The Good, The Bad, The Scary

THE GOOD-
General Colin Powell's endorsement was good. Powell is honored and respected by millions of people for his military career and his dedication to this country.

THE BAD-
Republican Rep. Michelle Bachmann voiced some dangerous McCarthyesque views. Now she says she was misunderstood. The Star Tribune has more on Bachmann

THE SCARY-
On the Sunday edition of Hardball on MSNBC, Joe Scarborough said he thought that Jeb Bush was the future of the Republican Party. Hasn't our country suffered enough under the Bush family???????

Please defeat Bachmann!!!!

Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann was on Hardball with Chris Matthews. Bachmann opened her mouth and started to channel Joe McCarthy.

Here is what Mark Gibson of Abject Conjecture had to say about Bachmann:

In a very bizarre and frightening interview on Hardball with Chris Matthews, Congresswoman, Michele Bachmann accused Barrack Obama of being aniti-American and went on to smear every person calling themselves LIBERAL as possibly being the same. She practically begged the media to do and widespread and in-depth investigation into both legislative branches in an effort to expose this serious threat to the very nation....

Americablog has a similar posting and a link to part of the video at YouTube:



The Democrat running against her is Elwyn Tinklenberg. Here is his campaign website: http://www.tinklenberg08.com/ Let's work to get Democrat Tinklenberg elected in Minnesota's 6th district. (By the way, Bachmann has refused to debate Tinklenberg.)

I've just visited his Tinklenberg's website and contributed money to his campaign. Please do your part to defeat Bachmann.

Republicans Lose Attempt to Screw Up Ohio Voting

The Ohio Republicans have been at it again. They've thrown everything at Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner----- except the kitchen sink. Jennifer Brunner has worked doubly hard to undo the mess left behind by Kenneth Blackwell. Every single time she has devised a better way to conduct our elections, the Ohio Republicans have voted down her proposals or went to court.

Bloomberg has the latest on the latest Republican ploy:

The U.S. Supreme Court, siding with Democrats, freed Ohio officials from a lower court order that might have limited participation by new voters in next month's presidential election.

Today's ruling means Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, doesn't have to provide county election boards with lists of new registrants whose information doesn't match up with government databases. A federal trial judge had ordered Brunner to supply the lists by today....

....Ohio is a crucial state for Republican presidential candidate John McCain in his race against Democrat Barack Obama. Without Ohio's 20 electoral votes, McCain would have to carry every other state that voted for George W. Bush in 2004, plus one that voted Democratic. Recent polls indicate Obama has pulled even or ahead in Ohio, a state Bush won by less than 118,000 votes four years ago....

People in Ohio ---- just get out there and vote!!!!!! Make the win for Obama and the Democrats so big that the Republicans will be shocked.

Again?

Looks like there is more racism coming out of the Republican Party.

Wired:
.....The Sacramento County Republican Party hosted a graphic this week comparing Obama to Osama bin Laden, with the caption "The only difference between Obama and Osama is BS,"The Sacramento Bee reports. The text of the graphic adds, "Waterboard Barack Obama."

This racist creation from the Sacramento Co. Republican Party shows you why the Republican Party is dying. The Republicans have nothing to offer Americans except tax cuts for the rich, failed economic policies, war, and racism. Shame on the GOP.

More on The Last Debate

John McCain thinks that protecting a mother's health is extreme (YouTube) ---



I was shocked about McCain saying that concerns about the health of the mother are "extreme." I think that on this issue and his lack of support of equal pay for women, McCain lost the support of most women. It wasn't that long ago that women who wanted abortions had to resort to unsafe conditions which often caused the death of the woman. McCain lack of empathy for women on all issues just makes me sick.

McCain's facial expressions were a sideshow on its own. McCain's blinking, eye-rolling, and cynical smirks did nothing to make voters warm up to McCain.

Barack Obama was calm, cool and knowledgeable. Obama detailed his concern for working people by explaining in detail his economic plans. I believe that Obama won over many more voters last night.

