Here's a rally co-sponsored by ACORN on February 20, 2006, at which John McCain was a featured speaker. Food for thought.

In 2008, the right choice for America is John McCain.

That's something I decided early this year, over the objection of some of my conservative colleagues. There are a number of reasons, but the quickest summation would be "leadership." When I saw both Fred Thompson and John McCain in South Carolina, I knew who had to be the Republican nominee. This is a McCain year, for many reasons.

For many people, the election is about to be "about" the economy. We all know, though, were it not for the current major crisis, that would not have been the case. It would be about foreign policy. In point of fact, if it must be "about" something, then it ought to be foreign policy. On foreign policy and the war. McCain is just plain right.

The Middle East, and our role there, is at a crossroads. A stable Middle East region needs US presence. The Middle East desires that presence, bluster aside. Iraq's neighbors don't want the country to destabilize or devolve to chaos, particularly with Iran waiting at the sidelines. While the nation is ready for a troop draw-down timeline -- call it withdrawal if you like -- Senator McCain will not completely withdraw, as he has been clear about for some time. The US must establish bases in Iraq, and under John McCain we will. What's more, this is not our only significant foreign policy challenge. We must deal with Russia, and relatedly with the Caucuses region. We must increase our level of cooperation with Turkey. We must strengthen NATO. We must deal with North Korea.

One of the biggest visual clichés in American politics is when a candidate who is trailing in the polls steps to the podium and shows off a mock-up of a newspaper displaying the headline: Dewey Defeats Truman!

This tried and true bit of stagecraft is meant to remind audiences that the press is prone to mistakes, and that, even though the skies look gloomy, the sun may yet break through on election day, and shine its redemptive rays on the candidate everybody had counted out.

Well, yesterday we heard John McCain offer a new twist on the down-but-not-out trope, and it is sure to become the new standard for all those also-rans of the future. Despite big deficits in the polls, campaign dollars, and supporter enthusiasm, McCain gave us the following instant classic:

"My friends, we've got them right where we want them."

The moment this preposterous statement left his lips, it seemed only to re-confirm McCain's grim prospects for victory. So, this was the strategy all along? Rather than keep a steady hand throughout the race, you toss up a series of Hail Marys that shake public confidence in your leadership abilities, then you go negative and piss off even more independent voters, watch your numbers tank, promise a new and improved stump speech, and this is where it leads? The ultimate rope-a-dope?

A pastor delivering the invocation at a McCain rally Saturday gives us this hilarious clip. If it makes him feel any better, it's not the size of the God, it's the motion of the devotion.



As for praying to the God "Hindu," I think this guy should get a refund of his tuition to the Wasilla Institute of Science and/or Theology.

Tommy Christopher co-hosts "Unusable Signal" , on BlogTalkRadio Tues & Thur at 9pm, and Wed, Fri, & Sat at 11pm. Click here for the Unusable Signal homepage.

I don't mean that in the larger, more general sense. This is too funny, I don't want to ruin it.



I love the annoyed staffer who explains it to her.

This clip showcases well the fauxness of most of the right's indignation, their willingness to exploit the sacred to score petty points.

Tommy Christopher co-hosts "Unusable Signal" , on BlogTalkRadio Tues & Thur at 9pm, and Wed, Fri, & Sat at 11pm. Click here for the Unusable Signal homepage.

Senator Hillary Clinton has been out campaigning with her husband and the Bidens in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Here's a taste:



As the polls stand, Pennsylvania is looking pretty good for Obama. Remember, this is one of three states where McCain has placed his electoral hopes.

Remember Mark Foley, the pervert congressman who was way too interested in congressional pages? And who the Democrats attempted to hang around the neck of the entire Republican congress in 2006? Yeah him. Well, the guy who the Democrats replaced him with was two-timing his wife and paying the mistress hush money. At the same time he was running ads like this:

Faith, Family, Values... Heh!

ABC News:

Mahoney, who is married, also promised the woman, Patricia Allen, a $50,000 a year job for two years at the agency that handles his campaign advertising, the staffers said. A Mahoney spokesperson would not answer questions about the alleged affair or the settlement, but said Allen resigned of her own accord and "has not received any special payment from campaign funds." Senior Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives, including Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), the chair of the Democratic Caucus, have been working with Mahoney to keep the matter from hurting his re-election campaign, the Mahoney staffers said.

I'm really glad we got rid of that "culture of Republican corruption" and replaced it with a "culture of Democratic corruption". Oh and the fact that Rahm Emmanuel knew about this beforehand and tried to cover it up... According to the "Foley" standard, that means he should step down for fostering the culture. But I'm guessing the Democrats quit caring about such things oh about November 2006.

Too hilarious not to share.

So all Sarah Palin has to do to get widespread support from the AA community is run on Obama's ticket. Brilliant! African-American supporters are also apparently pro-life, anti-stem cell, and pro-stay in Iraq til victory.

Hey, whatever the Messiah wants!

Sen. Barack Obama claims that as president he would cut taxes for 95% of all Americans. He has fought back against charges from Republican Sen. John McCain that he would increase taxes on working Americans by promising that no one making under $250,000 per year would see one penny in increased taxes under the Obama tax plan. But what Sen. Obama doesn't mention, and which Sen. McCain thus far hasn't mentioned, is that Obama's plan to cut taxes for 95% of Americans is based on a false premise, that all Americans pay federal income taxes. Not all Americans do.

In fact nearly 40% of all American households have no federal income tax liability. Obama proposes to "cut" their taxes by sending them "refundable tax credits" good for between $500 and $1000. At the same time, Sen. Obama promises to eliminate the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 for those making over $250,000 a year. In effect, then, Obama's tax plan is a classic redistribution of wealth, from those making more than the government sanctioned level of acceptable income, to those making less.

The Obama campaign claims that its "refunds" would offset the federal payroll taxes that all workers pay, even if they have no federal income tax liability. That is how the campaign can continue to claim that 95% of Americans will receive a tax cut. But by subjecting those better able to pay to a greater and greater share of the overall tax burden, Obama ultimately risks the relief he says that the middle class so desperately needs. The top 5% of income earners in the U.S. already pay 60% of the total tax bill, while the bottom 50% pay less than 3%, according to the National Tax Union's most recent figures. In other words, the tax burden is already distributed pretty unevenly amongst filers. Obama proposes to make it even more top heavy.

Two shocking developments in the polls today. First, in what might simply be an outlier, a new poll shows trouble brewing for McCain in North Dakota of all places.

Public Affairs Institute:

Obama 45%
McCain 43%

with 12% undecided. McCain lost this traditionally red state to Romney in the primary, while Obama won big.


Second, and more worrisome for McCain, are the new numbers out of another formerly safe GOP state, Missouri:

Survey USA:

Obama 51%
McCain 43%

with 3% undecided.

These are trends, and trends have a way of changing, but there's no doubt that McCain does not have Obama exactly where he wants him.