For Soap Box
This was done last time around with Bush, Cheney, Kerry and Edwards...so here are the 2008 editions:

http://www.thespinzone.com/obama.php
http://www.thespinzone.com/mccain.php
http://www.thespinzone.com/biden.php
http://www.thespinzone.com/palin.php

9/15/2008 5:39:37 PM

John McCain supports being a lazy ass

lololol

9/15/2008 6:13:26 PM

Quote :

"If McCain had picked Lieberman, I think he almost certainly would have won. Now, it's a toss up, with Obama still ahead in the electoral vote. "

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/maps/obama_vs_mccain/

While McCain and Obama have been neck and neck in national polls, McCain has actually made a lot of ground in the State by State poll, and is actually ahead in electoral votes now if account for statistical error. (ie only count states were the margin is greater than 5).

Interesting to look at, this looks like it will be even closer than the 2000/2004 elections.

[Edited on September 15, 2008 at 6:47 PM. Reason : .]

9/15/2008 6:46:07 PM

florida decides our president.

when the space shuttle program closes in 2010 a lot of repubs are gonna lose jobs and leave that state, so the dems might actually win in 2012.

9/15/2008 7:17:35 PM

9/15/2008 9:24:59 PM

^ Obama has already said that reducing the budget deficit is not a priority.

If you actually give a shit about reducing the deficit (i doubt you do, most Democrats don't these days), John McCain is 100% your best bet. There is no way a Democratic congress will vote to extend Bush's tax cuts. And McCain would most likely veto major spending proposals (like *cough* Obama's ill conceived health care plan).

I love Bill Clinton. His biography and vision is one thing that inspired me to study economics (as corny as that sounds, but trying reading Woodward's The Agenda and telling me you wouldn't want to be a part of those discussions back in 1993), but he didn't reduce the deficit on his own. He was aided by the Republican congress (if his health care package was enacted, that cartoon would tell a different story). And a divided government is exactly what we would need to return to that course.

But, like I said, I doubt you actually give a shit. Even though the Obama campain has officially said that reducing the deficit isn't a priority, they attack McCain saying his tax cuts would make the problem worse (I think I saw Axelrod on T.V. saying it just last last week). It's total, partisan, political bullshit.

PS* George H.W. Bush should actually get more credit for reducing the deficit in that cartoon. He raised taxes in 1991 and cut military spending as the cold war came to a close just like Clinton. But he is working "for the other side" so I guess that makes it alright.

[Edited on September 15, 2008 at 9:50 PM. Reason : Fucking Politics. Maybe I should vote Ron Paul.]

9/15/2008 9:43:04 PM

9/15/2008 9:51:30 PM

I love that the McCain camp has now stolen the slogan, "Change We Need" in their current campaign message. After all, its only been a week or so since the Obama camp stopped using it.

9/15/2008 10:01:26 PM

9/15/2008 10:03:43 PM

meh, glad you are concerned about something of value.

9/15/2008 10:04:09 PM

Quote :

"OBAMA TRIED TO STALL GIS' IRAQ WITHDRAWAL WHILE campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence. According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay a key theme of his discussions with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July. "He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington," Zebari said in an interview. "

The 'Chosen One' screwing the troops in order to take credit for any withdrawal?

That sounds like something some two-bit corrupt Chicago political hack would do...not our Obama.

I just won't believe it. Change! Hope! Audacity!



http://www.nypost.com/seven/09152008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/obama_tried_to_stall_gis_iraq_withdrawal_129150.htm

9/15/2008 10:26:08 PM

No, it means, wait for the lame-duck to get out before making any long term decisions that will affect both countries. Your possibilitiy only works if Obama was assured election in November.

9/15/2008 11:05:47 PM

If that story is true, how can you support that? I mean god damn, he is undermining the current administration, and whether you like them or not, that is something you don't do, regardless of party.

Trying to persuade foreign leaders to not reach an agreement to withdraw US troops is overstepping his role, even as a Senator, by a large margin.

