Editor Posts

Harry Reid to Joe Lieberman: You're No Dem

Beau Friedlander — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 11:50:17 -0400

CNS News reported Thursday that Harry Reid may not allow Boltin Joe Lieberman to participate in the Democratic caucus after the November elections. Recent statements by key Democrats indicate increasing optimism regarding the expected pick-up of additional seats that will make the Connecticut senator obsolete.

"Lieberman went too far when he distorted Sen. Obama's record," said
Reid spokesman Jim Manley. "From Reid's perspective, (Lieberman) has
every right to give a partisan speech to whomever he wants. But he
doesn't have the right to distort Sen. Obama's record like that. Sen.
Reid was very disappointed in Lieberman's speech."

Manley refused to detail the precise measure that Reid is considering. As of yesterday, the consensus among the "angry left" is that Lieberman will have to hit the road.

There's speculation that if Democrats bolster their Senate majority
this fall, as many predict, they could seek retribution by ousting
Lieberman from his Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
chairmanship, a coveted post.

Firedoglake's Campaign Silo provides video of Obama senior advisor Anita Dunn ripping into Lieberman yesterday on CNN. It seems possible that the Democrats may finally call Lieberman on the grounds of trademark infringement. He's on the surrogate circuit touting himself as a Democrat.

If Joe Lieberman is a Democrat, I'm a virgin sea monkey.

Sarah Palin's EBay Account Is Sad

Beau Friedlander — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:55:44 -0400

Governor Sarah Palin got a volley of hoots and hollers when she boasted about selling her jet on EBay. Only one problem: She didn't. It was posted on EBay in 2006, but it languished on the site (you have to know what you're doing to move product on EBay--kinda like running a country, but smaller). Palin was going for a fiscal responsibility note, but the gesture has widened the perception of Palin as a liability for the McCain campaign.

Eight months after the item was listed on EBay, an aircraft broker sold the Westwind II for 2.1 million to business man named Larry Reynolds (down from 2.7 million). Reynolds lived in nearby Valdez.

Palin's over-claim underscores what critics have been saying since her speech Wednesday night (and before that as well), that the governor from Alaska was not thoroughly vetted by the McCain camp.

We'll be taking a look at the bridge to nowhere (more specifically the road to the bridge to nowhere) over the weekend.

Stay tuned.

Those who couldn't make it to the RNC floor

Tim Einenkel — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:20:28 -0400

Exciting reaction from the McCain supporters whom did not have the credentials to watch McCain speak. This is some really exciting stuff to watch, I know(smile)

I'm calling it...

Lucy Carrigan — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:03:39 -0400

the last day of suffering ... and I'm not just talking about my feet.
A guy passes by our position on radio row, lugging a trolley stacked with boxes filled with copies of a book with the very original title, "The Audacity of Deceit: Barack Obama's War on American Values," written by another guy called Brad O'Leary. It is going great guns. Several well-heeled individuals pass by our table with the book tucked comfortably under their arms. A young 'un comes running up to me, frantic, looking for the person who was giving out these books because he missed him, and wants to get a copy.

"Did you see him, did you see him," he asks me.

I tell him he went that away pointing to the main entrance of the Xcel Center, and that he might as well take one of the four copies that is stacked up over on the Fox Radio booth right smack dap across from Air America.

"Do you think they'll mind," he asks nervously. "No, not at all," I said. "They won't mind at all."

Disseminating false information is nothing new to them.

Potshots: McCain's Acceptance Speech

Beau Friedlander — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 23:15:14 -0400

Okay let's start with the whole "Country First" business and the "USA" chant. Why? It's the logic of the GOP, they might as well be chanting, "Ham and Cheese."

A gift from heaven: "I fell in love with my country when I
was a prisoner in someone else's." You were in your twenties, right? Isn't this the same thing Michelle Obama said about her love of country? Presumably if you fell in love at the Hanoi Hilton, you were hitherto not in love with America.....before that?

Patriot: He wants to reach out to us? "I know these are tough times..." That's how McCain began, and up goes the "USA" chant again. Why? Come now. It doesn't matter if things are tough. The "USA" chant is "the ground noise and the static." (His words.) Big cheer. Huzzah. The woes of our economy. "USA!" Fine. What does he intend to do about it? "Stand by our side." Great. I'd rather have him pay my bills.

And then comes the nonsequitur: Sarah Palin and her wondrous executive experience! Yay!!!

Here's another nonsequitur: John McCain is a kept man. Never made a dime. (Okay, he made a dime, and inherited some money but...)

"I will make them famous and you will know their names.... I fought lobbyists who stole from Indian reservations" Okay, great. I'll believe it when I get the frisbee you promised me the last time you ran for president, you old fuddy duddy. As for fighting lobbyists, you must do nothing but fight. Your campaign is run by them.

War talk. Let's talk about that. We have lost the war. Next! Or perhaps you are talking about another war? You are a fighter. Yes. Or perhaps (I know I repeat myself) you are looney?

The CEO Presidency: I'd Rather Have a Dream

Beau Friedlander — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:52:31 -0400

There was a lot of talk about Sarah Palin's resume yesterday. It's more impressive than mine, but big whoop. It's not more impressive than Barack Obama's. Again, so what? She is not running against Obama. McCain is. And his resume is as thin as his hair. He never earned any money worth talking about, his books didn't sell as well as Barack's, and every law that he authored--more or less--he's since decided against. John Bickernut McSame blows with the prevailing winds, and he likes to be where the money is. The lobbyists running his campaign scream one fact: He is very much for sale.

But this post isn't about McCain's brand of Beltway simony or Obama per se. It's about the false notion that Sarah Palin has something on Obama.

Let's start with her speech last night. Fine delivery. What did I get from it? This: Former Bush speechwriter, Matthew Scully, possesses some of the qualities of a fine McCain mini-me. Bully for him. It says nothing about Palin. She is merely an avatar of GOP perfection, a pure reflection of the market they need to grab--and marketing lingo really does have a place here: George W Bush's eight years of CEO leadership has monetized that trip to the polls. With gasoline at record prices, voting involves a feelable purchase for many Americans. A lot of us are going to buy that trip to the polls. This is a referendum on personal taste. Sad but true. And I think more Americans are prone to buy GOP product. It's simpler than the competition's wares.