Hotline On Call:

"Today, they're saying for the first time that Barack Obama didn't know back then about Ayers's radical background," Palin told a rowdy crowd of 8,800 people at the Germain Arena. "But it was only a few months ago that Barack was saying that Ayers was just a 'guy in my neighborhood.'"

Palin said she found it unbelievable that Obama "didn't know a few months ago that he had launched his political career in the living room of a domestic terrorist."

"So what's next?" she said. "Claiming their ticket doesn't define higher taxes as patriotic? Or claiming he's just learned that tax increases on small business kill jobs? Claiming he's just learned that American soldiers don't actually target and kill civilians in Afghanistan? Or claiming he's surprised that the surge and the war on terrorism is a success? Oh wait, he's already done that."

Har! They give her the best lines. Ayers is obviously fair game, not only is he connected with Obama about three different ways (fundraising, Woods Hole, and Annenberg) but the fact that a domestic terrorist can get a nice plum job at a university is deeply, deeply annoying to most mainstream Americans. It doesn't hurt to point out that leftist terrorists get laundered while righty terrorists get the manhunt treatment (as they should).

But not only that, but the McCain campaign has now opened a second front around Fannie Mae. In his strongest speech to date: (via hot air)

To hear him talk now, you'd think he'd always opposed the dangerous practices at these institutions. But there is absolutely nothing in his record to suggest he did. He was surely familiar with the people who were creating this problem. The executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have advised him, and he has taken their money for his campaign. He has received more money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac than any other senator in history, with the exception of the chairman of the committee overseeing them.

Did he ever talk to the executives at Fannie and Freddie about these reckless loans? Did he ever discuss with them the stronger oversight I proposed? If Senator Obama is such a champion of financial regulation, why didn't he support these regulations that could have prevented this crisis in the first place? He won't tell you, but you deserve an answer.

Oy, this would've been great a couple of weeks ago. When McCain was busy inviting Obama to fix the problem he ostensibly started but better late than never. But in this case I'm afraid late is as good as never.

If this is a preview of tomorrow's debate hold onto your hats. This is about the time in the election when George HW Bush started really pounding Dukakis on the Willie Horton crime issue.

Springfield News-Leader:

Gov. Matt Blunt and Republicans are accusing Barack Obama's campaign of assembling a "truth squad" with law enforcement officials to intimidate Obama critics from speaking out against the Democratic presidential candidate.

Yet a top Republican National Committee official admits the Democratic prosecutors from across Missouri "haven't specifically said" they would use their prosecutorial powers on Obama's behalf.

From the Blunt statement:

"St. Louis County Circuit Attorney Bob McCulloch, St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer, and Obama and the leader of his Missouri campaign Senator Claire McCaskill have attached the stench of police state tactics to the Obama-Biden campaign.

"What Senator Obama and his helpers are doing is scandalous beyond words, the party that claims to be the party of Thomas Jefferson is abusing the justice system and offices of public trust to silence political criticism with threats of prosecution and criminal punishment.

"This abuse of the law for intimidation insults the most sacred principles and ideals of Jefferson. I can think of nothing more offensive to Jefferson's thinking than using the power of the state to deprive Americans of their civil rights. The only conceivable purpose of Messrs. McCulloch, Obama and the others is to frighten people away from expressing themselves, to chill free and open debate, to suppress support and donations to conservative organizations targeted by this anti-civil rights, to strangle criticism of Mr. Obama, to suppress ads about his support of higher taxes, and to choke out criticism on television, radio, the Internet, blogs, e-mail and daily conversation about the election.

"Barack Obama needs to grow up. Leftist blogs and others in the press constantly say false things about me and my family. Usually, we ignore false and scurrilous accusations because the purveyors have no credibility. When necessary, we refute them. Enlisting Missouri law enforcement to intimidate people and kill free debate is reminiscent of the Sedition Acts - not a free society."

From the Obama National Campaign Manager (first link):

The Missouri Truth Squad will "respond quickly, forcefully, and aggressively when John McCain or his allies launch inaccurate claims or character attacks about Barack Obama, or when they distort Barack Obama's record or plans."