9/15/2008 11:13:27 PM

there's nothing wrong with being duplicitous and trying to take credit for something that you had no effect in. That's just being a politician.

9/15/2008 11:29:18 PM

^
No it's pretty wrong. If true, Obama is meddling with the current Administration's foreign affairs duties in order to potentially make himself look good. Do you think he would want a political candidate meeting with foreign leaders in attempts to undercut his policies if he was President?

Partisanship is supposed to stop at the shore.

If this story gets legs, it could really mess his game up.

9/15/2008 11:45:04 PM

^ sarcasm man.

This story, even it can be backed up, will not get legs.

9/15/2008 11:53:19 PM

Quote :

"If you actually give a shit about reducing the deficit (i doubt you do, most Democrats don't these days), "

Good thing we have had a republican; our good ole boy George W. to practice financial conservatism the last 8 years

9/15/2008 11:56:34 PM

^ And it's a good thing we had the Democrats in congress to go along with Bush's desire to take us to war in Iraq, one of the biggest culprits of the recent budget deficit.

Besides Bush never really claimed to be a fiscal conservative. As a matter of fact (you may be too young to remember) his administration was arguing that budget deficits simply don't matter as far as back as at least 2002.

And hey! Guess who else says that balancing the budget won't be a priority??? Barack Obama! Like I said, the parallels are just creepy sometimes.

9/16/2008 12:11:32 AM

Quote :

"Q: So a priority to balance the federal budget, or not? A: We are not going to be able to dig ourselves out of that hole in 1 or 2 years. But if we can get on a path of sustained growth, end the war in Iraq, end some of the special interest loopholes and earmarks that have been clogging up the system, then I think we can return to a path of a balanced budget. "

http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Barack_Obama_Budget_+_Economy.htm

9/16/2008 12:15:14 AM

Commercial should be airing this week... McCain: Unfit to Lead (30 second version of the whole interview). Not sure if its posted here already

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp39wqOjAtE

9/16/2008 2:50:27 AM

GoldenViper, in other words, he did not actually say that budget deficit reduction was a priority. He simply said it could happen one day. Thanks.

9/16/2008 6:54:54 AM

Damn, I'm stunned by this column in the Washington Post today.

Not because it's the WP, but because this guy is a self professed McCain supporter. I hate his columns usually but this is right on the money and he had the courage to write it. Bravo.


Richard Cohen - The Ugly McCain
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/15/AR2008091502406.html
----------------

Quote :

" I am one of the journalists accused over the years of being in the tank for McCain. Guilty. Those doing the accusing usually attributed my feelings to McCain being accessible. This is the journalist-as-puppy school of thought: Give us a treat, and we will leap into a politician's lap. "

Quote :

"Following his loss to George W. Bush in the 2000 South Carolina primary, John McCain did something extraordinary: He confessed to lying about how he felt about the Confederate battle flag, which he actually abhorred. "I broke my promise to always tell the truth," McCain said. Now he has broken that promise so completely that the John McCain of old is unrecognizable. He has become the sort of politician he once despised. "

Quote :

"McCain has turned ugly. His dishonesty would be unacceptable in any politician, but McCain has always set his own bar higher than most. He has contempt for most of his colleagues for that very reason: They lie. He tells the truth. He internalizes the code of the McCains -- his grandfather, his father: both admirals of the shining sea. He serves his country differently, that's all -- but just as honorably. No more, though."

9/16/2008 8:09:54 AM

^ it doesn't take much courage to agree with 99% of all other editorialists. Now, if someone actually became "outraged" by the lies Obama has told in the past, then THAT would be something.

Besides, if anything this is just one more example of how no one gives a fuck about policy. It's all about how their campaign makes you feel. What mallarcky.

9/16/2008 9:00:57 AM

Socks you can't turnstile this argument and defer it off that easily. If you put Obama's lies on par with McCains you are blind. McCain's campaign has been ruthless, more than any other I've heard of or seen in politics. With all his talk about conducting his campaign with honor he did nothing of the sort.

