My birthday is October 16. Would someone please wish me a Happy Birthday? Thank you.

Happy pre-birthday. Jane! Do you have a chart in Heaven :)
Libra - The Scales September 23rd to October 22nd
When you use a pair of scales you must get exactly the right amount on each side to make them balance. If there is too much on one side, or too little on the other, the scales will tip. Astrologers think this is a good symbol for Libra people because they seem to need equal amounts of everything in their lives to be happy. Libra people need to keep a balance between work and play, and between their thoughts and their emotions. Sometimes they seem to have trouble making decisions, but this is because they must consider all sides of a question first. They are always striving for perfection and balance, and love beauty and harmony around them.
The most important thing for a Libra person is this idea of harmony. Libra people love to have people about them and to feel that they are appreciated. They usually get very interested in the opposite sex early in life, because they need love and companionship. Lots of Libra people are artistic and appreciate beautiful things. Sometimes they are talented at music or singing, and often dress well. But they may also be good at mathematics and science, because there is a clear, logical quality to the way they think. Usually Libra people are well liked because they are charming and easy to get along with. When a Libra person argues or behaves badly, it is usually because he feels that something is unfair.
Libra is an air sign, like Gemini and Aquarius. If you are a Libra, think about how good you feel when everything in your life seems to be harmonious and well-balanced, and when you have friends to go places or do things with.

© Liz Greene, 1977

10/15 Daily Kos R2K Tracking Poll: Obama 52, McCain 41

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/15/71048/242/995/630556

Your Abbreviated Pundit Round-up
by DemFromCT

Pundits are working on their pre-excuses, pre-explanantions and pre-eulogies.

:::::

Matthew Dowd : A classic reminder from September:

"Rule One: When a campaign starts attacking the media, things aren't going well.

Rule Two: When a campaign says the polls are wrong, things aren't very good.

Rule Three: When a campaign says "the only poll that counts is the one on election day" usually means a campaign is about to lose.

Now we could probably add a new one: when partisans start saying let the candidate be the candidate, it means things are off course."

:::::

Fox News:

McCain’s Brother to Campaign:"Let John McCain be John McCain."

:::::

Marc Ambinder:

"The New CBS News / New York Times poll "falls outside the range" of where the race is now, a senior McCain official said tonight.

Asked to respond to the poll, which gives Barack Obama a a 14 point lead among likely voter, the official said via e-mail that the sub-group shifts it showed were improbably large.

Joe Scarborough (On air, MSNBC): I am so upset that issues are predominating. The rules have been changed and character attacks don't work any more. My God. People want to talk about issues. And Republicans can't win in this environment. It's not fair."

:::::

Leonard Pitts, Jr.:

"My 401(k) is down $21,000 since the end of September. And John McCain thinks I should be worried about William Ayers."

:::::

Maureen Dowd: MoDo's a must read today.

"I started my campaign to win a Nobel prize by trying to make peace between the two conservatives at odds on our Op-Ed page."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/15/opinion/15dowd.html

[...]

Dear Jane,

I hope you will have a wonderful day tomorrow, on your birthday!

I had my birthday on the 27th September and that makes me a Libra too. I can truly identify with most of what Ed has quoted #2.

This year my birthday has been quite a happening.

We, my husband and I were taking care of the house and environment of our best friends and with their permission we celebrated my birthday there with our children and 3 grandchildren.

They have a kind of "hobby farm" with some animals etc.

We were so lucky to have beautiful sunny weather and it was only so on that saturday we celebrated, because the next day it rained a lot!

They loved to be in nature with animals like a donkey, a horse, chickens, a peacock, a goose, lots of cats and dogs :)

They even walked my stonemade labyrinth there which I made together with my female friend on her ground. And I received compliments for it, for the first time from my own family :)

My husband drove our children and grandchildren around on a petrol driven grass mower to which he had attached some kind of large trailer in which they all could sit. Great fun lol, especially for the grandchildren.

We made lots of pictures, even a movie, and this will be one of our greatest memories ever.

I truly hope you will also have a very nice birthday tomorrow and memories to cherish. I wish you a Happy Happy birthday and many Happy Happy returns!

Mieke

Clues

Are you a mastermind?

Can you solve the Universal Puzzle?

Click .me

Yesterday Canadians rejected a possible four-year dictatorship in favour of a minority government. The ruling Conservatives will not be able to make any decisions without the ok of at least one of the opposition parties.

Great news skep!

I think the progressives, greens and liberals on the left should find a way to put whatever differences they have aside and form a governing majority coalition against the right wing lunatics.

Becoming Obama in New York

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1008/Becoming_Obama_in_New_York.html?showall

So does this mean that Canadians prefer a "right wing lunatic" as prime minister over progressives, greens, and liberals?

wow...

awaken from long slumber...one of the loyal, lost amigos...

what giveth? he's responding to a weird dude with split personality disoder who claims to be from houston but really is an igloo dweller and can't decide what gender he is...whoa...hahahahahahahahahahahaha....hehe!

and btw...who really cares about ur election....dude? seriously!!!!!

I know that most people from US following Intentblog don't really care about what is happening over the Northern Border, but an election there was held yesterday. Now, it has been granted that the Conservative party there is to the left of the Republican party -- some would argue it is even to the left of the Democratic party. This is no longer true. The fact is, the modern Conservative Canadian party is a pretty good clone of the Republican party. The leader, Stephen Harper, advocated joining the war in Iraq. And he wants to do away with the nation's healthcare system. Many members of the party are as right-wing and fundamentalist as Sarah Palin.

In the early days of Bush's administration, the current Prime Minister wasted no photo-op to stand side-by-side with him. He forced an election recently, trying to turn his minority Conservative government into a majority. This would've been a disaster for Canada. It would've been akin to a majority Republican congress, with a majority Senate, with a Republican President. In Canada. Yeah, there are wingnuts--John calls them "rightwing lunatics"-- there, too. But because Canada has a multi-party system, the wingnuts can control all parts of government with about 40% of the national vote.

Thankfully, that didn't happen. Btw, Canadians in the majority have been routing for an Obama administration. People even paid for billboards, out of their own pockets, promoting Obama (you can see them on Vancouver Island). Canada is on the knife edge of an ugly Conservative government, the likes of which most Canadians don't really understand, but Americans know only too well. Anyone driving a beat up old Toyota Camry with a Conservative sticker doesn't really understand where their governmental interests really are. But somehow, you see them all over Canada. For twisted reasons, it is the masculine choice for government -- and low-info voters are voting for them in droves (just like in the USA).

Canada will be due for another election within another couple of years -- that is generally how things play out in Canadian politics. When you speak to your Canadian friends -- encourage them away from the Conservative ideology. Tell them about how you wish you had proper health-care for all citizens. Remind them of the good example that is set by diplomacy. Make an example. And remind them that they are on the wrong track with this government. Hopefully, in a few years time the Canadian politics would be on a better track.

Thank you so much, Ed and Mieke. I just LOVE the things you both shared with me.

Yup. Ed, I'm definitely a Libra in almost all the ways you mentioned ....especially the part about dressing well=======>>> LOLOLOL

And Mieke, I am so glad, er, envious, er GLAD you had such a delicious birthday, so natural and ideal in all the right ways...

I will enjoy re-reading you all's sweet comments and wishes many times again.

Love, Jane

Thanks Irv, you summed it up very nicely.

That Diablo guy still seems to repeat the same belief over and over and has faith it will miraculously become the truth. He must love us.

Will he ever learn? What a poor, misguided fellow!

it's over!

Advise to the olds at mind:

Stable, right back to stable state
Duality made of male-male, female-female
Certified by law and morality.

The stubbornism of unreachable high-minority
Fluctuate without ends
From the hands of so many-majority

Dark-skinned, fulled tatooted outside-in
This time, the venom of black words will flow-out
Flow like a furious train inside palaces
Overloaded of so many new lessons...

There is a heart here, there is another there
What I see, what I hear is not in shape
My fat-reality is tired

I am sorry but I think we are talking to much
Talking-green established as good, plus pride
Stop talking, walk with silence and winds

Asi, how far can we go?
Asi with just one-eye opened...

This heart not in shape
And I am talking and talking
People talk so much, crazy isn't it?
And I am talking, talking, anyway

What-Who is talking?
Don't know?
But it's talking like crazy-shit

Dawm! Shut up!
I will not crawl for you
Shup up!

I am crawling in tears
I am crawling to my heart
Something, yes something vertebra-crawling inside...