In a conference call Saturday with reporters from battleground states, Obama national campaign manager David Plouffe said those who spread lies and mistruths about the Illinois senator have to be "held accountable," but did not elaborate how.

This ought to be easy to settle. All we need to see is a statement from the Missouri prosecutors saying that they will absolutely not use their official status to go after those critical of Obama. Given their official positions and the statement of Mr. Plouffe on the matter, silence to the contrary is not enough.

Will or will not the Obama campaign be pursuing civil or criminal actions using state government officials? Again, seems easy enough to settle. A non-answer would be answer enough for me.

Interesting, from the McCain blog:

Obama will correct his underperformance with Hillary Clinton's primary voters and emerge with a much more cohesive base. This convention gives Obama a platform to unite his base. There continues to be a divide in the Democratic base: Between 10-15% of Democrats are voting for McCain or sitting on the fence. In target states, that number is even higher, between 15-20% in many surveys. The Obama campaign knows that winning or losing in states like Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania depends on Obama's ability to bring these voters home. If his convention successfully showcases Hillary Clinton and heals the wounds from the primary, he will move large groups of voters in those key places.


Obama's stadium address on Thursday -- the 45th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech -- will result in effusive and overwhelming press coverage. On Thursday, Obama will give a great speech, as has been his trademark. The press will sing his praises and remark on his historic address and Obama's place in history. For example, The Associated Press today published an article comparing the historic nature of the addresses – a week before Obama's speech. This coverage will be impenetrable and will undoubtedly impact the polls.


We believe Obama will see a significant bump, and believe it is reasonable to expect nearly a 15-point bounce out of a convention in this political environment.

Wait, what? The McCain blog is predicting big success for Obama? Of course, because what they want to do is set expectations and have a result similar to 2004 when Kerry did not get the bump out of his convention that many expected.

Obama's PR will come out later this weekend and say that 16 points is crazy, Obama will do what he needs to do but will be lucky to get 5 points in this "close and competitive" environment. Mark it, the wordage will be close to that. And then when the bump is 10 points Obama will say "Wow we exceeded expectations" and the McCain team will say, "Wow we held him to a ten point bump!".

Cynical, Moi? Why do you ask?

(Warning: this article is 99% tongue-in-cheek)


Now after Obama and the Democrats have accused John McCain of being in the pocket of Big Oil, it turns out that Obama has his own special interest ties that he'd rather not be known. From Wired:

On June 16, 2008, John Zimmerman, chief financial officer of Tomkins, gave nearly $7,000 in campaign contributions to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Lo and behold, nary two months later Obama's in Springfield, Missouri, suggesting drivers inflate their tires to save gas (and, by the way, curb CO2 emissions). Coincidence? We think not. Does it come as any surprise that Tomkins owns the Syracuse Gauge Company, which bills itself as manufacturing the "largest selection and variety of tools in the United States for filling tires [and] checking tire pressure"?

Of course the mainstream media ignored this development, leaving it to the blogosphere to bring the big money and big pressure of the PSI lobby to light.

Clearly, Mr. Zimmerman's contributions influenced the Obama campaign to encourage Americans to purchase tire gauges, though most of the lowly devices have already been snapped up by the McCain campaign. Perhaps the most-shocking part of Inflategate is the politicization of a suggestion so simple as following the instructions found in your car's owners manual. It's also something of a tempest in a teapot, seeing how all new cars must have tire-pressure monitors.

At least with John McCain and the oil industry, the contributions came after the policy announcement. This kind of brazen quid pro quo should not come without a deflation at the electoral booth. Ha! The jokes write themselves.

Seriously, kudo's to Mr. Zimmerman to get some good cheap PR out of this election.

Well, it's one way of looking at it:

Right, because when President Bush, John McCain, and Georgia itself asked for a ceasefire, Russia didn't pay no nevermind. But when Obama says ceasefire, Russia stops right in it's tracks! Oh brother.

Heard this on Rush today and I have to agree with his sentiment. Tim Kaine really, really wants to be the VP nominee. Governor Kaine probably thinks he's helping and doesn't know he's feeding the Obama/arrogance meme.

In a prelude to the highly anticipated presidential debates, McCain and Obama recently answered a number of personal inquiries on pop culture. And the answers may just reveal more about the candidates' characters than any polished, televised, issue-oriented network debate.