Am I saying Obama is scot free? No, but I don't think he's stooped half as low as McCain to win this thing. I'm serious.

9/16/2008 9:12:47 AM

Socks, I agree with Kainen, you are losing sight of reality if you really think Obama lies more than McCain on the campaign trail. The lesser evil in regards to that is clearly Obama.

9/16/2008 9:24:43 AM

swing states:


Colorado
Florida
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Virginia

McCain
48%
49%
48%
47%
48%

Obama
46%
44%
45%
47%
48%

Not Sure
2%
3%
6%
4%
2%

9/16/2008 9:41:41 AM

a poll I saw yesterday in VA gave Obama a four point lead.

http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=c3b77d5f-0d1a-4f6e-b195-ae05355e8eb8

9/16/2008 10:01:14 AM

McCain right on sex ad

Quote :

"Each class or course in comprehensive sex education in any of grades K through 12 shall include instruction on the prevention of sexually transmitted infections, including the prevention, transmission and spread of HIV. "

Changed from 6 to 12 with new bill.

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NzI3ZDUzOTE0ZThlMTU3MTY0MDI4ZTY0MTZhY2I2MGY=&w=MQ==

9/16/2008 10:07:13 AM

What a crock...Obama had a distinction for that of "age appropriate" that shouldn't be dismissed, it is what makes his points relevant.

I mean fuck, you guys don't think kids should learn about their body and the differences between boys and girls? Keep in mind I think, for instance, showing them how to apply a condom would not be age appropriate but that's not what this is about. But to teach kids about the areas of their body that distinguish them as a gender, and explaining to them that these are private areas, and to tell parents when these areas are violated, I think, is a valid fucking idea.

9/16/2008 10:22:06 AM

I want my 6 year old to know the dangers of blood and bodily fluids.

Just because you haven't taught your children about the dangers of contiminated blood doesn't make them disappear. Teaching children to avoid blood is a safe measure that should be taught. I don't get republicans. All about not keeping children safe from diseases such as HIV and not about keeping children safe from sexual predators.

9/16/2008 10:48:06 AM

Kainen & Stimwalt,

I don't see how McCain's lies are worse. Help me understand.

9/16/2008 11:07:16 AM

Quote :

"GoldenViper, in other words, he did not actually say that budget deficit reduction was a priority. He simply said it could happen one day. Thanks."

I just posted the quote for folks to see. They'll draw their own conclusions. I do think it's a little humorous that you're giving him a hard time for a realistic goal. Isn't Obama the guy critics say promises too much? Well, this time he didn't promise to balance the budget in a couple of years. And yet he stills catches flak.

9/16/2008 11:17:22 AM

Even Mitt Romney is calling McCain out on his lies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY5Plqs5d98

ETA: That was from January. Damn you Matthew Stoller. but the point stills stands.

Quote :

"I don't see how McCain's lies are worse. Help me understand."

you really have jumped the shark haven't you? Telling people that stranger-danger is a comprehensive sex education is an attrocious lie.

[Edited on September 16, 2008 at 11:24 AM. Reason : .]

[Edited on September 16, 2008 at 11:39 AM. Reason : .]

9/16/2008 11:23:14 AM

The Republicans have resorted to propaganda to win this election, they know they can't win it otherwise. The good thing is that it is starting to take hold out there in the media....it can't be ignored any longer.

---------------------------
Related Commentary and Analysis....and this is ONLY September articles.
Read the headlines....half are from columnists that actually have written plenty of pro-McCain pieces. Telling.