Happy birthday Jane!

sharp, and often funny, back-and-forth between Gail Collins and David Brooks on NYTimes.com:

http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/15/the-squirrel-vote/

hello all... love to all, and happy birthdays, too.

Love to you, Heather.

Will Bob Schieffer Be Beguiled Once More?
by BarbinMD
Daily Kos

Bob Schieffer, the moderator of tonight's presidential debate recently said:

"I don't know who's going to win this debate, but I think somebody is going to win. Somebody is going to score a decisive win. That's just my sense."

So, what is this "sense" based on? Schieffer's long relationship with John McCain? After all, McCain has appeared on Face the Nation more than 65 times, and over the years has been described by Schieffer as someone who "just knows how to do it," a "person of stature," a "person of integrity," and a "patriot."

And Schieffer seems to have gone out of his way to carry water for McCain this election season, repeating the fantasy that McCain suspended his campaign, repeating the lies about Sarah Palin being against the "bridge to nowhere" and earmarks, and repeating McCain talking points about Barack Obama and troop withdrawals from Iraq, to name just a few.

In 2000, Bob Shieffer traveled with McCain on McCain's campaign bus and later gushed about the experience, saying:

"But, I mean, I have to say, it is a lot of fun to be on that bus because there's a lot of excitement being generated. And you can feel it, you can sense it when you get off the bus. And I think reporters do have to be very careful. It can become very beguiling, as it were."

Judging by Schieffer's reporting during this campaign season, it seems he hasn't been at all careful to avoid being beguiled. And now, going in to tonight's debate, Schieffer's "sense" of events is in play once more? How exactly will that affect his performance? Does he have one more bucket of water to carry for the man he thinks appeals to "our better angels"?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2J9SxvrAp6U

Josh Orton at MyDD:

"Obama Agrees: Fox Isn't News"

Towards the end of Matt Bai's NYT Magazine piece about how Obama courts the "working-class" vote, this quote leaped off the page:

"I am convinced that if there were no Fox News, I might be two or three points higher in the polls," Obama told me. "If I were watching Fox News, I wouldn't vote for me, right? Because the way I'm portrayed 24/7 is as a freak! I am the latte-sipping, New York Times-reading, Volvo-driving, no-gun-owning, effete, politically correct, arrogant liberal. Who wants somebody like that?
"I guess the point I'm making," he went on, "is that there is an entire industry now, an entire apparatus, designed to perpetuate this cultural schism, and it's powerful. People want to know that you're fighting for them, that you get them. And I actually think I do. But you know, if people are just seeing me in sound bites, they're not going to discover that. That's why I say that some of that may have to happen after the election, when they get to know you."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/magazine/19obama-t.html?ref=magazine&pagewanted=print

But Obama's statement isn't the only sign his campaign understands the reality that Fox News is nothing but pure conservative propaganda.

Remember the clip from last week when Gibbs threw the Ayers accusations right back in Hannity's face? I can't remember a Democratic campaign ever responding so aggressively, live, to a Fox smear.

And just a yesterday, Plouffe asserted that "Fox News Channel is turning themselves into the 24-hour ACORN channel."

Just as conventional wisdom has turned against Republican governing philosophy, it's also turned against that philosophy's attack dog.

Update: The latte-sipping, Volvo-driving stereotype that Obama describes (see 2004: Kerry, John) is actually quite a bit more benign than the terrorist-coddling communist Fox portrays him as.

http://mydd.com/story/2008/10/15/175634/80

Expectations - The Final Debate
by DemFromCT

[...]

Some things to keep in mind:

*McCain has promised to kick Obama's "you know what" and also bring up Ayers.

*The format of sitting at a table (no podium, no wandering) does not lend itself to attack mode.

*The one unstated thing McCain must do is justify why the hell he ever chose someone as unqualified as Sarah Palin.

*McCain isn't as comfortable attacking as Palin is, and he's not nearly as good a liar as Palin is (see Palin's denial of abuse of power, lawbreaking and ethical violations re troopergate report.)

*Debates rarely change minds, and third debates are not the same as first debates.

*While pundits make lists of things that "could still happen" to change everything, few of them are likely to happen; fewer still will happen within this debate.

*Obama's many debates with the likes of Biden and Clinton have gotten him comfortable with debating.
A tie goes to the guy who is ahead. The public will award a tie to Obama.

*Obama doesn't have to beat McCain, he has to reassure voters.

*Once this "last chance" debate is over, if McCain doesn't score a huge win the pundits will pivot to dissecting how the McCain campaign lost.

*All of that puts enormous pressure on McCain to produce.

Enjoy the show, review the insta-polls (which have been more right than the pundits), and check the trackers starting Friday. Because it's the last debate, the pundits might actually be more interesting than usual and say what they really think, instead of pretending it's a close race (but don't count on it - a close race is better for ratings.)

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/15/1299/6848/372/631187

I think John McCain just fell on his sword. I always suspected that he secretly wanted Barach to win. It's 10:20 and too graphic for me to watch any more. I just started singing "Don't Cry for Me Argentina". Lord, is it bedtime yet?

Nate and Sean of FiveThirtyEight.com :

[Nate] McCain is treating this debate as though all the undecideds were Fox News viewers. Bet he'll win the Luntz focus group, though!

[Sean] Massive gender gap on the dials in many answers. In short: women are thinking Obama's winning in a landslide

[Sean] That was fun. McCain starts ripping Joe Biden. I say, "here comes a tongue jut, watch." Then McCain does it. You can predict the really dishonest answers get the juts.

[Sean] McCain's: "My campaign has been about the economy and jobs" doesn't pass the laugh test for Obama.

___________

Folks at Daily Kos:

[BarbindMD] Bottom line? McCain needed a game changer and didn't get it. He got in his attacks, Obama parried. McCain said he was "proud" of the people at his rallies, managing to inflate the crowd sizes while doing so. McCain smirked, rolled his eyes, interrupted, and was generally an ass. Standard McCain.

Closing remarks:

McCain: My friends, don't trust him, he's risky.

Obama: Last eight years, guys. We need fundamental change, and I'm not talking about American workers.

[Trapper John] This is by far Obama's best performance. And McCain is still a scowling lizard, tonguing the air to taste/smell the cool being radiated by Obama.

BO: Children aren't a special interest. zing!

JSMIII insults me and the other half-million citizens of DC who had a voucher program imposed against our will by a paternalistic Republican Congress. Barack won't treat DC like a colony. McCain will.

I never thought my town's school board politics would be an issue in the last debate. I'm astounded. But BO points out that McCain's entire education plan is DC vouchers. Hilarious.

JSMIII Closing: I'm a maverick reformer, steward of tax dollars. Looks tired, and sort of sad.

10:30 EDT: [Sean] McCain's final answer was strong, but it was: "I'm a humble servant of America like a long line of McCains, so hire me." Obama's is about policies to grow the economy and the middle class. As Nate says...

10:31 EDT: [Nate] Congratulations, President Obama.

Markos Moulitsas Zúñiga a.k.a "kos" makes a great analogy in his post-debate thoughts:

"In Isaac Asimov's 1955 book "Franchise", a supercomputer chooses a "voter of the year" to decide the fate of the election. Then, that person answers a series of questions which the computer uses to decide the results of the election.

Joe Sixpack thought he had hit the jackpot, but unfortunately for him, the fictional "Joe the Plumber" got the gig.

Or at least, that's what I learned from John McCain, in between his angry outbursts and snorting."

He adds:

"On substance, I actually thought McCain had his best performance thus far, when not distracting with his weird facial expressions and snorting. But still, Obama is on another level altogether. Perhaps if Romney or Giuliani was the nominee these would be fairer contests, but it's not even close. And while McCain seemed better prepared than in the previous debates, tonight was also the wingnuttiest McCain has looked all campaign. All the veneer of being a moderate was stripped away..."

"Not that it matters. There was nothing here tonight that would change minds. Given that Obama has already broken 50 percent nationally and in the key battleground states, and that significant percentage of voters have already cast their early votes, McCain needed to radically transform the shape of the race. That means a homerun performance coupled with an Obama collapse. Neither happened.

I'll let the snap polls determine who "won" the debate, but no matter what they proclaim, this race is pretty much over."

Trapper John: Obama Cool

"The pundits are going to talk about the issues and details of the debates, as they should. And it's true that this was Obama's best debate, and possibly McCain's worst. But for me, the story of the night -- hell, the story of all three debates -- is the sang froid of Barack Obama.