If we really want to break away from Bush and the current Republican mess, it is time to vote a straight Democratic ticket. This will get legislation moving and will get the job done.

Who the heck is Joe the Plumber?

Here are my random thoughts/ideas/remarks on this debate:

John McCain is not doing very well. I'm watching CNN's tracking graph and McCain is not doing well.

Why does McCain keep talking about Joe the Plumber? He must have mentioned him 10 times.

Barack Obama knows his stuff. He explained his tax plan, health care plan, economic strategy, etc.

Is McCain pulling a Nixon and perspiring?

McCain is proud of Sarah Palin and the people that attend his rallies. Really?

Obama brought up Lilly Ledbetter's case about equal pay for equal work. McCain is against equal pay for equal work for women.

McCain is against a woman's reproductive freedom. Sarah Palin is against all abortions -- even in the case of rape and incest.

McCain is doing lots of heavy breathing and lots of blinking. What is with the smirk?

No one is pro-abortion. Why does McCain keep saying people are pro-abortion?

Love Obama's ideas about education = higher pay for teachers, more money for education, helping reduce college costs, etc.

McCain said that throwing money at education is not the problem. I guess he doesn't know about the problems of No Child Left Behind not getting enough funding.

Obama said that Bush had his unfunded mandates like No Child Left Behind that put more financial burdens on local school districts.

Obama said our children are our future.

McCain is just rambling. McCain wants to "reform" Head Start. You know what that means------ cut it. Now McCain is talking about Sarah Palin who know about special needs children. As governor of Alaska, Palin cut the funding for special needs children.

The center piece of McCain's education policy is to expand the voucher policy.

Closing remarks---- McCain says America needs a new direction and he is it. He talks about the 9/11 commission but McCain refused to attend one meeting. I don't want McCain to tax my health benefits. I'd like to let McCain continue to serve in the Senate.

Obama said we cannot continue the same failed politics and policies of the last 8 years. Obama said we have to invest in the American people again to lift wages and improve our lives. Obama promises to work tirelessly on behalf of American people.

Clear winner-----Barack Obama!!!!!

Updates from Here and There

>>> Sarah Palin doesn't know much about geography. Last time I checked, New Hampshire was located in the the Northeast (Daily Kos & YouTube):



*** It appears that the nearly bankrupt NRCC (National Republican Congressional Committee) is pouring big, big money into the Columbus media market to try to win Ohio's 15th district for Republican Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist (DailyKos). Stivers, who is a big supporter of Bush's economic policies, is running a smear campaign against Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy. In these tough economic times, do we really need someone like Steve Stivers who has been a cheerleader for banks, payday lenders, and oil companies?

>> Republican Rep. Steve Chabot (OH-1st) is in a tough campaign with Democrat Steve Driehaus. The NRCC in pouring in money in a desperate attempt to help Chabot's campaign. In the past President George W. Bush has personally campaigned and attended fundraisers for Chabot. Will Chabot's personal ties to Bush hurt his re-election? Do you remember when Chabot voted against children's healthcare to side with President Bush?
(Brave New Films)

Are conservative Republicans racist?

What do you think? Is it possible that the ugly words and actions of some of the conservative Republicans reveal their racist beliefs? I don't even want to repeat the words that some Republicans have used. Many of these same conservative Republicans consider themselves religious. How can they call themselves religious yet be racists?

- - -Looks like the McCain-Palin people are lying about their crowd sizes again.
WVEC:

...The Virginia Beach Fire Marshal's office estimated the size of the crowd to be 12,000. A McCain campaign spokeswoman claimed the crowd size was 25,000, but the Convention Center's capacity is only 16,000....