- The Ugly New McCain, 9/17/08, Washington Post.
- A Campaign of Lies Disgraces McCain, 9/14,08, St. Petersburg Times
- McCain’s Lying Has Gone Too Far, According to… Karl Rove!, 9/14/08, TPM.
- McCain Wraps Distortions Around One Truth, 9/13/08, Washington Post.
- New Election Low: Distorting the Fact-Checking, 9/12/08, LA Times.
- McCain Barbs Stir Cries of Distortion, 9/12/08, New York Times.
- The Truth and Lies in the Ad Wars, 9/12/08, CBS News.
- Analysis: McCain’s claims skirt facts, test voters, 9/11/08, Associated Press.
- Blizzard of Lies, 9/11/08, New York Times.
- Does the Truth Matter Anymore? 9/10/08, Washington Post.
- As Campaign Heats Up, Untruths Can Become Facts Before They’re Undone,9/10/08, Washington Post.

----------------------------
Here's just an impromptu list of some of it...if this were Obama man he'd be fucking vilified to next week and all of you know it:

The McCain campaign lies about Obama’s plans for tax cuts
The McCain campaign lies in a Spanish-language radio ad claims the measure Obama supported would have raised taxes on "families" making $42,000, which is false.
The McCain campaign lies about Obama’s role in smears against Palin (lipstick on a pig)
The McCain campaign lies about Obama’s record on sex education
The McCain campaign lies and distorts Obama's patriotism
The McCain campaign lies about Obama’s record on immigration
The McCain campaign lies about Sarah Palin role in Troopergate
The McCain campaign lies about Palin's flopping on the Bridge to Nowhere
The McCain campaign and McCain lie about earmarks
The McCain campaign lies about Palin’s international travel

9/16/2008 11:36:14 AM

actually, wont him raising the capital gains tax raise taxes on any income?

9/16/2008 11:42:43 AM

This is a great critique by Iowa's Lt. Governor of Sarah Palin

http://iowapolitics.com/index.iml?Article=135972

Quote :

"IowaPolitics: Judge and other Dems take on Palin's credentials 9/15/2008 By Matt Clark IowaPolitics.com INDIANOLA -- The Harkin Steak Fry is traditionally a fundraiser that acts as a stage to rally Democrats around their candidates in addition to highlighting a star of the party. While this year’s gathering did all of those things, it also gave top Iowa Democrats a forum to throw in their two cents about the Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. Iowa Lt. Gov. Patty Judge that spent the most time talking about Palin. She began by joking that she’s heard people try to draw parallels between the female governor and herself and said she wanted to highlight the distinctions in their public service record. “I’ve been elected twice to the Iowa state Senate, I’ve been elected twice as the first woman in the state to serve as secretary of agriculture, and two years ago I was elected lieutenant governor to serve with my great friend Chet Culver,” Judge said. “So count ‘em up: Sarah, less than two years; Patty, 16 years.” She went on to highlight the differences in their policy stances. “Sarah and I are both girls. We both wear glasses. We both have families that we’re very proud of. But Sarah does not believe in a woman’s right to reproductive choice and I do. Sarah doesn’t believe in a woman’s right to equal pay for equal work and I do. Sarah doesn’t believe in a solid science-based education as the foundation of truth and learning and I do,” Judge said. “Sarah is taking a job that will put her within a heartbeat of the presidency of my country, and that scares me to death.” Judge also poked fun at the details that have become widely noted and reported about the array of outdoor activities Palin enjoys in rural Alaska. “Sarah knows how to field-dress a moose. I know how to castrate a calf. Neither of those things has anything at all to do with this election. But since we know so much about Sarah’s special skills, I wanted to make sure you knew about mine too,” she said. Judge dismissed the idea McCain surrogates have put forward about the possibility former Hillary Clinton supporters may throw their support to Palin. “If John McCain thinks women are than stupid, he is wrong,” she said. “In summary, just because you have a pantsuit, that does not qualify you for the sisterhood.” Iowa’s First Lady Mari Culver likened the day’s cold, overcast, and windy conditions to her feelings about Palin’s spot on the GOP ticket. “I haven’t been this cold since John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his running mate,” she said. Harkin himself spent a few minutes weighing in on the Republican ticket. He said what troubled him most was Palin selling herself as a conservative that has a track record of cutting wasteful government spending. “When I saw her get up and talk about all these earmarks, I said ‘Wait a minute, what’s going on here? Did I wake up in a parallel universe?’ When she was mayor she got more earmarks for her town per capita than any city in the United States of America,” he said. “This February, as the governor, she requested $270 million in earmarks from our committee.” Harkin also took aim at the factual accuracy of claims Palin continues to make about specific instances she rejected pork barrel spending. “She keeps saying she stopped that ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ -- not true,” he said. “In November of 2006 Congress stopped the ‘Bridge to Nowhere.’ Here’s the kicker -- she kept the money.” Harkin concluded by saying Palin has “more earmarks than John McCain has houses.” "