Nothing can get under his skin. Nothing. No attack can cause him to lose his equilibrium, to cause him to squint or gawp or stare like McCain seems to do three times every minute. Barack Obama is a fundamentally cool cat -- and that's one of the reasons he's not just going to win this election, but win big. Americans respect a person who won't get thrown off his game, who won't let his enemies and opponents rattle him.

And Barack Obama isn't just cool -- he's redefined cool in politics. He's gotten past 20 years of presidents who equate anger with passion. There hasn't been a president who could keep an even keel since Reagan -- and even then, he was more easy-goin' than cool. Reagan was detached. But Barack Obama is engaged, intelligent, and calm -- but he's no Adlai Stevenson. He's always cool.

Every candidate for national office for a generation is going to seek to emulate Obama Cool. But there's only one Barack Obama."

__________________________________________________

kos: Fourth quarter hurry up offense

"When trailing in the fourth quarter and time running out, the trailing team will go into its "hurry up offense" -- no huddle, quick plays, aggressive, trying to keep the defense off balance, the ball moving quickly.

That was McCain tonight.

The defense in such situations will usually go into a zone defense and play loose -- the idea is to surrender the short yards but prevent the big game-changing play, all the while chewing up the clock.

That was Obama tonight.

Scoring a field goal doesn't help you when you're down three touchdowns."

it's three for three for the brother! game over!

Quote: Jacob Heilbrunn...

"Christopher Buckley's announcement that he's supporting Barack Obama for the presidency comes as no surprise to me. Years ago Buckley, who worked as a speechwriter for George H.W. Bush and reveres him, expressed his consternation to me about George W. Bush's dismal performance. He seemed to watch the self-destruction of the Bush presidency with a kind of fascinated horror. Now, in the wake of the Sarah Palin debacle, Buckley deserves a place on the conservative intellectual honor roll for breaking with John McCain.

He won't get it, of course. Instead, the National Review has apparently terminated Buckley's column -- high comedy when you consider that his father merely founded the magazine and fought to make conservatism intellectually respectable, banishing the anti-Semites and other riff-raff who tainted the movement. Now conservatism is regressing, turning into a Frankenstein. Other members of the old guard at National Review such as Jeffrey Hart have also denounced the mendacity of the Bush administration. Their voices were not heeded.

Today, as the McCain campaign lurches to its dolorous conclusion, conservatives are beginning to blame each other for the collapse of their movement. Instead of excommunicating Buckley and others, conservatives should be debating with them. But intolerance is winning out over intellectual inquisitiveness. As an intellectual movement, conservatism is suffering its death throes. And with the Buckley affair, the purge has begun."

have u noticed mackinsane's eyes? whoa...dude looks like a dead man walking...

at 72...he probably has a very short time left...is that a risk worth taking? naaaahhh!!!!!

she continues to hide from the media...like she's got caked poop in her patz...shame on u dino from zona for 'putting country first'.

Look at you senorita!

What a surprise!
So, let's start the day with "perso message"
"Womanizer baby"

This expression is for me?
I am womanizer?
Ohhhhhh, really?

Yes, yes, yes I am listening
But at the same time, I am flashing-thinking:
"Manizer"
Are you manizer?

macinsenile is not even qualified to be a bartender at a veteran's club...ho(e) ever...he might do well as a taskmaster at a boot camp for troubled kids...hehe!

madhumakhi aur phool | phool aur madumakhi

nature is
ishq hai

"October 16, 2008, 3:47 PM

"He’s Coming, Dave! By MICHAEL COOPER, NYTimes.com

"Updated PHILADELPHIA – He has vowed to follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell, but Senator John McCain does not want to risk the wrath of Letterman.

"The last time Mr. McCain canceled an appearance on “The Late Show With David Letterman” Mr. Letterman was not amused, and he has not let go of his fury. Mr. McCain has been the butt of Mr. Letterman’s disdain (feigned or not) ever since.

"So when Mr. McCain found himself stuck on the tarmac here in Philadelphia, with what aides described as a two-hour delay on planes flying to Newark, he knew he had to act.

"Thus began the great McCain Airlift of 2008.

"Mr. McCain’s campaign plane turned around, and the campaign hired a small helicopter to whisk him, his wife, Cindy, two of their aides, and two Secret Service Agents, to their rendezvous with comedy.

"No sooner had Mr. McCain’s helicopter lifted off, shortly before four, than the campaign announced that the plane had been cleared for takeoff.

"Update | 4:40 p.m. The Times’s William Neuman reports: Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said that flights arriving at Newark Liberty International Airport have seen delays averaging about one hour for much of the afternoon because of high winds and a low ceiling, which reduces visibility. He said that some flights have landed on time while others may have seen delays exceeding an hour. At about 4 p.m. the Web site of the Federal Aviation Administration warned of delays averaging one hour and 34 minutes."

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/hes-coming-dave/

A fish out of water, flapping around on the shore of a lake, gives stronger argument to throw it back in then McCain exhibited during this third debate.

He looked like a fish out of water but showed no reason why we should rescue him. In the immortal word of Diablo, Damn!!!

Couldn't resist this one D, your #2 guy Biden, the man who sometimes has trouble with higher math, enjoy my friend, from a lost amigo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq-eeWow_WU

lawyers...am told...aren't that great with math...amber...just ask any joe...damn!

that ohio joe is not really a plumber after all, he's a fraud...are u surprised?

Viva Obama 2008, many all over the world start singing.
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=0fd-MVU4vtU

"that one" was good at the dinner thing in NY tonight...

yeah...he was funny...but funny isn't gonna matter on november 4th...hecan't laugh his way outta the mess we're in by making light of that "Joe the Plumber" dude....country is in dire straits...

Wasn’t Obama called “that one”?

Boston beat Tampa Bay, 8-7
Rats!

yo dude...

that one is that one...yeah...the loser from zona who is desperate for a miracle, a hail-mary...

the brother is the real one...damn!

hi kate....what a game!

BOSTON (AP) - Down seven runs and running out of time, the Boston Red Sox weren't quite ready to go away.

The defending World Series champions pulled off the major leagues' biggest postseason comeback in 79 years, beating the Rays 8-7 Thursday night on J.D. Drew's two-out single in the ninth to stave off elimination in the AL championship series and head to Tampa Bay trailing three games to two.

My voice
An inner sound
Echoing all time-area of my own experience
In super mono-surround-sound 1.1

Hey you! But you?
Are you surrounded by self-sound?
I do not hear anything
I do not hear ya!

Who do you think you are?
What kind of thought are you?

Should I break your head like a nut?
So, we could have the pleasure
To be surrounded... by you...

David Brooks (conservative columnist) wrote about Obama today in the New York Times. He seems to be unconsciously analyzing his own positive reaction to Obama.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/opinion/17brooks.html

"...[Obama] grew up with an absent father and a peripatetic mother. “I learned long ago to distrust my childhood,” he wrote in “Dreams From My Father.” This is supposed to produce a politician with gaping personal needs and hidden wounds.

"But over the past two years, Obama has never shown evidence of that. Instead, he has shown the same untroubled self-confidence day after day.

"There has never been a moment when, at least in public, he seems gripped by inner turmoil. It’s not willpower or self-discipline he shows as much as an organized unconscious. Through some deep, bottom-up process, he has developed strategies for equanimity, and now he’s become a homeostasis machine.

"When Bob Schieffer asked him tough questions during the debate Wednesday night, he would step back and describe the broader situation. When John McCain would hit him with some critique — even about fetuses being left to die on a table — he would smile in amusement at the political game they were playing. At every challenging moment, his instinct was to self-remove and establish an observer’s perspective.

"Through the debate, he was reassuring and self-composed. McCain, an experienced old hand, would blink furiously over the tension of the moment, but Obama didn’t reveal even unconscious signs of nervousness. There was no hint of an unwanted feeling.

"They say we are products of our environments, but Obama, the sojourner, seems to go through various situations without being overly touched by them..."

- - -

Brooks is seeing and acknowledging many of Obama's strengths. But he's either insensitive to, or fooling himself into ignoring, Obama's emotional nature.

Brooks may not realize that in writing "...he shows...an organized unconscious. Through some deep, bottom-up process, he has developed strategies for equanimity..." he has solved the Obama-cool mystery.

See, there's no need to develop and use strategies for equanimity unless your base-level equanimity is usually shaken.

Obama isn't cavalier or flamboyant with his emotional expression, allowing himself to fly off the handle to create drama or manipulate the people he's talking with or to.

I think his emotions run deep, and he's careful not to injure others with them.