- - - McCain released his new economic plan (Huffington Post). The Obama campaign responded quickly:

"John McCain's latest gambit is a day late and 101 million middle-class families short. McCain's plan would spend $300 billion to bailout the same irresponsible Wall Street banks that got us into this mess without doing anything to help jumpstart job growth for America's middle class. His plan continues to provide no tax relief at all to 101 million hardworking families, including 97 percent of senior citizens, and it does nothing to cut taxes for small businesses or give them access to credit. Senator McCain also shows how little he understands the economy by offering lower capital gains rates in a year in which people don't have an awful lot of capital gains. His trickle-down, ideological recipes won't strengthen our economy and grow our middle-class, but Barack Obama's pro-jobs, pro-family economic policies will," said Obama-Biden campaign spokesman Bill Burton.

Obviously, McCain still doesn't understand how the middle class is hurting. I guess when you own 7 homes and 13 cars, you just don't understand how some people are struggling to feed their families.

- - - I just heard an Obama radio ad. It said something like "....since McCain has no solution to fix the economy, the only thing he has left are smears..."

Obama's Job Plan

Great YouTube video has Ronald Reagan endorsing Barack Obama:




*** Did you happen to see Barack Obama's speech in Toledo, Ohio? Here is part of Sen. Obama's speech:

We can’t wait to help workers and families and communities who are struggling right now – who don’t know if their job or their retirement will be there tomorrow; who don’t know if next week’s paycheck will cover this month’s bills. We need to pass an economic rescue plan for the middle-class and we need to do it now. Today I’m proposing a number of steps that we should take immediately to stabilize our financial system, provide relief to families and communities, and help struggling homeowners. It’s a plan that begins with one word that’s on everyone’s mind, and it’s spelled J-O-B-S....
....We will also save one million jobs by creating a Jobs and Growth Fund that will provide money to states and local communities so that they can move forward with projects to rebuild and repair our roads, our bridges, and our schools. A lot of these projects and these jobs are at risk right now because of budget shortfalls, but this fund will make sure they continue....

It is clear that Barack Obama represents the future. He is the best one prepared to take on our country's problems and the mess left behind by the Bush administration.

Vote Obama. Vote for Democrats to give a President Obama the chance to get things fixed.

McCain Campaign "Dysfunctional"

On the Today Show, Tom Brokaw called the McCain campaign "dysfunctional." With the McCain-Palin campaign based on lies and smears, it is no wonder their campaign is such a mess. Is the way the McCain-Palin camp is running their campaign indicative of the way they'd run the country??????

* In this morning's Dallas Morning News, we see the results of the McCain-Palin lies and hate speech.

I cannot believe that people believe such falsehoods about Barack Obama. A large part of these verbal attacks and lies are due to the way the McCain-Palin people speak and conduct themselves. John McCain was once an honorable man ------ but no more. Sarah Palin is just plain dangerous.

* Let me set the record straight-----

Barack Obama is a Christian.

Barack Obama was born in Hawaii.

If you need more information, go to BarackObama.com.

Friday's Points

On MSNBC: J.P. Freire of the American Spectator said that all of Barack Obama's mentors have been people of questionable reputations. OMG! There are several mentors I can name just off the top of my head----- Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Richard Lugar, Warren Buffet, Sen. Ted Kennedy, Paul Volcker, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, etc. Would Freire like to change his statement?

>>> There is a great newspaper endorsement for Barack Obama from the Storm Lake Times:

Obama for president
Enough is enough. The Republicans have had eight years to mess up this country and it¹s time for the Democrats to put their hand to the tiller. It¹s time to make history and elect Barack Obama of Illinois
president in November.
The Republicans had their chance. They controlled Congress and the White House for six of the last eight years. They have run roughshod over civil rights, confused the Bible with the Constitution, started a huge
war in Iraq based on a pack of lies served up by the Bush Administration, run up the national debt to frightening heights and now propose to bail out the corporate chieftains who put us in this financial mess.....
.....John McCain is using the same set of navigational tools as George W. Bush. McCain built a career tearing down financial regulation. He refused to accept a timetable for our troops to leave Iraq, despite the Iraqi government demanding one. He opposes incentives for renewable fuels production that could help wean us off our dependence on oil. He wants to appoint a commission to study the financial mess we're in. It's just more of the same old tired Republican map.....

