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Samantha Bee: "Sarah Palin may be the ideological opposite of Hillary Clinton, but she's her gynecological twin."

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Vice in Go-Go Boots?

The legacy of Geraldine Ferraro was supposed to be that no one would ever go on a blind date with history again. But that crazy maverick and gambler McCain does it, and conservatives and evangelicals rally around him in admiration of his refreshingly cynical choice of Sarah, an evangelical Protestant and anti-abortion crusader who became a hero when she decided to have her baby, who has Down syndrome, and when she urged schools to debate creationism as well as that stuffy old evolution thing.

Palinistas, as they are called, love Sarah’s spunky, relentlessly quirky “Northern Exposure” story from being a Miss Alaska runner-up, and winning Miss Congeniality, to being mayor and hockey mom in Wasilla, a rural Alaskan town of 6,715, to being governor for two years to being the first woman ever to run on a national Republican ticket. (Why do men only pick women as running mates when they need a Hail Mary pass? It’s a little insulting.)

Sarah is a zealot, but she’s a fun zealot. She has a beehive and sexy shoes, and the day she’s named she goes shopping with McCain in Ohio for a cheerleader outfit for her daughter.

As she once told Vogue, she’s learned the hard way to deal with press comments about her looks. “I wish they’d stick with the issues instead of discussing my black go-go boots,” she said. “A reporter once asked me about it during the campaign, and I assured him I was trying to be as frumpy as I could by wearing my hair on top of my head and these schoolmarm glasses.”

This chick flick, naturally, features a wild stroke of fate, when the two-year governor of an oversized igloo becomes commander in chief after the president-elect chokes on a pretzel on day one.

Read Maureen Dowd's Full Editorial In Today's New York Times

Dave Stewart:

Earlier this year when I was recording American Prayer, a song I originally co-wrote with Bono, the phrase, "When you get to the top of the mountain, remember me" seemed to take on a whole new resonance, given the inspirational candidacy of Barack Obama.

The song always contained one of my favorite passages from Dr. King, which was hauntingly delivered the night before he was assassinated. King says: "I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land!" People long for a connection— whether it is to music, to their country, or to a big idea.

Regardless of what happens in November, Senator Obama has reminded millions of people that they have the power to connect to bigger ideas. He is, in essence, the embodiment of a new anthem for change. He has continued King's narrative from what was once thought of as a dream to a reality. I find it especially relevant that Barack Obama will accept the Democratic Party Nomination for President 45 years to the day of King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

When we were originally writing the song, Bono was crafting the words in a way that would make people think about the fact that 'America' as a concept was a truly great idea, based on the bedrock of equality. I find it more pertinent than ever to release it now; to the moment America finds itself in, daring to re-imagine itself and its place in the world.

When I set out to make a video for the new version of this song, I wanted to honor all of those millions of people, especially young people, who are, for the first time, feeling empowered to voice their beliefs. I wanted to capture how Obama's message of change has echoed across the broad fabric of what is America. To do that, we've cast the film with an eclectic array of personalities, including Forest Whitaker, Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, Cyndi Lauper, Barry Manilow, Joan Baez, Macy Gray and Joss Stone. They appear alongside veterans, teachers and everyday citizens— all of whom have been touched by this simple idea of change. As an Englishman.

I'm not an expert in all the intricate details of American politics. But as an artist, I understand how rare it is to inspire a connection to a bigger idea or purpose.

This video isn't so much an endorsement of Barack Obama as much as it is a celebration of all those who have picked up a sign, who have registered to vote and are working to make the world a better place.

So as Senator Barack Obama ascends to the mountain top, let us not forget all of the others who for the past 40 years have sung anthems of change to make this moment possible.

jmknapp has a geat photo diary from The Obama Biden event last night in Dublin Ohio, over at Daily Kos.

John McCain has proven that, as president, he will put our nation’s interests first. Before political considerations or personal ambition.

And John McCain knows that keeping Americans safe from “the transcendent issue of our time” includes selecting a vice president who is “ready on Day One” to assume the duties of the Commander in Chief of the United States of America at a moment’s notice.