For me, this is evidence that he's more emotional and vulnerable than most people, not less so. He sometimes stutters. When he's hit with attack after attack, he still rarely gets angry. Anger is a shallow, self-indulgent emotional reaction. Obama gets more compassionate and generous, the more he's attacked -- and compassion and generosity are deeper, more altruistic emotional reactions -- they're the result of understanding what causes anger, how much complicity the angry person has in their own anger, and unraveling that type of reaction from its causes. In other words, he's pretty knowledgeable about how people work on the inside, and he has the strength to wrestle successfully with the more negative aspects of his own humanity.

I've never seen Obama as untroubled, as always self-confident, as never gripped by inner turmoil. On the contrary, I've sensed a lot of inner turmoil, emotionality, and an honesty about himself that negates even the concept of self-confidence. On the other hand, over time I've seen qualities that counterbalance those volatile aspects of the man (which scared me at first, and made me doubt him) -- things like stamina, resilience, strength, self-knowledge, a willingness to question the obvious, and an incredible intelligence that's put at the service of dynamic interaction with people and political dynamics. His positive qualities are so well-developed and powerful that they scared me at first, just as much as his emotional nature did. But over time, I've come to see that he never tries to use his srengths to kill his emotional nature. He's always gentle, always open, even when he's being his most powerful self. He's a bright, courageous, strong, caring person, a good leader and a good man.

Also, Michelle Obama is part of Barack's strategy for successfully dealing with his emotions. With her at his side, he's able to be open without collapsing. Whenever she joins him after a debate, the hug they exchange reads, to me, like an exchange of real energy and love. She is the salve for his most-wounded self. Her love supports him when at his he's most tried. I didn't like her at first, but I love her now because of how she loves and supports Barack.

damn, my emotions this morning are showing in my dyslexic syntax errors. and you should see my spellings.

thank goodness for Firefox's little red underlines. (for example, the paragraph above first read like this: "dnmn, my emtions this mornign are swhwoign in my dyslexic sybtac errors. and you shoulod see my spellings.")

:) :( :D

father and daughter, two great romantic pop voices in a great romantic standard...

Nat King and Natalie Cole, in When I Fall in Love:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-b7dLq11jI

I always felt Natalie Cole's technology-assisted duets with her already-dead dad were her love songs to him, a return home; and her drug problems were due to her continually missing him (he died when she was fifteen -- she must have felt as if the ground had been pulled out from under her).

Her voice is more suited to her father's old songs than it is to the pop work she does. Her musical phrasing is luminescent, when she sings those old songs.

another Nat King and Natalie Cole tech-assisted duet -- Unforgettable

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGmCwKumgd4

this one is so lovely to sing along with -- I love Natalie's part.

Damn, McCain is a nasty dude -- check the opening and ending of his speech, in the MSNBC video of the Alfred E. Smith dinner, embedded in this blog -- supposedly funny, these are absolutely cold nasty sequences:

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/mccain-and-obama-palling-around-must-be-the-al-smith-dinner

Whereas Obama is genuinely funny.

10/17 Daily Kos R2K Tracking Poll: Obama 52, McCain 42

by DemFromCT
[...]

Obama McCain MoE +/- RV/LV
Today
Research 2000: 52 (52) 42 (41) 3 LV
Reuters/Zogby: 49 (49) 44 (44) 2.8 LV

Yesterday
Battleground: 50 (51) 44 (43) 3.5 LV
Rasmussen: 50 (50) 46 (45) 2 LV
Diageo/Hotline: 49 (49) 41 (41) 3.4 LV
Gallup: 49 (50) 43 (43) 2 RV See also the LV I and LV II numbers
IBD/TIPP: 45 (45) 42 (42) 3.3 LV

On successive individual days in the R2K poll (different than the topline, which is a combined three day sample), Obama was up +12 Tues, +10 Wed and +6 . Friday's polling will start to reflect the debate, and the +6 Thurs is a significant change, for the first time in days. However, while the one-day Thursday numbers are 50-44, an improvement in McCain's numbers, Obama has been at 50 or more since 9/29 (see top graph). As Tuesday's number drops off tomorrow, the topline number should tighten. Zogby (the other early AM poll) shows no such improvement.

Don't look at the change in the lead (OMG! 5 instead of 6 point lead!) Look at the range of Obama numbers (49-52) and McCain numbers (41-46), which remain unchanged. IBD/TIPP remains odd man out(lier) with Obama at 45.

Nate has more:

"Our model, indeed -- crunching all of this data along with the state polling -- does think Obama's momentum had stalled out about a bit, and pegs his national lead at closer to 7 points rather than the 8-point advantage it had given him a couple of days ago. Why? I don't know. Conventions are not the only events that produce bounces. Debates can too; if a candidate picks up, say, 3 points as the result of winning a debate, he might keep 2 of those points but give one of them back after a handful of days. To the extent that Obama has lost any steam, I sense that it is more something like that than anything constructive the McCain campaign has done."

Charles Franklin, getting practical:

"So what would it take for McCain to come back at this point? Ohio and Florida, above all else.

Ohio and Florida are the largest states that are in Obama's row but still close. McCain led in both states in August and the first half of September. Without them, it is hopeless. With them, he still needs more, but they are the necessary conditions for a win."

[...]
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/17/73015/497/703/632906

Washington Post Editorial: Barack Obama for President

Friday, October 17, 2008

"THE NOMINATING process this year produced two unusually talented and qualified presidential candidates. There are few public figures we have respected more over the years than Sen. John McCain. Yet it is without ambivalence that we endorse Sen. Barack Obama for president."

"It is made easy in larger part, though, because of our admiration for Mr. Obama and the impressive qualities he has shown during this long race. Yes, we have reservations and concerns, almost inevitably, given Mr. Obama's relatively brief experience in national politics. But we also have enormous hopes."

"Mr. Obama is a man of supple intelligence, with a nuanced grasp of complex issues and evident skill at conciliation and consensus-building. At home, we believe, he would respond to the economic crisis with a healthy respect for markets tempered by justified dismay over rising inequality and an understanding of the need for focused regulation. Abroad, the best evidence suggests that he would seek to maintain U.S. leadership and engagement, continue the fight against terrorists, and wage vigorous diplomacy on behalf of U.S. values and interests. Mr. Obama has the potential to become a great president."

"OF COURSE, Mr. Obama offers a great deal more than being not a Republican. There are two sets of issues that matter most in judging these candidacies. "

"He has surrounded himself with top-notch, experienced, centrist economic advisers -- perhaps the best warranty that, unlike some past presidents of modest experience, Mr. Obama will not ride into town determined to reinvent every policy wheel. Some have disparaged Mr. Obama as too cool, but his unflappability over the past few weeks -- indeed, over two years of campaigning -- strikes us as exactly what Americans might want in their president at a time of great uncertainty."

"But Mr. Obama, as anyone who reads his books can tell, also has a sophisticated understanding of the world and America's place in it. He, too, is committed to maintaining U.S. leadership and sticking up for democratic values,..."

"IT GIVES US no pleasure to oppose Mr. McCain. [...] We think that he, too, might make a pretty good president."

"But the stress of a campaign can reveal some essential truths, and the picture of Mr. McCain that emerged this year is far from reassuring."

"ANY PRESIDENTIAL vote is a gamble, and Mr. Obama's résumé is undoubtedly thin. We had hoped, throughout this long campaign, to see more evidence that Mr. Obama might stand up to Democratic orthodoxy and end, as he said in his announcement speech, "our chronic avoidance of tough decisions."

But Mr. Obama's temperament is unlike anything we've seen on the national stage in many years. He is deliberate but not indecisive; eloquent but a master of substance and detail; preternaturally confident but eager to hear opposing points of view. He has inspired millions of voters of diverse ages and races, no small thing in our often divided and cynical country. We think he is the right man for a perilous moment."

a perceptive endorsement. beautifully written, too.

"supple intelligence", "a nuanced grasp of complex issues and evident skill at conciliation and consensus-building", "deliberate but not indecisive; eloquent but a master of substance and detail; preternaturally confident but eager to hear opposing points of view."

nice.

It's a nice time to revisit a David Brooks' article about Obama from April, 2007.

Obama, Gospel and Verse
http://select.nytimes.com/2007/04/26/opinion/26brooks.html

"Sometimes you take a shot.

Yesterday evening I was interviewing Barack Obama and we were talking about effective foreign aid programs in Africa. His voice was measured and fatigued, and he was taking those little pauses candidates take when they’re afraid of saying something that might hurt them later on.