Exactly!

*** What is it with the McCain campaign? Do they have anything to offer people other than to smear their opponents? He wants to reward banks with overpaying them for the mortgages? McCain once again rewards banks and financial institutions for doing something they should have done in the first place---- help people stay in their homes.

*** NY Times: Panel To Study Military Eavesdropping

The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, said Thursday that the committee would investigate claims by two military eavesdroppers that they routinely listened in on private calls home from American military officers, aid workers and journalists stationed in Iraq.

Mr. Rockefeller, Democrat of West Virginia, called the accusations “extremely disturbing.”

“Any time there is an allegation regarding abuse of the privacy and civil liberties of Americans it is a very serious matter,” he said......

OMG! OMG! Is this the way the Bush administration supports the troops by spying on them????

> Here are some words of wisdom from my 85 year old mother:
"The Republicans are so dirty. Why do they keep saying such terrible things about Obama?"

____

Obama's Letter on Subprime Crisis

I just saw John McCain claim that Barack Obama never wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Treasury about the subprime rate crisis. McCain said to search for it online. I did. I Googled "Obama subprime letter" and in 0.30 seconds I found plenty of results. Here is the text of the letter written by Sen. Obama on March 27, 2007 from Sen. Obama's website:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ben LaBolt

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Senator Barack Obama today sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Paulson urging them to immediately convene a homeownership preservation summit with key stakeholders to fight foreclosures driven by growth in the subprime mortgage market.

The text of the letter is below:

Dear Chairman Bernanke and Secretary Paulson,

There is grave concern in low-income communities about a potential coming wave of foreclosures. Because regulators are partly responsible for creating the environment that is leading to rising rates of home foreclosure in the subprime mortgage market, I urge you immediately to convene a homeownership preservation summit with leading mortgage lenders, investors, loan servicing organizations, consumer advocates, federal regulators and housing-related agencies to assess options for private sector responses to the challenge.

We cannot sit on the sidelines while increasing numbers of American families face the risk of losing their homes. And while neither the government nor the private sector acting alone is capable of quickly balancing the important interests in widespread access to credit and responsible lending, both must act and act quickly.

Working together, the relevant private sector entities and regulators may be best positioned for quick and targeted responses to mitigate the danger. Rampant foreclosures are in nobody’s interest, and I believe this is a case where all responsible industry players can share the objective of eliminating deceptive or abusive practices, preserving homeownership, and stabilizing housing markets.

The summit should consider best practice loan marketing, underwriting, and origination practices consistent with the recent (and overdue) regulators’ Proposed Statement on Subprime Mortgage Lending. The summit participants should also evaluate options for independent loan counseling, voluntary loan restructuring, limited forbearance, and other possible workout strategies. I would also urge you to facilitate a serious conversation about the following:

• What standards investors should require of lenders, particularly with regard to verification of income and assets and the underwriting of borrowers based on fully indexed and fully amortized rates.
• How to facilitate and encourage appropriate intervention by loan servicing companies at the earliest signs of borrower difficulty.
• How to support independent community-based-organizations to provide counseling and work-out services to prevent foreclosure and preserve homeownership where practical.
• How to provide more effective information disclosure and financial education to ensure that borrowers are treated fairly and that deception is never a source of competitive advantage.
• How to adopt principles of fair competition that promote affordability, transparency, non-discrimination, genuine consumer value, and competitive returns.
• How to ensure adequate liquidity across all mortgage markets without exacerbating consumer and housing market vulnerability.

Of course, the adoption of voluntary industry reforms will not preempt government action to crack down on predatory lending practices, or to style new restrictions on subprime lending or short-term post-purchase interventions in certain cases. My colleagues on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs have held important hearings on mortgage market turmoil and I expect the Committee will develop legislation.

Nevertheless, a consortium of industry-related service providers and public interest advocates may be able to bring quick and efficient relief to millions of at-risk homeowners and neighborhoods, even before Congress has had an opportunity to act. There is an opportunity here to bring different interests together in the best interests of American homeowners and the American economy. Please don’t let this opportunity pass us by.

