and to contrast the Democrat’s’ policies and plans with those of his GOP rival, John McCain.

(Via TPM Election Central.)

It’s good to see the unions step up to educate their members.

Technorati Tags: afl-cio, barack-obama, democrats, unions, workers

POLITICS: Bush Forced al-Maliki to Back Down on Pullout in 2006: WASHINGTON, Jul 28 (IPS) - Many official and unofficial proponents of a long-term U.S. military presence in Iraq are dismissing Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s demand for a U.S. timeline for withdrawal as political posturing, assuming that he will abandon it under pressure.

But that demand was foreshadowed by an episode in June 2006 in which al-Maliki circulated a draft policy calling for negotiation of just such a withdrawal timetable and the George W. Bush administration had to intervene to force the prime minister to drop it.

(Via IPS Inter Press Service.)

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been consistently and regularly browbeat into toeing the administration’s demands on Iraq. It’s no wonder that he’s recently been using rhetoric seeking to establish his independence. For a “sovereign” nation, Iraq sure seems to cave a lot on questions of determining their own destiny.

Technorati Tags: iraq, nouri-al-maliki, occupation, time-table, us-military

Steve Chapman: Are the media biased against Obama?: A study by the Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University, which conservatives have always regarded as sympathetic, says the three broadcast networks have been more critical of Obama than of John McCain in their recent news coverage.

(Via Chicago Tribune.)

Not a surprise to many Obama supporters, who have noted a sustained negative campaign against their candidate for several months. As I noted in a Newsvine comment recently in response to someone who claimed Obama received universally positive coverage:

Rev. Wright? Terrorist fist jab? “Limping” across the finish line? Can he close the deal? Can he win over Hillary supporters? Just what is Obama’s probably with white voters, anyway? With Jewish voters? Incessant handwringing about Kentucky and West Virginia? How can Obama win if he doesn’t win the working class (never mind that a Democrat hasn’t won the working class in forty years)? Just why does Michelle hate America?

Every major story (e.g. those stories that go on for multiple news cycles), just about, except this one has been a highly negative one for Obama, except stories dealing with his fundraising (and perhaps the race speech, which itself was tied to the Wright flap).

In politics, there definitely is such a thing as bad publicity. Ask Mark Foley or Geoge Allen.

This, also: Much of what is perceived as media bias is simply bias toward what’s newsworthy, is a point I’ve been arguing regularly. McCain’s own narrative of this campaign, that he is the more experienced in foreign affairs due to his many trips to Iraq (and the many trips themselves), have served to make his overseas trips less newsworthy than Obama’s by dint if their admitted commonness.

The news organizations report what is newsworthy, not with an eye towards providing one Republican story for every one Democratic story. For a party that worked so hard to eliminate the Fairness Doctrine, they sure whine a lot about perceived unfairness in the media.

Technorati Tags: barack-obama, bias, election-2008, media, Politics, presidential-election

Key GOP senator won’t attend party’s convention: WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina won’t be attending the Republican national convention, which begins over Labor Day weekend.

(Via McClatchy.)

Whew. Is this another sign of a possible Republican Party meltdown? As noted in the article, Dole is the latest in a string of Republican Senators who won’t be attending their party’s convention in September, joining Ted Stevens (AK), Susan Collins (ME), and Wayne Allard (CO). Additionally, three others have not committed to an appearance: Roger Wicker (MS), John Sununu (NH), and Gordon Smith (OR). It’s simply incredible to me that some 15% of the Republican caucus in the Senate may not show up to support John McCain

Remember, also, that just two years ago Dole was head of the Republicans Senate campaign committee. She’s not a back-bench party member.

Combined with the current infighting of the state party GOP in Iowa which decided not to include their own Senator (Charles Grassley) in the state delegation, these are not good times for Republicans.

The Republican brand is toxic, and they aren’t doing themselves any favors.

Technorati Tags: election-2008, elizabeth-dole, john-mccain, north-carolina, Politics, republicans, rnc, senate, us-senate

Justice finds that Gonzales aides broke federal hiring laws: WASHINGTON — Aides to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales violated federal laws and Justice Department policies by illegally selecting employees based on their conservative and Republican leanings, a joint report by two department watchdog agencies reported Monday.