Out of the blue I asked, “Have you ever read Reinhold Niebuhr?”

[...]

So I asked, What do you take away from him?

“I take away,” Obama answered in a rush of words, “the compelling idea that there’s serious evil in the world, and hardship and pain. And we should be humble and modest in our belief we can eliminate those things. But we shouldn’t use that as an excuse for cynicism and inaction. I take away ... the sense we have to make these efforts knowing they are hard, and not swinging from naïve idealism to bitter realism.”

[...]

"My first impression was that for a guy who’s spent the last few months fund-raising, and who was walking off the Senate floor as he spoke, that’s a pretty good off-the-cuff summary of Niebuhr’s “The Irony of American History.” My second impression is that his campaign is an attempt to thread the Niebuhrian needle, and it’s really interesting to watch."

[...] Snip: [Obama's views on War and Military Power]

In other words, when Obama is confronted by what he sees as arrogant unilateral action, he argues for humility. When he is confronted by what he sees as dovish passivity, he argues for the hardheaded promotion of democracy in the spirit of John F. Kennedy.

The question is, aside from rejecting the extremes, has Obama thought through a practical foreign policy doctrine of his own — a way to apply his Niebuhrian instincts?

That question is hard to answer because he loves to have conversations about conversations. You have to ask him every question twice, the first time to allow him to talk about how he would talk about the subject, and the second time so you can pin him down to the practical issues at hand.

[...]Snip [views on Middle East peace process and Iran]

In other words, he has a tendency to go big and offer himself up as Bromide Obama, filled with grand but usually evasive eloquence about bringing people together and showing respect. Then, in a blink, he can go small and concrete, and sound more like a community organizer than George F. Kennan.

Finally, more than any other major candidate, he has a tendency to see the world in post-national terms. Whereas President Bush sees the war against radical Islam as the organizing conflict of our time, Obama sees radical extremism as one problem on a checklist of many others: global poverty, nuclear proliferation, global warming. When I asked him to articulate the central doctrine of his foreign policy, he said, “The single objective of keeping America safe is best served when people in other nations are secure and feel invested.”

That’s either profound or vacuous, depending on your point of view."

Huffington Post: Daniel "James Bond" Craig Speaks Out For Obama

"Quantum of Solace" comes out next month, and Daniel Craig is out promoting that and Barack Obama. He can't vote in America, but the British Craig has strong feelings anyway.

"I strongly feel there needs to be a new way forward," Craig tells Playboy magazine in an interview on newsstands today. "Barack Obama is pushing things in the right direction. I'm excited about the election. Unfortunately, things will probably get dirty. I hope Obama can stay above the fray ... I'm hopeful for the first time in a long, long while. It's one of the most exciting elections in my lifetime."

[...]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/17/daniel-james-bond-craig-s_n_135503.html

"esiom" comments:

Doubtless the mighty talents at the McCain campaign are working up an attack ad at this very moment.

"What do we really know about Barack Obama? What he doesn't tell you is that he's supported by an agent of a foreign government.

He pals around with a spy who frequently causes mayhem and destruction.

Obama wants to raise your taxes but he's happy to associate with a fictional character, who pays no taxes in the United States.

James Bond claims he can save the world but can he fix your heating at 3am if he has no experience as a plumber?

I'm John McCain and I'm completely out of ideas".

Ari Melber of Washington Independent from "O Force One" writes at Daily Kos:

Colin Powell Buzz - Live from Obama's Plane
by AriM

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/17/11579/857/90/633511

Re. 57. WaPO endorsement excerpts

Its good to see center-right WaPo endorse Obama over McCain -- un-ambivalently -- for who he is and his policies, and NOT making the case that he is a democrat and better than McCain and the GOP. One would have expected such an endorsement from NYT, WaPo was a pleasant surprise for me.

BTW the word is around that NY Times is going to endorse Obama in this Sunday editorial.

BTW NY Times

Nate at 538 writes "And is Colin Powell about to endorse Obama? The Obama campaign certainly isn't doing anything to tamp down the speculation. For our part, we've been hearing rumors of a Powell endorsement for a long time now -- specifically, we'd heard that Powell might endorse Obama immediately following the Republican convention. But it would be typical of the very deliberate Obama campaign to hold an endorsement until now, when it can be used to run further time off McCain's clock. Mostly, endorsements serve to win news cycles rather than win over voters, although Powell is probably the biggest 'get' there is in this election (unless perhaps Ross Perot decided to endorse)."

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/

the end of a sad story, the end of a pathetic campaign... in sight....

“It is a sad story: a proud and independent man permits a handful of advisers to take his hard-earned reputation and alter it to such an extent that the original is now hard to recognize, nearly invisible behind a curtain of cynical ads and the preposterous pronouncements of a woman whose candidacy is an insult to intelligence.

Soon, the 'Straight Talk Express' will bank west and head for the Arizona desert and election eve. And John McCain will sit up front, staring out the window, exhausted, as the plane crosses the land he loves and the people -- millions of them -- he failed to connect with because while he was once indeed a prisoner of war, he has spent the last ten weeks letting himself become a prisoner of the past” Mike Barnicle..

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Canadian Prime Minister Harper and the President of the European Union Jose Manuel Barroso, just finished a press conference in Quebec City. As long as a guy like Sarkozy is willing to take the lead to pilot the world out of its doldrums, we have a chance.

Let’s hope that President Bush has someone with him who has the capacity to understand Sarkozy when they meet later today.

Sarkozy, what a statesman, what a respected leader in national and international affairs you are!

Dubya eat your heart out, and Barack please hurry up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_1QwoFZWpc

Thank you, Levi Stubbs, and peace to you. Your soulful presence, warm voice, and sincere phrasing have subtly flavored American lives and loves for decades.

yeh ishq hai.

dear heath,
I have worked with the Four Tops, and it is wonderful classic music, so full of soul and emotion!

I send my wishes and blessings to Levi Stubbs family, and give thanks to the unique sound and style that was his alone.

love,
~ Kate

Bay Buchanan is is idiot! just like that air=headed poopy pantz from alaska...

so if u don't vote repub, u are not pro-america?...really? we here in california vote democrat..what does that make us? russians?

thanks mac for picking such a 'genius'...some good judgement, dino?

My walk at the river this evening was so nice, with autumn making it's uniquely FL-style appearance.

No politics in the way for this unfolding beauty. Hooray!

Rest well tonight IBers.

love,
~ Kate

Always the ray of sunshine you are Kate

The republican leaning, conservative Chicago Tribune endorsed Obama:

"This endorsement makes some history for the Chicago Tribune. This is the first time the newspaper has endorsed the Democratic Party's nominee for president."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-chicago-tribune-endorsement,0,1371034.story

That's the first Dem endorsement in 161 years.

When they endorsed FDR; he ran on the Progressive party ticket.

AP:

"Excerpts from recent newspaper endorsements of the presidential candidates. The Los Angeles Times endorses Democrat Barack Obama, calling him "educated and eloquent, sober and exciting, steady and mature." The Washington Post calls Obama "the right man for a perilous moment." The Chicago Tribune, endorsing a Democratic presidential nominee for the first time, expresses "tremendous confidence" in Obama's "intellectual rigor, his moral compass and his ability to make sound, thoughtful, careful decisions."

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hr5hmYnjJMz50Swp8ech-tpt4zoAD93SFTDG0

10/18 Daily Kos R2K Tracking Poll: Obama 50, McCain 43

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/18/73414/589/773/633837

73...great excerpts...

1... if you think that poopy pantz is ready to be prez should the dino croak, then vote repugnican...

JM is running a pathetic, low-road nasty campaign...in desperation..

that weirdo running mate keeps stirring up hatred and dirt...that's all she's qualified for...

drill baby drill...is that what u say at the dinner table? hoaky-pokey mom? soon to be grand mom?

some morals and republican family value huh, some role model u are...witty one...yeah right!

it seems ohio is trending back republican after macane whipped 'bama in joke tellin'...and that fake joe the plumber line...

now the old *art is talking about 'bama wanting to spread ur wealth around...really?

well whoopy...who's the f... is doing all the spreading of wealth in iraq...huh?

poopy pantz wants to scold 'bama and biden for pointing backward...

as if we can just ignore the nightmare of the past six years that is iraq and it'll just go away!

yo dino...iraq is ur baby, not barack's...and the barracuda has two more weeks to make a fool of herself on national TV before we say good riddance and goodbye to her...for good

as we watch her run back to her icy igloo...to settle in for the long, cold winter ahead...where she really belongs...what a freak!

that ole dude from zona can pretend he's not bushnut...but he's Republican!

he's Republican

Republican

Republican

Republican

Republican

Republican

Republican

Republican

Republican

Republican

Republican

Republican

Republican......