Sincerely,

U.S. Senator Barack Obama

-------------------------------------------------------------

It is great to see that Sen. Obama had the foresight to see that the subprime crisis could happen. He warned officials. Unfortunately, no one did anything about it until it was too late.

>>> McCain claimed he couldn't find the letter above. Obviously, McCain doesn't know how to search online. I've looked for McCain's letter online but haven't found it yet. This latest foreclosure bailout plan by McCain would cost $300 million and McCain would take that money from taxpayers and give it to banks. How is it that banks make out on this?

>>> When is the first time you heard of Sarah Palin? Five weeks ago? What do we know about the Palin family's ties to the Alaska Independent Party? When did the Palins hope to have Alaska secede from the United States? Just asking.

Strongsville, Ohio: Hatred on the March?

McCain and Palin were in Strongsville, Ohio. The hatred and lies coming out of the mouths of the Republican candidates have made many people sick. Here is a clip I found on Daily Kos and You Tube:

Voting News from Central Ohio

This morning's Dispatch has some very interesting stuff about voter registration in Ohio. Here are some excerpts from the Dispatch story:

....Nearly 8.2 million people are on the voter rolls in Ohio, including 665,949 added this year, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner announced yesterday after Monday's registration deadline....
.....Of the 9,280 people who had cast absentee ballots in person as of Monday, 3 percent were registered Republicans and 39 percent were Democrats, records show. The rest were unaffiliated.....

Despite the fact that Democrats are showing up in greater numbers and participating with more enthusiasm than Republicans, we should never underestimate the ability of the GOP to try to steal the election. Be on your guard. Check out stealbackyourvote.org for information on how you can protect your vote.

> If you watched last night's debate, you noticed that Sen. Obama knew his stuff. John McCain, however, looked like an angry, cranky, out of touch, old man. I have a few questions:

- Why didn't McCain shake hands with Obama?

- McCain said he would get Osama bin Laden. McCain and Bush have had 7 years to get Osama. Why have they waited to get him? Why have they let our young men and women in uniform risk their lives all these years if McCain could have gotten Osama earlier?

- McCain said he'd get the former CEO of Ebay as Treasury Secretary. Did he know that Ebay laid off 1,000 people yesterday. (In the past, McCain said he'd appoint Phil "mental recession" Gramm as Treasury Sec.)

- McCain and Palin have said some awful lies in their rallies. Wasn't McCain tough enough to speak those lies in front of Obama?

- As the height of disrespect, McCain called Obama "that one..." Does McCain hate Obama? Why has McCain shown such disdain for Obama?

- Once again, McCain did not mention the "middle class" during the debate. Has McCain ever heard of the "middle class"?

Tuesday's News

> A Columbus woman has been banned for life from UDF for wearing an Obama shirt in the store. (The Other Paper)

> Time Magazine has a dose of reality for the candidates:

...In North Carolina, which Bush won by more than 12 percentage points in both 2000 and 2004, McCain and Obama are locked in a dead heat, with each candidate garnering the support of 49% of likely voters. In Indiana, which Bush won by 21 points in 2004 and 16 points in 2000, McCain maintains a slight 5 point lead over Obama, with 51% of likely voters, compared to Obama's 46%.

In the crucial swing state of Ohio, which Bush won by slight margins in both 2000 and 2004, McCain trails Obama by 3 points, with the support of 47% of voters, compared to Obama's 50%. Obama also holds a statistically significant 8 point lead over McCain in New Hampshire and a 5 point lead in Wisconsin, two states that Democrat John Kerry was able to win in 2004.

As a result of the new survey, CNN now considers New Hampshire and Wisconsin to be Obama-leaning states, after previously being considered tossups. North Carolina is now considered a tossup, after previously being categorized as a McCain-leaning state.....