(Via McClatchy.)

I can’t say this is very surprising (more like a “Well, duh!” moment), but it’s good to see that even the IG in the DOJ can admit that the behavior by the political appointees at Bush Justice has been atrocious.

Baby steps. It’s just too bad Bush will be able to run out the clock.

Technorati Tags: alberto-gonzalez, doj, justice, kyle-sampson, monica-goodling, republicans

That is not a competitive campaign. Including third-party options in polls right now clearly benefits Obama. An 11.5% victory for Obama would put him over 400 electoral votes, and put a whole swatch of red states either in play, or in his column. So, the question is, how can Obama go about raising the national numbers for third party candidates like Nader and Barr?

The answer, I think, is just to debate them. Next month, Obama should propose including Barr, Nader and McKinney in one of the presidential debates.

(Via Open Left.)

That’s an interesting idea, although I have to wonder how well it would play out for Obama. Although increasing the stature of the third-party candidates would seem to help Obama out in current polling, that benefit conceivably is contingent on their independence from the two major parties. If either major party is seen using the third-party candidates for tactical advantage, I think that could backfire for that major party in the minds of voters.

Technorati Tags: barack-obama, bob-barr, cynthia-mckinney, election-2008, Politics, presidential-debates, presidential-election, ralph-nader, third-parties

McCain: Ratcheting up the rhetoric - First Read - msnbc.com: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reports that there was never a plan for Obama to take the press to Landstuhl, despite the claim by McCain folks and others. The plan was to go with his military aide, retired General Scott Gration. The Pentagon said Gration was off-limits because he had joined the campaign — violating rules that it not be a political stop.

Obama had gone to see wounded troops in Iraq earlier in the week, without even confirming he’d been there. No press, no pictures. He has done the same when he goes to Walter Reed — never any press.

(Via TPM Election Central.)

I can’t really say that this is a surprise. McCain has shown he’s willing to campaign dirty, even getting his own hands deep in the filth (despite his earlier claims to want a clean campaign). What’s surprising is that he’s advancing such complete falsehoods which are so easily demonstrated as incorrect, rather than relying on third parties and 527s. Either he really believes this tripe or he’s a political idiot. It’s hard to believe that constantly getting called on this will help him among the independent voters who are the whole reason he’s the nominee for his party.

Technorati Tags: andrea-mitchell, barack-obama, germany, john-mccain, lying, politicizing-the-troops, Politics, republicans, scott-gration

John C. Coughenour - The Right Place to Try Terrorism Cases - washingtonpost.com: I have spent 27 years on the federal bench. In particular, my experience with the trial of Ahmed Ressam, the “millennium bomber,” leads me to worry about Attorney General Michael Mukasey’s comments last week, urging Congress to pass legislation outlining judicial procedures for reviewing Guantanamo detainees’ habeas petitions. As constituted, U.S. courts are not only an adequate venue for trying terrorism suspects but are also a tremendous asset in combating terrorism. Congress risks a grave error in creating a parallel system of terrorism courts unmoored from the constitutional values that have served our country so well for so long.

Once upon a time we were a nation ruled by laws, not by fear. Once upon a time, we entrusted the courts as the arbiter of justice, not the political branches. Coughenour gets it exactly right when he says:

Courts guarantee an independent process, not an outcome. Any tribunal purporting to do otherwise is not a court.

Any attempt to alter the process so as to arrive at a preconceived outcome ought to be viewed with suspicion. Any attempt to reduce the independence of the panel hearing the case should be rejected. Any law that seeks to justify the creation of kangaroo courts in “land of the free and the home of the brave” must be protested.

Technorati Tags: ahmed-ressam, attorney-general, congress, coughenour, courts, doj, guantanamo, habeas-corpus, john-c-coughenour, justice, Legal News, michael-mukasey, millennium-bomber, ressam, terrorism

U.S. citizens in Europe give more to Obama - Decision ‘08- msnbc.com: “Barack Obama’s campaign has received roughly 10 times more money from declared U.S. donors living in Germany, France and Britain than his Republican rival, reflecting his popularity in Europe as he makes his first tour of the continent as the presumed Democratic nominee.”