There are few peopls,

very very few,

who I give credit for being crazier than me:

Diablo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

har rah rah

peace

emperor...

the Love Ranch is heating up tonight...dude...

shandi will be in later...she's a sizzler...by any standard...blonde, sexy, very tall 5' 11" loves to text...damn...! see y'all tamarra....

Last night my eyes shut down
With a last image...

An ugly dog
Little, weak
Brown hot-dog skin
With big wet black eyes
Gizmo ears
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/northyorkshire/content/images/2006/01/25/suki_on_ledge_300x400.jpg)

What followed was... inside unknown

Transported without ...

No.... sorry, no,
Tired to talk alone
Of my private things

It's not for you anymore!

Your Abbreviated Pundit Round-up
by DemFromCT

Frank Rich:

"The election isn’t over, but there remain only three discernible, if highly unlikely, paths to a McCain victory. A theoretically mammoth wave of racism, incessantly anticipated by the press, could materialize in voting booths on Nov. 4. Or newly registered young and black voters could fail to show up. Or McCain could at long last make good on his most persistent promise: follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell and, once there, strangle him with his own bare hands on "Hannity & Colmes."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/opinion/19rich.html?ref=opinion

Maureen Dowd: We are spitting mad and ready to revolt. What the Dickens were the financiers thinking?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/opinion/19dowd.html

Steven Stark:

"But the GOP might well face two historical problems that are even more formidable. The first is that parties decisively thrown out of power usually spend the next campaign turning to their fringe, on the theory that "if we had only stuck to our principles, instead of compromising, we would have won." Already we can see numerous Republicans mouthing that mantra. If followed to its conclusion, the result in 2012 will be the same as it was in 1936 when the Republicans nominated Alf Landon after the FDR landslide in 1932, and in 1972 when the Democrats nominated George McGovern after the GOP won the White House in 1968.

They'll lose in a landslide even worse than in 2008."

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/10/lou_dobbs_in_2012.html

Derrick Z. Jackson:

"McCain clearly hoped that having a woman on the ticket would sway Clinton voters. But Clinton voters here [in NH] said Palin is beyond the pale. In many cases her very selection accelerated their support of Obama.

Carol Kunz, a 42-year-old attorney from Manchester, said, "To compare the two women is insulting to women everywhere."

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/10/18/the_force_of_the_hillary_effect/

Michael Barone: Will voters come to their senses and elect McCain? Probably not, but they might.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/barone/2008/10/17/can-joe-the-plumber-turn-it-around-for-john-mccain.html

Matthew Continetti:

"It's time to face facts. In-your-face liberalism is about to make a comeback. And this time it will be on steroids."

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/713lugxf.asp

And Obama can't stop them. They're everywhere.

Patrick Buchanan:

"As Americans render what Catholics call temporal judgment on George Bush, are they aware of the radical course correction they are about to make?

This center-right country is about to vastly strengthen a liberal Congress whose approval rating is 10 percent and implant in Washington a regime further to the left than any in U.S. history. Consider."

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/10/the_coming_backlash.html

My God. We're really going to lose.

That dog, Jean........gotcha! :)

Unfortunately, pic not available at BBC N. Yorkshire.

I guess it fell into you ;) Nice work!

10/19 Daily Kos R2K Tracking Poll: Obama 50, McCain 43
by DemFromCT

Today's Daily Kos Research 2000 tracking poll has Obama leading McCain 50-43. All trackers are data from three days prior to posting, with the R2K numbers from today (yesterday's numbers in parentheses) and the other trackers from yesterday (previous day's data). LV=likely voter, RV=registered voter.

Obama McCain MoE +/- RV/LV
Today
Research 2000: 50 (50) 43 (43) 3 LV
Reuters/Zogby: 48 (48) 45 (44) 2.8 LV

Yesterday
Rasmussen: 50 (50) 45 (46) 2 LV
Diageo/Hotline: 49 (50) 42 (40) 3.4 LV
Gallup: 50 (50) 42 (43) 2 RV See also the LV I and LV II numbers
IBD/TIPP: 47 (46) 40 (41) 3.3 LV

On successive individual days in the R2K poll (different than the topline, which is a combined three day sample), Obama was up +6 Thurs, +7 Fri and +7 Sat. Today's polling will reflect the debate (all of the sample is post-debate).

With a few more days of data, we can better gauge where we are, though as of now, this looks to be a stable position. Obama has been at 50 or more since 9/29 (see top graph). Obama continues in the 48-50 range, McCain in the 40-45 range. There has been little movement in fav/unfav.

Speaking of the debate, Gallup agrees that Obama 'won', although minds are usually not changed much by debates no matter who wins.

Americans who watched Wednesday’s third and final presidential debate say Barack Obama did a better job than John McCain by 56% to 30%. The public viewed Obama as the winner of all three debates.

Despite doing well with the public in every poll, Obama's lead shrunk from +11 to +7 over two days (now stable) in the R2K poll. We've been speculating about the 'why' for a few days, though the tightening isn't seen in all the trackers, so the 'what' isn't clearly established. When we zoom in to Sep-Oct (the graph is the trackers only as of last night), what we get with pollster.com is this:

Gallup notes:

"Obama's eight-point lead among registered voters is similar to his margin among this group over the last several days."

Rasmussen notes:

"These figures reflect a remarkably stable race in which Obama has enjoyed a four-to-eight point advantage for twenty-three straight days. McCain has not been up by even a single point in over a month (see trends)."

Diageo/Hotline notes:

"Obama now leads LVs by 7%; one week ago, in the survey completed 10/10, his lead was 10%. While Obama's margins among Indies and Dems are nearly identical to last week, McCain's advantage among GOPers has jumped 10%."

Of interest is this graph of R2K internals, looking at how each candidate does with his own party, and showing data similar to Hotline.

McCain's improvement appears to be driven by base voters coming home to the GOP. Obama's 87-88 with Democrats has been steady. For comparison purposes (scroll down), Bush got 93% of Republicans and Kerry got 89% of Democrats while splitting independents in 2004, an era where the party ID was equivalent.

In looking at independents over the last week, we see a couple of points of movement.

In 2004, Kerry and Bush split independents 49-48 according to exit polls. Given the larger size of the D base this year, if the candidates do equally well with partisans, splitting the independents should lead to an Obama win. Winning them means a bigger win.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/19/7186/4436/829/634814

# 72

Major correction:

Chicago Tribune endorsed Theodore Roosevelt NOT Fredrick D. Roosevelt().

In fact Chicago Tribune was a HUGE critic of FDR and the New Deal. More on this below. The Tribune endorsement is a very big deal, even though a home town endorsement.

::::::::

Tribune:

"The paper consistently endorsed the GOP presidential contender, with the exception of its 1872 backing of independent Horace Greeley and its 1912 endorsement of Progressive Party candidate Theodore Roosevelt."

But then, both the non-republican party candidates they endorsed in their 161 year history, right from Lincoln, were ex-republicans.

Theodore Roosevelt was a republican president from 1901-1909 before he formed the Progressive Party (popularly known as Bull Moose party) and won in 1912.

(1901-1904 he was VP-turned-president after the death of the elected pres.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt

If Roosevelt was progressive, Horace Greeley was a liberal Republican, who ran as an independent but lost in 1872.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Greeley

:::::::::

Chicago Tribune during FDR days was published by the arch-conservative isolationist and Democratic-hater Col. Robert R. McCormick. Most liberals of the day, detested McCormick and McCormick's far-right Chicago Tribune for countless reasons, including McCormick’s opposition to the New Deal, his un-American attempt to keep the U.S. out of World War II, and his overt hatred of President Roosevelt. The Tribune’s imposing building downtown on the Chicago River was a constant reminder to Chicagoans of the presence and demagogic power of Colonel McCormick throughout the Depression, the War, and beyond.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tribune

Anyone in Chicago who respect the great president, who are old enough to be alive would be happy this weekend, having learned that Colonel McCormick’s newspaper had endorsed for president not only a black man, and not only the first non-(or ex)-Republican in its 161-year history, but that Colonel McCormick’s Chicago Tribune endorses a Democrat for President.

Speaking of the endorsment, I particularly liked the part in the editorial, in which they said that a lot of people feel they don't know Obama, but "we do".