>>> Retirees in Florida and around the country probably won't like McCain's plans to make cuts in Medicare and Medicaid (WSJ). With the economy in such bad shape, McCain's plan to hurt the poor and elderly won't sit well with a majority of Americans.

> In tonight's debate, I want to hear how McCain plans to fix the economy. I know he won't say anything because he doesn't understand economics.

McCain's Plans

John McCain won't talk about the economy or the war in Iraq. There is something else he won't tell you, but the Wall Street Journal let the cat out of the bag (h/t DemocraticUnderground):

John McCain would pay for his health plan with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid, a top aide said, in a move that independent analysts estimate could result in cuts of $1.3 trillion over 10 years to the government programs.

The Republican presidential nominee has said little about the proposed cuts, but they are needed to keep his health-care plan "budget neutral," as he has promised. The McCain campaign hasn't given a specific figure for the cuts, but didn't dispute the analysts' estimate.....

Keating Economics is up and running. If you want to learn about the savings and loan scandal associated with John McCain, click here.

* Are you following the polls? Check out fivethirtyeight.com for their election projections. Here is an electoral map from fivethirtyeight.com:




Now you see why McCain has gone negative----- he has nothing to offer Americans. To see where the polls are leading, check fivethirtyeight.com every single day.

>>> Did anyone mention that Todd Palin was a member of the Alaska Independence Party? AKIP.org
has info that says that Mr. Palin was a member of this right wing separatist movement that wanted to remove itself from the U.S.A. Isn't AKIP some sort of homegrown terrorist group? Just asking.

Ohio Polls

With the election just around the corner, Ohioans are playing an important role in the future of this country. I've talked to a lot of people who've indicated that they've already voted by absentee ballot or in the early voting location. Ohioans seem motivated enough to make the special effort to vote early. This helps Barack Obama. Ohio voters who strongly support Obama are the people voting early.

Bloomberg is reporting that Obama has leads in new polls in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota:

Democrat Barack Obama leads Republican presidential nominee John McCain in battleground states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Minnesota, according to new polls.

Obama, an Illinois senator, leads 49 percent to 42 percent among Ohio voters, according to a Columbus Dispatch poll of 2,262 likely voters released yesterday....

The Toronto Star has even more about Ohio:

....When U.S. President George W. Bush, after 9/11, told traumatized Americans to fight terrorism by out-shopping the terrorists ("take your families and enjoy life, the way we want it to be enjoyed,") Ohio folk clearly didn't get the message.

With 236,000 manufacturing jobs lost since 2000, and nearly 4 per cent of mortgages in foreclosure, they had other things on their minds. Mostly, the dramatic decline that Ohio's residents blame on Washington's neglect, and which has turned many away from Bush's and John McCain's Republican party, giving new opportunity to Democrat Barack Obama....

For many in Ohio, voting for McCain is like shooting yourself in the foot. Why would you purposely cause you and your family more misery? Ohioans like Obama because he is a man with a plan and he understands economics. McCain-- no plan and he just doesn't understand economics.

Today, Monday, October 6th, is the last day to register to vote in Ohio. We need to make sure that we pay back the Republicans for the misery they've given us the last 8 years.

Saturday's Stuff

David Letterman has a few things to say about Sarah Palin (Daily Kos and You Tube):



>> Bruce Springsteen will be on the Oval at Ohio State on Sunday afternoon, October 5th. Today, Saturday, October 4th, Bruuuuuuce will be doing an Obama concert in Philadelphia on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway (York Daily Record). You might be able to catch part of the the rallies on CSPAN.

Here is more from the Plain Dealer on these concerts and special appearances in support of Barack Obama:
Rockin' Obama:

Hip-hop entrepreneur Russell Simmons joins Cavs star LeBron James and the Browns Willie McGinest at a rally in support of Obama near Cleveland City Hall at 3 p.m. Saturday. Earlier in the day Simmons will headline a similar rally in Columbus. Then Sunday, it's Bruce Springsteen's turn. The Boss is scheduled to perform an acoustic set on The Oval at Ohio State at 4:30 p.m. It's all part of the Obama campaign's final push to register young voters before Ohio's Monday deadline.....