9/16/2008 11:44:36 AM

Quote :

"actually, wont him raising the capital gains tax raise taxes on any income?"

Uh, I've made money before but never paid capital gains.

9/16/2008 11:48:01 AM

^ to so-called fiscal conservatives, capital gains taxes are the bedrock of any economic policy, whether you actually pay them directly or not

9/16/2008 11:54:31 AM

Kainen,

Editorialists are writing nasty op-eds about McCain? In the NYT and TPM of all places!?! You don't say.

PS* McCain did not lie in the sex-ed ad.

[Edited on September 16, 2008 at 12:00 PM. Reason : ``]

9/16/2008 11:54:43 AM

corporate taxes get passed to consumers as a cost of doing business. If that cost becomes too high either prices go up or the company stops doing business.

9/16/2008 11:59:22 AM

OMG OBAMA IS A LIAR... LOOK AT THE LIES IN HIS NEWEST AD!! WHAT A SLEAZY CAMPAIGN!

Quote :

"To prove his newfound determination to go bare knuckle against McCain, Obama unveiled a new TV ad, to air in key states. It begins with the date "1982," a picture of a disco ball and footage of McCain in clunky glasses from his first year in Washington. "Things have changed in the last 26 years, but McCain hasn't," explains the announcer. "He admits he still doesn't know how to use a computer, can't send an e-mail, still doesn't understand the economy and favors $200 billion in new tax cuts for corporations, but almost nothing for the middle class." All the while it shows ancient computers and a cordless phone that looks like a World War II-era walkie-talkie. First, the ad is dishonest. McCain has been one of the Senate's leading authorities on telecom and the Internet. In 2000, Forbes magazine called him the "Senate's savviest technologist." That same year, Slate's Jacob Weisberg gushed that McCain was the most "cybersavvy" of all the presidential candidates that year, a crop that included none other than Al Gore. Being chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Weisberg explained, "forced him to learn about the Internet early on, and young Web entrepreneurs such as Jerry Yang and Jeff Bezos fascinate him." Weisberg, an Obama booster, now disingenuously mocks McCain as "flummoxed by that newfangled doodad, the personal computer." One reason McCain is not versed in the mechanical details of sending e-mail and typing on a keyboard is that the North Vietnamese broke his fingers and shattered both of his arms. As Forbes, Slate and the Boston Globe reported in 2000, McCain's injuries make using a keyboard painfully laborious. He mostly relies on his wife and staff to show him e-mails and websites, though he says he's getting up to speed."

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-goldberg16-2008sep16,0,351891.column

9/16/2008 12:00:22 PM

so did you just not pay the taxes golden?

Well raising capital gains doesnt affect only people at one income, it affects anyone who invests money and makes a profit.

9/16/2008 12:00:22 PM

you are missing a key word there, sold

9/16/2008 12:02:12 PM

Quote :

"I want my 6 year old to know the dangers of blood and bodily fluids. Just because you haven't taught your children about the dangers of contiminated blood doesn't make them disappear. Teaching children to avoid blood is a safe measure that should be taught. I don't get republicans. All about not keeping children safe from diseases such as HIV and not about keeping children safe from sexual predators."

Thats a pretty good spin right there. Go read the article that actuall HAS the bill in it.