Interesting story, but I wish they had included a comparison with how Kerry and Bush did among a similar demographic in 2004. Presumably Obama is doing better, but how much better? As I recall stories back then, many Americans living abroad were already pretty tired of Bush and the damage he had caused to America’s reputation overseas.

Technorati Tags: barack-obama, britain, europe, france, fundraising, germany, john-mccain

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 07/24/2008 | Obama sparks debate: Would Europe elect a black leader?: “Obama’s current tour — he landed in Berlin Thursday and was travelling to Paris and London — has provoked an intense debate among members of Western Europe’s racial and ethnic minorities: What are the chances of a minority politician rising to the top in their countries any time soon?”

This part was also of particular interest: ‘I think because of Obama a lot of people feel it’s more possible now here because they didn’t expect it in America,’ said Zachary Miller, a black man who hails from Ohio, lives in Paris and is vice chairman of Democrats Abroad in France and an Obama supporter.

Europe, despite its relatively liberal reputation, clearly has issues with race and ethnicity that it needs to address. Those issues are some of what prevents their recent immigrants from integrating with society, and must be addressed if Europe hopes to prevent violent extremists from finding a base of operations among a welcoming underclass.

Technorati Tags: barack-obama, britain, france, race, racism

House votes to boost bridge spending - Capitol Hill- msnbc.com: “The House overwhelmingly passed legislation Thursday aimed at improving the safety of the nation’s bridges, nearly a year after the deadly collapse of an interstate highway bridge in Minneapolis.

The vote was 367-55.”

(Via artsgal @ Newsvine.)

Good news. It’s about time that America invests in its crumbling infrastructure. Maintenance of our bridges, highway, and rail systems is very important for public safety. What happened in Minneapolis should never happen again.

Technorati Tags: bridges, capitol-hill, congress, infrastructure, minneapolis

Why the press is ignoring the Edwards “love child” story. - By Jack Shafer - Slate Magazine: “But if Edwards had an affair and lied about it, shouldn’t he suffer scrutiny akin to that of Craig? At least three-dozen daily newspapers in the United States published the Craig news the day after the Roll Call scoop, according to Nexis, but this morning not a single U.S. daily mentioned the Enquirer piece.”

The problem with this line of reasoning is that in the Larry Craig case there was an actual credible public record and a very credible witness: the police report of the incident and the officer himself. In the Edwards case we don’t have a similar credible record.

It would be, frankly, irresponsible of the media to play up the Edwards story at this point given the thinness of the record beyond the National Enquirer’s own reporting (which is, at best, hit and miss as far as credibility goes). Additionally, the National Enquirer has a vested interest in stirring up this story, possibly beyond what any actual facts gathered by the paper will support (increased circulation being an obvious one).

The rest of the media is rightly being cautious with this story.

Technorati Tags: hypocrisy, john-edwards, larry-craig, national-enquirer

How much does John McCain really know about foreign policy? - By Fred Kaplan - Slate Magazine: “If Obama had blurted even one of those inanities (especially the one about the Iraq-Pakistan border), the media and the McCain campaign would have been all over him like red ants on a wounded puppy.

McCain caught almost no hell for his statements—they were barely noted in the mainstream press—most likely because they didn’t fit the campaign’s ‘narrative.’ McCain is ‘experienced’ in national-security matters; therefore, if he says something that’s dumb or factually wrong, it’s a gaffe or he’s tired. Obama is ‘inexperienced,’ so if he were to go off the rails, it would be a sign of his clear unsuitability for the job of commander in chief.”

(Via Scott Butki @ Newsvine.)

This is related to my other post on the subject. It’s absolutely true that McCain is experiencing a dramatically different kind of coverage than Obama. But the difference is not to McCain’s detriment, but actually his benefit. McCain can say almost anything, and get away with it. Meanwhile, were Obama to say something similar, it would be pounced upon immediately.