Comic Book Character

McCain: Batman.

Obama: Spider-Man and Batman.

Winner: McCain. Hands down, McCain wins this contest on principle. Obama identified with Spidy and Bruce Wayne for the typical, whiny, lame generation X reason that "they have some inner turmoil." McCain, displaying the grit and indomitable spirit of a red-blooded American, chose the Dark Knight as a quiet hero who pursues justice "against insurmountable odds." That's an American president speaking!

Music

McCain: ABBA, Roy Orbison, Linda Ronstadt and Usher.

Obama: Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Sheryl Crow and John Coltrane.

Winner: Obama. ABBA pretty much begs for defeat ... but linking ABBA and Usher, that's just wrong. While i might have kept Dylan in a closet if I were Obama, the rest of his list is choice material. What can I say? The man's got soul.

Television

McCain: Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Dexter.

Obama: M*A*S*H and The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Winner: Obama. M*A*S*H: The Greatest Television Show Ever. Nothing more need be said.

Last Movie Seen in a Theater

McCain: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Obama: Shrek the Third.

Winner: McCain. While both are iconic heroes of a memorable and charming sort, the ogre's got nothing on the fedora-wearing, bull-whip wielding, Sean Connery spawned Indy. And, McCain's rational was perfect: "I enjoyed that [movie] so much. The old guy wins!"

Actor In the Role of President

McCain: Dennis Haysbert from 24.

Obama: Jeff Bridges from The Contender.

Winner: Neither. Both picks are shameful and undignified. No one compares to Harrison Ford in Air Force One. "Never again will I allow our political self-interest to deter us from doing what we know to be morally right. Atrocity and terror are not political weapons. And to those who would use them, your day is over. We will never negotiate. We will no longer tolerate and we will no longer be afraid. It's your turn to be afraid."

First Movie Memory

McCain: "Bambi."

Obama: "Born Free."

Winner: McCain. "When his mother was killed," McCain admitted without shame, "Oh, yeah, I cried." It takes a man to say that in public. You gotta give McCain credit. We all cried. McCain wasn't afraid to admit it.

Final Tally: In a 3-2 victory, McCain takes the Political Machine Presidential Pop Culture Award! Hail to the Chief, Baby!

The New York Times is suggesting that Barack Obama has a "Catholic Problem," pointing out that Clinton far exceeded Obama in Catholic returns during the primary season and noting that the problem extends to the Democratic party as a whole. Whereas the Catholic vote was once a bedrock Democratic block, a number of factors have chiseled away at that support.

Chief amongst the factors which have cost Democrats the full support of the Catholic vote is abortion. Catholics have not forgotten the slight of denying Bob Casey, Sr. a speaking role in the '92 Democratic convention due to his pro-life position. Abortion is, literally, a life or death issue for many Catholics - and those Catholics are hard pressed to continence the murderous platform of a condescending "culture of death" party.

While the Times points to a number of anomalous pro-life supporters of Obama, and stresses the alibi of voting on a full spectrum of Catholic issues, Obama's egregiousness on the issue of abortion merits particular attention. As I noted previously, Obama voted against the "Born Alive Infant Protection Act," a law requiring physicians to provide medical care to infants born alive during an attempted abortion.

The Times advises Democrats to allow Bob Casey, Jr. to speak at the convention this year, hoping the gesture will act as an olive branch to scorned Catholics who have been jumping ship over the past elections (recall that Kerry, a Catholic, lost the Catholic vote to Bush in 2004). Yet I'm stunned by the arrogant assumption that Catholics will be assuaged by the Democrats merely by the latter allowing one of them to speak in public. If a shop owner offers to take down the "Irish need not apply" sign hanging in his window - though makes no allusions that the policy will not stay firmly in place - he can hardly feign wonder when his Irish custom fails to increase. Democrats scorn Catholic ideas and beliefs - it is a very short distance to offending Catholics themselves. Obama is facing an uphill battle.

Are you getting a little too much Obama and wanting to hear more about this McCain dude they keep mentioning every once in a while? You are not alone!