That was great. For them, who have really tried HARD to find some 'dirt' on Obama (they were the source for the Republicans, for all the Chicago dirt; Rezko in particular) to say they know him, in my opinion carries more weight than the endorsement of a right wing paper.

Some excerpts:

"Many Americans say they're uneasy about Obama. He's pretty new to them.

We can provide some assurance. We have known Obama since he entered politics a dozen years ago. We have watched him, worked with him, argued with him as he rose from an effective state senator to an inspiring U.S. senator to the Democratic Party's nominee for president.

We have tremendous confidence in his intellectual rigor, his moral compass and his ability to make sound, thoughtful, careful decisions. He is ready.

The change that Obama talks about so much is not simply a change in this policy or that one. It is not fundamentally about lobbyists or Washington insiders. Obama envisions a change in the way we deal with one another in politics and government. His opponents may say this is empty, abstract rhetoric. In fact, it is hard to imagine how we are going to deal with the grave domestic and foreign crises we face without an end to the savagery and a return to civility in politics.

***

The Republican Party, the party of limited government, has lost its way. The government ran a $237 billion surplus in 2000, the year before Bush took office -- and recorded a $455 billion deficit in 2008. The Republicans lost control of the U.S. House and Senate in 2006 because, as we said at the time, they gave the nation rampant spending and Capitol Hill corruption. They abandoned their principles. They paid the price.

We might have counted on John McCain to correct his party's course. We like McCain. We endorsed him in the Republican primary in Illinois. In part because of his persuasion and resolve, the U.S. stands to win an unconditional victory in Iraq....

McCain failed in his most important executive decision. Give him credit for choosing a female running mate--but he passed up any number of supremely qualified Republican women who could have served. Having called Obama not ready to lead, McCain chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. His campaign has tried to stage-manage Palin's exposure to the public. But it's clear she is not prepared to step in at a moment's notice and serve as president. McCain put his campaign before his country.

***

Obama is deeply grounded in the best aspirations of this country, and we need to return to those aspirations. He has had the character and the will to achieve great things despite the obstacles that he faced as an unprivileged black man in the U.S.

He has risen with his honor, grace and civility intact. He has the intelligence to understand the grave economic and national security risks that face us, to listen to good advice and make careful decisions.

When Obama said at the 2004 Democratic Convention that we weren't a nation of red states and blue states, he spoke of union the way Abraham Lincoln did.

It may have seemed audacious for Obama to start his campaign in Springfield, invoking Lincoln. We think, given the opportunity to hold this nation's most powerful office, he will prove it wasn't so audacious after all. We are proud to add Barack Obama's name to Lincoln's in the list of people the Tribune has endorsed for president of the United States."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-chicago-tribune-endorsement,0,1371034.story

Go read the endorsement in full--it's chock full of historical parallels to Lincoln and the recognition that this is a critical, pivotal election on which America's future depends.

#13 Hi Jane, what are you wearing today?
I hope you are the cross.......I mean happy dresser that we all know and love,

God forgive our innocent mirth!

Powell has endorsed Obama:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/20/us/politics/20campaign.html

MSNBC clip of Powell's endorsement -- it is brilliant -- and sensitive and powerful:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27265490#27265490

Another big news:

The Obama campaign has raised a stunning $150 million in September. (Earlier monthly high was $60 million in August.)

Some astonishing statistics from David Plouffe:

*632,000 new donors last month alone.
*3.1 million donors thus far.
*Average contribution for the month is still under $100 (for the year, the average is $86).
*Retirees and students are the two groups which have given the most contributions.

https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/septembernumbers3?source=20081019_DP_D3

As Plouffe explains, this is a lot of money, but the campaign needs more. Funds are necessary to fight the "slime" from the other side (Plouffe's word, not mine), to fight the robocalls, the shameful ads, etc. Plouffe also explains that funds are needed as the campaign is expanding into new battleground, like West Virginia and North Dakota. He also calls us to action, stating:

"The finish line is too close for us to fall short. The country can't afford it."

$150 million is a mind-blowing amount of money, but extraordinary resources will be needed to combat the extraordinarily ugly tactics launched by the McCain campaign. As Joe Biden recently warned:

"You know what these guys are gonna do," Biden warned the 3,800-strong audience in a Henderson park, just outside Las Vegas. "You know, as that old saying goes – I thought they already threw the kitchen sink, but I think more is to come. I think other parts of the bathroom are coming. I don’t know, man, they’re going up and getting the bathroom sink. So look, we have a lot of reason to be encouraged, but it is far, far from over."

Barack Obama himself has echoed the same, seizing the urgency of the moment and saying that we need to "run through the finish line"

yo shandi...damn! nice!

i just the TV an and hear that the brother has been endorsed by a big wig repub....whoa!

btw...where the eff is flabs? wasn't he braggin' about W last year, about how the market was goin'up and how everything was ookay with the world? i wonda what he's got to say now?

i guess he went close to poopy pantz and got turned off by the whiff that his his ole factory..hehe!
whoahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhaaaaaaasa......

The Rays win!

Hope Obama wins big in Tampa!

Red army of passion and quick-fruit is coming back
Back from false-white field

This afternoon my mind was set
Set in simplicity and erectile nature-force

This sweet army of duality
Was levitating-waves on low-ground

Sat on the grass like Buddha statue
No desire has been consummed

Only, the unknown as a proof...

* Not suitable for easy flamable-mind:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4iy95_alex-gaudino-destination-calabria-h_music

@90

kos: McCain on small-dollar democracy

January 21, 2004, on Fox News' "On the Record":

McCain: "We Want Average Citizens To Contribute Small Amounts of Money… I'm For That. I Think It's A Great Thing." During an appearance on FOX's "On The Record," McCain said, "I think it's wonderful that Howard Dean was able to use the Internet, $50, $75, $100 contributions. That's what we want it to be all about. We want average citizens to contribute small amounts of money, and that's a commitment to a campaign. So I'm for that. I think it's a great thing. I think the Internet is going to change American politics for the better."

June 29, 2004, on MSNBC's Hardball:

McCain: It's "Wonderful" That More People Are Involved in The Political Process "With Relatively Small Campaign Contributions." During an appearance on MSNBC's "Hardball," McCain praised the internet's ability to raise money in small contributions. McCain said, "The Internet is generating more and more people involved in the political process with relatively small campaign contributions, $50, $75. That's wonderful. No longer can an office holder call up a CEO or a trial lawyer or a union leader and say, I need $1 million. And, by the way, your legislation is up before my committee again."

McCain was right, but like almost every other conviction he has ever held, he's tossed it aside for political expediency.

Their assault on the small donor is an assault on our democracy itself. They are saying that unless you can give a $200 contribution, then you don't deserve to participate, that you are committing a fraud against our country.

It's insulting, no doubt, but it's tilting at windmills. Joe Trippi and Howard Dean pioneered the small-dollar revolution in 2003, and Obama has perfected it. And it is us -- regular Americans all around the country -- who have made this a reality. This is the future of our politics. Even in a world with public financing, there will be candidates who will inspire and motivate millions to take out their credit cards and offer their two-digit contributions, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Obama has taken no PAC money. His average contribution was $84 dollars in a month in which he raised $150 million. These individual contributors can't buy access because there's too many of them. No one stands out. And Obama isn't beholden to any constituency, since he can afford to lose support and still have plenty more to fall back on. No special interest has bought Obama, rather, the American people have.

But don't take my word for it. Take John McCain's.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/20/11369/606/360/636292

10/20 Daily Kos R2K Tracking Poll: Obama 50, McCain 42

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/20/7322/9725/950/635694

Hi all,
I wrote this to Skinny on Deepak's thread and will share here in the OT

~~~
~~~

hey there, Skinny
(Norm :-)
I have just come back from a Rally where Barack Obama spoke and - he is not just inspiring - and great with words and feelings of change ...

He speaks with pride in the American people, and wants everyone to continue to believe in the dream of possibilities and opportunities for all.

He spoke about the future and the children who will inherit a Nation that they can be proud of and appreciate the diversity of culture ( we are a country of amazing immigrants that have achieved so much).

He would like to see all children in America have the means to education, especially on the college level.

He does want to offer tax breaks to families that make less than $250,000. per year, and have each family (and individuals too) insured with health care that is affordable, and does not deny anyone coverage, due to pre-existing conditions.