Technorati Tags: election-2008, experience, foreign-policy, gaffes, john-mccain, presidential-election

Olympic Deal Sealed: Obama Makes $5 Million Buy - Advertising Age - News: “It’s official. Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign will be among the TV sponsors of NBC Universal’s Olympics coverage. In the first significant network-TV buy of any presidential candidate in at least 16 years, the Obama campaign has taken a $5 million package of Olympics spots that includes network TV as well as cable ads.”

(Via Daily Kos.)

An interesting choice, and probably ultimately a correct one. Obama wants to run a 50-state campaign, and a truly national ad buy during an event of the stature of the Olympics is probably a smart move. I’ll be interested to see the ad when it finally shows up.

Technorati Tags: advertising, barack-obama, cnbc, msnbc, nbc, obama, olympics, political-advertising

Just what is up lately with John McCain? One has to wonder if his campaign is sabotaging him on purpose. Surely it can’t be the case that the candidate of a major American political party is completely without access to a basic fact checker?

Even a college-aged intern (with the Google or other basic Internet skills) ought to be able to help a guy out for next to nothing, without putting undue stress on McCain’s budget.

First, we had McCain’s confusion over the chronology of the abatement of violence in Iraq. To be sure, the Surge provided needed additional troops on the ground (something some have been asking this administration to do since the beginning of the war). But at least as important, arguably, have been societal changes taking place within Iraq itself. The dramatic ethnic self-sorting taking place in Baghdad along with the Anbar Awakening surely did much to also lessen violence against US troops. McCain wants us to believe that the Surge resulted in the Awakening, when that is manifestly not the case.

Now today we hear from John McCain that President Bush (of all people) is responsible for the recent drop in oil prices:

Republican John McCain on Wednesday credited the recent $10-a-barrel drop in the price of oil to President Bush’s lifting of a presidential ban on offshore drilling, an action he has been advocating in his presidential campaign.

Once again McCain seems to want to credit an event that ooccurred later as the cause of an event that occurred earlier in the chronological order. It’s a completely mystery to me how this could have escaped McCain, except to note that he is admittedly not very well versed on gas prices.

But wait, how can this be? Didn’t gas prices drop immediately after Bush announced he was canceling the executive order against offshore drilling?

Monday, July 14, 2008

WASHINGTON — President Bush lifted an executive ban on offshore oil drilling first imposed under his father’s administration, although new oil exploration on the Outer Continental Shelf will remain off limits until Congress also takes action.

And the next Tuesday we saw this:

Last Updated: July 15, 2008: 4:56 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Oil prices plummeted by the second-largest margin on record Tuesday as investors feared a further decline in U.S. demand after hearing comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Note first of all the stated reason for the drop in prices: fears of reduced US demand for oil, not hopes for increased production. Then, unfortunately for John McCain, oil prices had already begun to drop by the time Bush lifted his executive order. As early as June 6, some analysts in the media were predicting that oil prices would start to fall:

GET READY FOR THE OIL-PRICE DROP

June 6, 2008

THE price of crude oil has jumped as high as $135 lately, up from $87 in early February. The news encouraged some Wall Street analysts to suggest oil might approach $200 before long. In fact, that’s quite impossible: The world economy can’t handle current energy prices, much less a big increase.

Which in turn means that oil prices will fall.

A month later, and the week before president Bush’s action, oil prices were already in decline:

July 8, 2008

NEW YORK — Oil tumbled more than $5 a barrel Tuesday in its second big drop this week, hurling crude back to levels not seen since June 26 as traders wary about the health of the global economy cashed in gains from oil’s recent rally.

So seriously. Seriously. Just what is up with the McCain campaign?

John McCain does have at least one thing going for him: In typical “John McCain’s base” fashion, none of these easily obtainable facts were reported by Tom Raum of the AP. Raum found time in his article to give us how many gallons of oil are in a barrel, but couldn’t be bothered to do a basic fact check on the central assertion made by McCain being reported in the article.

Liberal media bias indeed.