As he has since January, this week, Barack Obama enjoyed much more visibility as far as the public was concerned than did John McCain. By a margin of 76% to 11% respondents in Pew's weekly News Interest Index survey named Obama over McCain as the candidate they have heard the most about in recent days. But the same poll also shows that the Democratic candidate's media dominance may not be working in his favor. Close to half (48%) of Pew's interviewees went on to say that they have been hearing too much about Obama lately. And by a slight, but statistically significant margin - 22% to 16% - people say that recently they have a less rather than more favorable view of the putative Democratic nominee.

In contrast, if anything, Pew's respondents said they want to hear more, not less about the Republican candidate. Just 26% in the poll said they had heard too much about McCain, while a larger number (38%) reported that they had heard too little about the putative Republican candidate. However, as for Obama, a slight plurality reports that recently they have come to have a less favorable view of McCain rather than a more favorable view of him - (23% to 18%).

There's no question there has been, shall we say, some overexposure. The question, even with this poll, is whether it hurts Obama. I'm not sure. The poll here pointedly does not draw a direct correlation between exposure and voting patterns, and people will lie to pollsters. They will also parrot the conventional wisdom of the day.


But the overexposure could be a problem for Obama in that, if he does have a funding advantage... what will he do with his money? If people are tired of Obama now, a media surge may not be the best choice. However, reports do indicate that Obama is channeling his money into local organizing. Oh and comfy chairs with custom stitching.

There's more than one or two similarities, as this YouTube points out:

The celebrity aspect and the dissing of eloquence is pretty much spot on, as the knock on Reagan pretty much throughout his term was that he was all flash and no substance. Those relying on this line of attack might be wise to remember that.

And while I think it's fun to point out the similarities, they're fudging on the experience aspect. By the time he had his successful run for the presidency in 1980, it had been sixteen years since he had entered the national scene due to a fantastic speech at the GOP national convention in 1964. From there he went to two terms as governor of the largest state in the union and an unsuccessful run for the presidency in 1976. And throughout this time he was quite free in his opinions about current events both foreign domestic. Staunch anti-communism was one of his signature pillars after all.

With his brilliant communication skills alone, it was certain that Obama would be a contender on the national stage, the question is whether the Democrats have pushed him out there too early. If he loses this run, Hillary will get her chance in 2012 and the Democrats will lose the Obama cult perhaps forever.

Article #1

Quinnipiac University reported last week that 60 percent of Florida voters favor drilling offshore in currently protected areas, with 36 percent opposed.

Quinnipiac surveyed 1,248 likely Florida voters from July 23 to 29. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
...

Asked to consider their own financial situations, gas prices were the top economic worry for 37 percent of Florida voters, more than double the percentages for any of the other issues, including real estate values, health care costs and food prices.

Last paragraph helps to explain why 9 out of 10 of my last articles have involved energy and offshore drilling. For better or worse, this is what the 2008 election is about, although not everyone understands that yet.

Article #2:

Obama first indicated Friday in an interview with the Palm Beach Post that he would be willing to compromise on his opposition to off-shore drilling, and would consider expanding the current drilling boundaries -- if it was part of a plan to make the country more energy independent by developing more fuel-efficient cars and alternative energy sources.

Please note the location.

Article #3

"I know [it's] still being reported that we were talking about delaying some aspects of the Constellation program to pay for our early education program," said Obama. "I told my staff we're going to find an entirely different offset, because we've got to make sure that the money that's going into NASA for basic research and development continues to go there. That has been a top priority for us."

...

But the Obama campaign claims that the Illinois Senator simply changed his mind about cutting NASA funds, and now supports the Constellation program – finding another way to pay for his education plans.

"Barack Obama understands how critical NASA is to America's scientific and economic edge," said spokesman Jen Paski. "That is why we have an alternative offset to pay for his early edcuation plan by reforming and reducing earmark spending, reforming federal contracting procedures."

Obama's previous NASA cuts were covered by American Thinker, among others. I think what Barack Obama now understands is how critical Florida is to him getting anywhere near the White House. This is what links these articles. He can afford to lose Michigan, perhaps even Michigan and Ohio, but not Michigan, Ohio, and Florida. These moves were necessary to keep him in the game in Florida, and a further confirmation that the ground moves fast underneath the feet of politicians this year. Fast dancing skills will be a reliable political asset, Obama has them.