* I wonder what former bank lobbyist and current Republican congressional candidate, Steve Stivers, thinks of the bailout deal that passed in Congress. Would Stivers support staying in Iraq for 100 years like McCain wants? Someone should ask Stivers his opinion. How much bank stock does Stivers still own?

The Truth About McCain

Rolling Stone has a phenomenal article about John McCain--- Make-Believe Maverick. Here are some excerpts:

....Off duty on his Mediterranean tours, McCain frequented the casinos of Monte Carlo, cultivating his taste for what he calls the "addictive" game of craps. McCain's thrill-seeking carried over into his day job. Flying over the south of Spain one day, he decided to deviate from his flight plan. Rocketing along mere feet above the ground, his plane sliced through a power line. His self-described "daredevil clowning" plunged much of the area into a blackout.....

Oh, how nice! McCain almost created an international incident.

Carol and John McCain had been very close with Nancy and Ronald Reagan. When McCain divorced his first wife, Carol, the Reagans were surprised.

.....McCain's friends were blindsided by the divorce. The Reagans — with whom the couple had frequently dined and even accompanied on New Year's holidays — never forgave him. By the time McCain became a self-proclaimed "foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution" two years later, he and the Gipper had little more than ideology to bind them. Nancy took Carol under her wing, giving her a job in the White House and treating McCain with a frosty formality that was evident even on the day last March when she endorsed his candidacy. "Ronnie and I always waited until everything was decided and then we endorsed," she said. "Well, obviously, this is the nominee of the party."

On McCain's penchant for deregulation, there is this-------

.....Unfortunately, any lessons McCain learned from the Keating scandal didn't affect his unbridled enthusiasm for deregulating the finance industry. "He continues to follow policies that create the same kind of environment we see today, with recurrent financial crises and epidemics of fraud led by CEOs," says Black, the former S&L regulator. Indeed, if the current financial crisis has a villain, it is Phil Gramm, who remains close to McCain. As chair of the Senate Banking Committee in the late 1990s, Gramm ushered in — with McCain's fervent support — a massive wave of deregulation for insurance companies and brokerage houses and banks, the aftershocks of which are just now being felt in Wall Street's catastrophic collapse. McCain, who has admitted that "the issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should," relies on Gramm to guide him.....

I highly recommend that you read the entire article about the spoiled, hot-tempered, hard drinking, gambler, John McCain.

I voted for Obama today!

Although I watched the entire vice presidential debate tonight, I found it very painful to listen to Sarah Palin. She is such a scatterbrain. She never really answered the questions that were directed to her. I'm so glad that there are no more vice presidential candidates debates because I cannot stand to listen to her voice.

My observations:

If I took a shot of whiskey every single time she said "mavericks" or "team of mavericks" I would have been drunk during the first half hour.

Palin could not adequately answer the question on bankruptcy.

Palin hates east coast politicians.

She repeatedly said "I betcha" and "heckuva."

She wants to get more authority for the Vice President. Is she a little hungry for power? Biden said that
Article I of the Constitution clearly defines the powers and duties of the Vice President.

Palin looked like she had talking points memorized, even if it meant she would not answer the questions.

She gave a shout out to third graders. (??????!!!!!!!)

Palin talked about General McClelland in Afghanistan. Is she confused with the Civil War?

When asked one question about what things she and McCain might have to delay because of the economy, she said that she "....has only been at this for five weeks...." OMG! That is scary.

I think that Joe Biden won this debate. I believe that Biden has the capacity and ability to be Vice President. My favorite Biden comments included when he said (paraphrasing)---- "McCain voted against a timeline to draw down troops.... We (Obama + Biden) will end the war. For McCain there is no end in sight."

> I voted for Obama and Biden today. I'm glad I did. Here in Ohio, we have early voting and people are stepping up and supporting Obama.