He made the crowd laugh, when he spoke of this excitement for the Tampa Bay Rays making it to the world series (and that says alot from a die-hard Cubs fan :)

Just wanted to let you know what I heard today, and hope you are having a great day!

love,
~ Kate

the Rays will win the World (really American) Series! Fillies no...way...

and from the bow of my mighty row boat
i handed my voice
i handed my vote
to a seagull that just happened by
it'd be no problem
then off he did fly
i will quietly listen from the corner of my ear
for the drums of change
that i long to hear
and again i will drift with the tides i create
dancing with light
and caressing it's fate

peace comes from peace

derek

the dino from zona is desperate...

he's got little support from elite repubs...

poopy pantz will not save his sinkin' ship...

that cane dude, older hat granpa, should be thinking retirement on a tropical island...like granpa...

and that hoaky-pokey mom....she sucks!

10/21 Daily Kos R2K Tracking Poll: Obama 50, McCain 42

by DemFromCT
Tue Oct 21, 2008 at 04:22:26 AM PDT

Today's Daily Kos Research 2000 tracking poll has Obama leading McCain 50-42. All trackers are data from three days prior to posting, with the R2K numbers from today (yesterday's numbers in parentheses) and the other trackers from yesterday (previous day's data). LV=likely voter, RV=registered voter.

Obama McCain MoE +/- RV/LV
Today
Research 2000: 50 (50) 42 (42) 3 LV
Reuters/Zogby: 50 (50) 42 (44) 2.8 LV

Yesterday
Rasmussen: 50 (51) 46 (45) 2 LV
Diageo/Hotline: 47 (48) 42 (41) 3.4 LV
Battleground: 49 (49) 45 (45) 3.5 LV
Gallup: 52 (50) 41 (42) 2 RV See also the LV I and LV II numbers
IBD/TIPP: 47 (47) 41 (42) 3.3 LV alternate link
ABC/WaPo: 53 (53) 44 (43) 3 LV New tracking poll (10/11)

CNN: 51 (53) 46 (45) 3.5 LV Note: O 53 (56) M 43 (42) RV
D-Corps: 49 (50) 44 (40) 3 LV

On successive individual days in the R2K poll (different than the topline, which is a combined three day sample), Obama was up +7 Sat, +8 Sun and +9 Mon. Today's polling will not completely reflect Colin Powell's endorsement (or the less important but still politically potent announcement of Obama's 150 million Sep. fundraiser) but reflective data on that is included for today's poll.

Obama and McCain now have equal party support in the R2K poll.

[...]
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/21/72226/298/702/636975

Abbreviated Pundit Round-Up
by BarbinMD
Tue Oct 21, 2008 at 05:21:51 AM PDT

Your one stop pundit shop.

:::::

Bob Herbert dismantles the faux Acorn issue, and says that:

"...when it comes to voting, the real threat to democracy is the nonstop campaign by the G.O.P. and its supporters to disenfranchise American citizens who have every right to cast a ballot. We saw this in 2000. We saw it in 2004. And we’re seeing it again now.

In Montana, the Republican Party challenged the registrations of thousands of legitimate voters based on change-of-address information available from the Post Office. These specious challenges were made — surprise, surprise — in Democratic districts. Answering the challenges would have been a wholly unnecessary hardship for the voters, many of whom were students or members of the armed forces.

In the face of widespread public criticism (even the Republican lieutenant governor weighed in), the party backed off.

That sort of thing is widespread. In one politically crucial state after another — in Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, you name it — the G.O.P. has unleashed foot soldiers whose insidious mission is to make the voting process as difficult as possible — or, better yet, impossible — for citizens who are believed to favor Democrats."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/21/opinion/21herbert.html

:::::

Richard Cohen points out that we're now seeing "the second time that a senator from Arizona has led the GOP into the political wilderness."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/20/AR2008102002292.html

:::::

Eugene Robinson describes the Powell endorsement as using:

"The rhetoric he used to take his party to task followed the principle he made famous in the Persian Gulf War: overwhelming force."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/20/AR2008102002393.html

:::::

Michelle Malkin really is nuts. After reading this hyperbolic defense of Sam the pretend plumber, you'll feel like you need to wipe the spittle off of your monitor.

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/21/ambush-of-joe-the-plumber/

:::::

Catharine McKinnon cuts to the chase when it comes to the importance of the upcoming presidential election:

"Despite inroads, women's status remains characterized by sex-based poverty and impunity for sexual abuse from childhood on. The next president will appoint scores of lower court federal judges who will have the last word in most cases. One, perhaps three, justices may be named to a Supreme Court that in recent years has decided many cases of importance to women by just one vote. Equality can be promoted in employment, education, reproductive rights and in ending violence against women -- or not."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122455083611552585.html

:::::

Derrick Z. Jackson explains why green jobs are our future.

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/10/21/why_green_jobs_are_our_future/

:::::

Cal Thomas meanders through a tale about how government can't solve problems and somehow concludes that:

"The worst thing the public can do is to give one party unchecked power with no restraints.

If Obama wins and Democrats expand their congressional majorities, especially to a filibuster-proof advantage in the Senate, this will be to our collective detriment."

http://townhall.com/columnists/CalThomas/2008/10/21/government_cant_do_it_all_or_even_most_of_it

A search for Thomas' denunciation of one party having unchecked power during Republican rule is currently underway.

:::::

Rich Lowry, perhaps hoping Sarah Palin would wink at him again, dutifully takes down the McCain talking points on the Powell endorsement and regurgitates them on the pages of the National Review Online. Unfortunately, Lowry inadvertently tells the truth at one point, saying:

"Powell argued that John McCain "was a little unsure as to [how to] deal with the economic problems that we were having," in contrast to Obama’s "steadiness" and "intellectual vigor." It’s true that McCain flailed around early in the crisis, but he was desperately trying to find something that worked as his poll numbers tanked."

http://article.nationalreview.com/q=YWE0N2UwMWYzODkyYzFiODEzYzNhZTIxOWExOWFkZmI=

Tsk, tsk, tsk, Rich. Admitting that McCain was playing politics with the economic crisis is a no-no. No wink for you.

:::::

Re. 96 Kate

Check out some moving pics from the Orlando rally with Hillary

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/10/21/72243/033/362/637307

Hillary is enjoying and having fun. They look great together.

the fat man from k-country likes to hit and run...like he did yesterday

he comes across as some smart ass...know-it-all

so dude...if u think u are that smart why are u still supporting an idiot...and why are mostly only real smart repubs coming out to support the best candidate...the brother?

it would be amazing if u and the other two twisted amigos tell us u have seen light at last at the end of the tunnel...instead of being tunneled vision..yikes!

Baby D....you poor little feller....don't get so worked up...I've been busy! Gotta make it, before Obama takes it....

By the way...who in the hell is the third amigo? you've rambled on and on for a couple of years now about the 3 amigos...I know you're talking about Steve, and me...but who is the third? Or...can you not count that high? I'm assuming that's it...that's the kind of brain power that would support Obama..... :)

Now...go drink some warm milk...have somebody test it for you so you don't burn yourself...it'll calm you down....

Baby D....you poor little feller....don't get so worked up...I've been busy! Gotta make it, before Obama takes it....

By the way...who in the hell is the third amigo? you've rambled on and on for a couple of years now about the 3 amigos...I know you're talking about Steve, and me...but who is the third? Or...can you not count that high? I'm assuming that's it...that's the kind of brain power that would support Obama..... :)

Now...go drink some warm milk...have somebody test it for you so you don't burn yourself...it'll calm you down....

he-he . . .

Yo baby D and skinny, iffin ya'all get the chance check out this thread on one of our local news websites!

pax vobiscum

There is a reception, a signal
Weak but real
Balanced in primary colors

What if?
If so
So what???

---------------------------------

" Pourquoi jouer tant de notes alors qu'il suffit de jouer les meilleures ? " (miles davis)

"Je ne me suis jamais demandé si les gens comprennent ce que je fais... La réaction émotionnelle est la seule chose qui m'intéresse. Du moment que cette communication instinctive s'établit, la compréhension n'est plus nécessaire". (john coltrane)

yo flabs ...dude...if u were not as smart as bushnut u wuda found out by now who the third amigo is...am sure there is a couple a real sharp regs here who can figure that out! damn!

she does not know....

it must give the loving nabe on his big ole tractor heartburn to see poopy pantz trying to explain the role of VP...to reporters

damn...if this clown dont know what her potential role is....what does that say for cane's judgment? and what does it say about clown herself?

shame, shame, shame...on the few die-hard neocons...for staying onboard their titanic when salvation steamed by....in frigid waters...brrr....