“In wartime, judgment and experience matter. In a time of war, the commander-in-chief doesn’t get a learning curve. …When I tell you, I will put our country’s interests — your interests — before party; before any special interest; before my own interests, every hour of every day I’m in office, you can believe me.”

~ John McCain

“I’ve been so focused on state government, I haven’t really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments.”

~ Sarah Palin

“I’m not here to judge the idea of withdrawing, or the timeline. I’m not going to judge even the surge.”

~ Sarah Palin

“As for that V.P. talk all the time, I’ll tell you, I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the V.P. does every day?”

~ Sarah Palin

“She’s going to learn national security at the foot of the master for the next four years, and most doctors think that he’ll be around at least that long,”

--- Charlie Black, one of Mr. McCain’s top lobbyist advisers.

Here's the "National Security Master" at "whose feet she'd be learning" at work.

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Total sell-out to  the religious right and Big Oil!

Sarah Palin surely does not gain the Republican ticket one Hillary Clinton supporter's vote . . . and by a wide margin most independents do not agree with her positions.

Well, Sarah Palin is an outstanding pick for conservatives . . .

She's anti-choice (even in the case of rape), anti-science (supports creationism and denies global warming), and has a Watergate-style corruption scandal brewing back home. Brilliant!

I like what GOP strategist Alex Castellanos said yesterday after Barack's acceptance speech:

Whoever didn't get picked for Republican VP today may be a lucky Republican.

YouTube link

Visit The Jedreport!

Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) acceptance speech last night reached a quarter of America’s households, according to Nielsen Media Research.

In all, with over 38 million viewers, “more people watched Obama speak than watched the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, the final “American Idol” or the Academy Awards this year.”

The AP notes that “Obama’s audience might be higher,” since Nielsen didn’t estimate how many people watched on PBS or C-SPAN. 

The truly amazing thing is . . . everybody I spoke with watched on C-SPAN (no idiot commentators) and Web or at a huge meet-up like the one at OSU or at a houseparty. . . .  You can be assured many more watched then Nielson counted

FAITH COMMUNITY WEIGHS IN ON LABOR DAY WEEKEND

Ohioans for Healthy Families announced today that more than 1,000 churches across the state will highlight the paid sick day issue as part of their Sunday services on Labor Day weekend.  The faith community, including the Ohio Council of Churches, has been an integral part of the coalition since its inception.   This project was organized by the Reverend Ron Hooker and Pastor Eric Brown of the Woodland Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Columbus.  Participating churches include 300 United Church of Christ congregations, 250 Presbyterian congregations, 250 Methodist congregations, 200 Lutheran churches and 200 Unitarian congregations.  Activities will range from full sermons on the paid sick day topic at 300-400 churches to announcements about the issue at 700-800 other churches.

Said coalition spokesperson Dale Butland:

"From the very beginning Ohio's faith community recognized both the human need for paid sick days, as well as the family values aspect of the issue.  Treating workers and families fairly and with at least a minimum standard of decency is important to people of faith.  And that is why public opinion polls consistently show that religious and evangelical voters are among the strongest supporters of the Ohio Healthy Families Act.  They know that if Ohio is truly committed to family values, we need policies that truly value families."

A Birthday Cake to go with this morning's Birthday Card!

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Seriously? Sarah Palin for VP? It's one thing for millions of voters to put forward a sitting senator as a possible commander in chief, but for John McCain to hand-pick a first-term governor of a tiny (in electoral terms) state is bizarre.

Here are five reasons why this is a huge mistake:

1. There goes McCain's inexperience argument.

He cannot say Obama is not ready but she is. Obama started organizing his campaign for president the same month she was sworn in to lead the third-smallest (population) state's government.

2. She has no base of support.

Obama won his senate seat with 3,597,456 votes, that's more than five times the population of Alaska. He has won more than 18 million votes in a long, tough primary that tested him and prepared him. How has she been tested? She lost her first bid for statewide office, then won the governor's office with 114,697 votes, not a majority, but enough to take office.

3. The "woman card" will backfire.

She's no Hillary Clinton. And this is such an obvious ploy. It would be different if she were known to anyone or qualified and experienced.