Technorati Tags: anbar-awakening, chronology, gas-prices, george-w-bush, iraq-war, john-mccain, oil, oil-prices, republicans

Austinist: YouTubeTexas: Here’s the Bush Video They Didn’t Want You To See: “During a political fundraiser for Congressional candidate Pete Olson in Houston last Friday, President Bush admits that the economy is clearly in the pits.

‘There is no question about it. Wall Street got drunk,’ he says. ‘That’s one reason I asked you to turn off your TV cameras.’

‘The question is, How long will it (take to) sober up and not try to do all these fancy financial instruments?’”

(Via The Austinist.)

Interesting analogy, coming from Bush….

Technorati Tags: economy, george-w-bush, recession, Texas

Mobilization Nation: “Evidence from the 2004 presidential election and the findings of recent GOTV research indicate that mobilization campaigns work even if their effects are fairly modest. Dollar for dollar, money spent on voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives probably pays bigger dividends than money spent on further saturating already saturated media markets with 30-second TV spots”

(Via The New Republic.)

Obama’s ground plan appears to be a smart one. The evidence is not only to be found in the 2004 election, but in Obama’s experience during the primaries. In states where he organized a ground game early, he roundly trounced Hillary Clinton. By contrast, in states where he relied on television and outspent Hillary two or three to one on television, he saw much less benefit.

Obama will likely increase his television spending as the campaign continues, but currently he’s focusing his spending on opening campaign offices in states that he’s targeting. This is a smart strategy at this point in the campaign.

Additionally, it’s a strategy being mirrored by the DSCC, the Democrats campaign committee for the Senate.

All of this bodes well for Democrats this fall.

Technorati Tags: barack-obama, democrats, election-2008, fundraising, get-out-the-vote, gotv, presidential-election

McCain Vows To Court Young Voters : NPR: “‘John McCain sees young voters as a competitive demographic this year,’ said McCain youth outreach spokesman Joe Pounder, ‘and we’re going to go after them.’”

(Via NPR.)

Really? Really? John McCain sees young voters as a competitive demographic this year, is just delusional to such a degree it’s scary.

And this: McCain has said he’s still learning how to sign onto the Internet himself, probably isn’t going to help him at all among the demographic.

Of course he’s going after them. He needs to know where they live when he sends out the draft cards. Ha!

However, McCain “courting” young voters just kind of creeps me out. Sort of Anna Nicole Smith and J. Howard Marshall creepy, ya know?

Technorati Tags: election-2008, joe-pounder, john-mccain, presidential-election, republicans, young-voters, youth, youth-vote

As World Embraces Obama, McCain Attacks: “‘I believe any partisanship ends at the water’s edge,’ John McCain said when he visited Colombia in early July.

At least that’s what McCain believes when he’s across the water.

Since Obama departed overseas–on a trip McCain baited him to take–the McCain campaign has sent out a barrage of emails, statements and press clips attacking Obama. I counted five attacks this morning alone, ridiculing Obama for opposing the ’surge’ in Iraq and supporting a timetable to withdraw combat troops.”

(Via The Nation.)

McCain’s desperation is getting a little pathetic to watch. One has to wonder why he’s following the kitchen sink strategy when the same strategy failed to work for Hillary Clinton. All Obama has to do now is present a commercial showing McCain’s prior statements regarding a clean campaign contrasted with recent attack quotes to paint McCain as a negative, conventional politician.

Technorati Tags: attack-politics, john-mccain, republicans

Seeded at Newsvine:

Expert advisor Stephen Spoonamore, who among other things designs and runs computer programs to analyze and detect fraudulent financial activity for the world’s leading credit card companies, said, “You cannot secure electronic voting.

Technorati Tags: fraud, karl-rove, ohio, stephen-spoonamore, voting

Seeded at Newsvine:

Majority Leader Harry Reid has had it up to here with Tom Coburn, the Senate’s scourge of excessive spending and pork-barrel earmarks. Mr.

Technorati Tags: democrats, harry-reid, republicans, senate, tom-coburn

Seeded at Newsvine:

A website with the goal of unearthing evidence that PUMA is (at the very least) a Republican founded organization.

Technorati Tags: democrats, dirty-tricks, hillary-clinton, puma, republicans