9/16/2008 12:02:42 PM

^^ I'm actually surprised that isn't getting more traction. I mean the exact same people that want to make McCain sound like an old-man, flumoxed by technology, are the same people that praised his technology awareness only 2 presidential elections ago???

What mother fucking bullshit. And of course this takes the cake (though Slate even reported this recently).

Quote :

"One reason McCain is not versed in the mechanical details of sending e-mail and typing on a keyboard is that the North Vietnamese broke his fingers and shattered both of his arms. As Forbes, Slate and the Boston Globe reported in 2000, McCain's injuries make using a keyboard painfully laborious. He mostly relies on his wife and staff to show him e-mails and websites, though he says he's getting up to speed."

I'm sure the outrage over Obama's lies about McCain will also receive equal media attn.

9/16/2008 12:05:43 PM

Quote :

"so did you just not pay the taxes golden?"

I didn't pay capital gains because it doesn't apply to income from jobs. That's the most common source of income for normal folks.

9/16/2008 12:07:59 PM

Holy Christ, McCain's health insurance plan is more evil than I thought.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/16/opinion/16herbert.html?ref=opinion

Quote :

"For starters, the McCain health plan would treat employer-paid health benefits as income that employees would have to pay taxes on."

Quote :

"When younger, healthier workers start seeing additional taxes taken out of their paychecks, some (perhaps many) will opt out of the employer-based plans — either to buy cheaper insurance on their own or to go without coverage. That will leave employers with a pool of older, less healthy workers to cover. That coverage will necessarily be more expensive, which will encourage more and more employers to give up on the idea of providing coverage at all."

Quote :

"The upshot is that many more Americans — millions more — will find themselves on their own in the bewildering and often treacherous health insurance marketplace. As Senator McCain has said: “I believe the key to real reform is to restore control over our health care system to the patients themselves.”"

Hey





Hey John















fuck you

9/16/2008 12:09:02 PM

no you paid INCOME taxes on it. (which is higher than capital gains..for now)

Now if you actually invested any of that money, but judging by your party you didnt, and that investment made money, you would have had to pay capital gains on it.

My point was that if ANYONE at ANY income level invests well and makes money, raising the capital gains tax will hurt them. geez

Quote :

"you are missing a key word there, sold "

Hey action, you get a tax credit for your health ins.

[Edited on September 16, 2008 at 12:13 PM. Reason : .]

9/16/2008 12:12:15 PM

Quote :

"Thats a pretty good spin right there. Go read the article that actuall HAS the bill in it."

so, in your mind, age appropriate means how to use a condom, for 6 year olds? you are fucked up in the head.

next time, don't get your information from the NationalReviewOnline, its an organization that has been in the tank for McCain for quite awhile and is not an truely independent source.

[Edited on September 16, 2008 at 12:19 PM. Reason : .]

9/16/2008 12:12:48 PM

Quote :

"no you paid INCOME taxes on it. (which is higher than capital gains..for now) Now if you actually invested any of that money, but judging by your party you didnt, and that investment made money, you would have had to pay capital gains on it. My point was that if ANYONE at ANY income level invests well and makes money, raising the capital gains tax will hurt them. geez"

capital gains taxes are taken out when the item is sold. The current capital gains rate is 15%, I know because I had to pay it this year. that capital gains tax is only taken out on the money you made. For instance, you buy 100 shares at 100 dollars and that doubles in value to 200 and you sell that 100 shares, you are paying 15% on the money you made. So you original investment is $100,000 and you sell it for $200,000 you only pay $15,000 in takes, not 33% as it would be if that were truely taxed as income tax.

Next time, don't make assumptions based upon someone's party. dumbass.

Quote :

"Hey action, you get a tax credit for your health ins. "

Yay, we get a credit we can take off our income taxes. Tell you what, I'd rather get that $5,000 credit from my employer and go and shop around and buy my own health insurance than pay taxes on it. Then get to use that credit and have my income taxed more because I have health benefits at work.

[Edited on September 16, 2008 at 12:17 PM. Reason : .]

9/16/2008 12:15:57 PM