4. Alaska, a corrupt hinterland.

Yes, she is a hard-nosed, tough reformer. But the McCain campaign will have to deal with the fact that Alaska seems like a foreign land as corrupt as Louisiana. It's longtime senator Ted Stevens will stand trial smack dab in the middle of this campaign season, and McCain may have to vote to remove him from office.

5. Was this McCain's choice?

It seems clear that McCain wanted to go with Lieberman but was talked out of it by the right wing of his party. Rove admits calling Lieberman to ask him to pull his name out. Bush lost his way because he never stood up to Rove et. al. McCain is headed down the same path.

(In case it isn't obvious, the image is a parody, although Palin has done a photo-shoot for Vogue.) 

Not only does John McCain have at least 10 properties he can't remember, but he also owns a parking lot in Phoenix Arizona worth between $1.4 and $2.4 million.

That's over $1 million more than the average American home!

It's no wonder McCain has said time and time again that the "fundamentals of the economy are strong."  He's living in the land of affluence, and has no concept of just how terrible our economy has become under President Bush.

According to the U.S. Census, 37.3 million people were living in poverty in 2007.  45.7 million (15.3 percent of the population) don't have health insurance—a staggering number that has risen by 6 million since Bush took office in 2001. 

And yet McCain extols Bush's economy and proposes his own policies that would sink our country further into debt.

Read the rest of this story by Robert Greenwald at The Huffington Post.

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He would be the oldest President ever if he were to be sworn into office.

Happy Birthday John!

From Your Best Buddy,
George W. Bush

Did you catch this in Barack Obama's acceptance speech last night?

Now is the time to help families with paid sick days and better family leave, because nobody in America should have to choose between keeping their jobs and caring for a sick child or ailing parent.

and this

We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job - an economy that honors the dignity of work.

I understand the Governor's political balancing act on Paid Sick Days, but one can assume that Governor Strickland will not be campaigning strongly against the Ohio Healthy Families Act when Obama clearly supports it.

With 70% support from Ohio voters and clear support from the Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama, The Ohio Healthy Families Act is on track to pass this November.

John Legend and will.i.am perform at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colo.

Yes We Can!

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It was a deeply substantive speech, full of policy detail, full of people other than the candidate, centered overwhelmingly on domestic economic anxiety. It was a liberal speech, more unabashedly, unashamedly liberal than any Democratic acceptance speech since the great era of American liberalism. But it made the case for that liberalism - in the context of the decline of the American dream, and the rise of cynicism and the collapse of cultural unity. His ability to portray that liberalism as a patriotic, unifying, ennobling tradition makes him the most lethal and remarkable Democratic figure since John F Kennedy.

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An True American Story

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Yesterday, the Dallas Morning News reported new details of the McCain health care plan.

Mr. Goodman, who helped craft Sen. John McCain’s health care policy, said anyone with access to an emergency room effectively has insurance, albeit the government acts as the payer of last resort. (Hospital emergency rooms by law cannot turn away a patient in need of immediate care.)

“So I have a solution. And it will cost not one thin dime,” Mr. Goodman said. “The next president of the United States should sign an executive order requiring the Census Bureau to cease and desist from describing any American – even illegal aliens – as uninsured…” 

“So, there you have it. Voila! Problem solved.”

 KUCINICH'S 'WAKE-UP' CALL

Dedicating his speech to Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Kucinich started with a heavy attack on the current administration that only became more blunt as the speech continued.

"Tens of billions of dollars in cash and weapons disappeared into thin air at the cost of the lives of our troops and innocent Iraqis while all of the president's oil men are maneuvering to grab Iraq's oil."

Lines like, "money to start a hot war with Iran, now we have another cold war with Russia," left far more of the audience in laughter than serious contemplation, but that did not stop Kucinich from continuing his rampage.

"The pharmaceutical companies took over drug pricing, wake up America! The speculators took over Wall Street, wake up America! They want your social security, wake up America!"

Obama's name was dropped only once during the speech, but the energy behind Kucinich belied a ringing endorsement. All 5-7 of his stature flew up and down on the stage as he yelled, "Up with healthcare for all! Up with education for all! Up with home ownership! Up with guaranteed retirement benefits! Up with peace! Up with prosperity! Up with the democratic party! Up with Obama/Biden! Wake up America! Wake up America!"

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