The Anti-America Parts of the Country

Sarah Palin’s recent claim that parts of the country are “anti-America” —which was followed by Michele Bachmann’s call for investigations into alleged anti-American elements of Congress—ironically exposes the hate and contempt that Palin and her fellow conservative Talibanists have for the rest of the country and the principles it was founded on.

For as much as the extreme right wing likes to mindlessly crow “Country first,” it’s anything but—rather, it’s ideology first and their Christian God first, with no regard or respect for the views or opinions of others.

And nowhere is that more evident in their choice of Sarah Palin, a dangerous, ignorant and unthinking rabble-rouser who borders on demagoguery. By embracing a candidate so obviously unready for the Oval Office, and so unfit to lead the nation especially in this time of crisis and uncertainty, they have shown the rest of America that they are less interested in the future and security of the country than they are in turning it into a Christian Talibanist state.

See here for more about Sarah and Todd Palin’s anti-American secessionist activities.

I Couldn’t Have Said It Better Myself….

Amid all the sturm and drang of this election campaign, here are a few noteworthy and eloquent endorsements for Barack Obama, some of which are significant given their sources:

• The New Yorker
• Endorsement from National Review columnist Christopher Buckley, son of the late leading conservative William F. Buckley, Jr. (Buckley was forced to resign from the magazine afterwards)
• A follow up piece from Buckley discussing the epic failures of the Bush Administration and GOP
• A piece from conservative founder Barry Goldwater’s granddaughter
• An endorsement from Vanity Fair columnist Christopher Hutchins
• Endorsement from Republican and former Massachusetts Governor William Weld
• Endorsement from Reagan appointee and former McCain Adviser Charles Fried
  

And from Sarah Palin’s home state of Alaska, an endorsement for Barack Obama from the Anchorage Daily News.

As of October 27, the total number of newspaper endorsements received by Obama is 180, versus 75 for McCain. These include at least 35 papers that endorsed George Bush in 2004.

The Politics of Hate

While I’m not sure whether the Rovian/Bush approach to winning elections by cynically using hate speech to divide the country rather than running on anything inspirational or unifying will truly be completely buried and discredited with the current presidential campaign (depending on the outcome of course), it certainly so far has not gained serious traction. With fear in the air about the economy and the overall future of the country, it’s clear the electorate are looking for leadership and hope, and want nothing to do with the kind of toxic innuendo and hate that has been emanating from the GOP.

Surprisingly—and perhaps as a reflection of the desperation of the McCain campaign—McCain has done little to change his playbook. Indeed, if anything, the attacks have become even more shrill and ridiculous, with members of the GOP now recklessly claiming that some parts of the country are not “pro-American” and Minnesota Congressional Representative Michele Bachmann calling for McCarthy-like investigations of whether her fellow members of Congress are anti-American (which has spectacularly backfired as noted here and here). The GOP has puzzlingly continued this scorched earth policy despite most polls showing that voters are not only turned off by it (which admittedly they always say) but also that this strategy has made little dent to date in the numbers.

Of course, the GOP and McCain—who has embraced the right to the disappointment of those who once admired the Senator’s willingness to break at times with his party during the days of the “Straight Talk Express”—likely recognizes it now has little choice but to play the politics of fear, given that they cannot run on the economy, nor on their record, or on being agents of change. But at the same time, the shrillness and shameless mudslinging of innuendo and guilt of association has not only exposed the level of panic and hysteria in the GOP but also shown it truly is a party of hate, bereft of new ideas.

Colin Powell summed it up best when speaking about his endorsement of Barack Obama. He took the time of his endorsement as an opportunity to also express concern about the direction both of the campaign and the GOP in its strategy of using fear and hate to divide the country and to claim some people for being un-American. It’s a strategy, I trust, that history will eventually condemn as a dark time in American politics.

End Teen Pregnancy Now

For further proof of the hypocrisy and whining of the GOP and their Christian Talibanist supporters, one need to look no further than their response to Sarah Palin’s unwed, underage pregnant daughter.

The right have been up in arms that this is a private “family matter” that the media has no right focusing on.

Generally, I agree. But by the same token, it is this party that extols “family values,” decries the decline in morality in society, and believes that morality should be legislated. If the GOP and Christian Talibanists are serious about their belief that morality is not a private matter but deserving of public and community judgment, then certainly shouldn’t their own be held to the same standard?

Angry Grandpa!

There's still a lot of time yet until election day, but for now neither the trends nor the momentum are in McCain's favor.

While McCain and the GOP predictably have moved into attack mode, given people's worries about the economy, his attempts to avoid the elephant in the room (i.e., the economy) and instead engage in mudslinging and character attacks further reinforces many people's belief that McCain is out of touch and doesn't understand the concerns of middle class Americans. Plus it smacks of desperation.

McCain, of course, didn't help himself in the recent debate. While McCain pushed for the town hall format, he came off as stiff and uncomfortable. McCain conveniently forgot that the town hall meetings he has participated in and finds so invigorating consist of audiences who are selected to be enthusiastic and support him. True, the format used for the debate was hardly a true "town hall" meeting, and instead was clinical, controlled and cold. But Obama adapted easily while McCain, perhaps showing his age, did not.

McCain has partly painted himself in this corner. In instant responses and polls, viewers reacted negatively when McCain went on the offensive, which only served to underscore his unlikability and reputation for being a hothead. So McCain must tread a delicate balance to avoid looking too unhinged. (One commentator likened McCain as coming off as an "angry grandpa" when he referred to Obama as "That one.") By contrast, Obama's ratings went UP when he went on the offensive.

McCain also has the disadvantage of being closely tied to this Administration and the GOP. As much as he tries to run away from it and portray himself as a "maverick," McCain nonetheless is part of the status quo and the Washington beltway, who supported deregulation with his Congressional colleagues and has been an especially vocal proponent of going to war, whether it be Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran or North Korea.

Though some have expressed amazement that there still remain a significant group of "undecideds" as we approach election day, my take on it is that many of these people simply are trying to get comfortable with the idea of Obama as president. Obama's cool, measured performances in his debates have served him well and made him look more presidential.

One month left to go!

Mission Accomplished

What does it say about the viability of Sarah Palin's candidacy when her main goal in her vice presidential debate was to prove she isn't a complete drooling idiot—well all I can say is, "Mission Accomplished!"

While some hoped to see Palin meltdown onstage, all indications from Palin's background and experience demonstrated that so long as she prepared, she would do fine. After all, given all her other missteps, one would hope that at least being able to not hurt the ticket further by not embarrassing herself in the debate would be a minimum load she could handle.

At best, Palin did not personally embarrass herself as she has already done numerous times. However, this hardly qualifies her for the vice presidency of the United States. Nor does it help McCain much other than to somewhat stanch the damage she already has done to the ticket. Nevertheless, while many seemed to credit her for at least showing up and standing her ground, in terms of substance and presence, she nevertheless fell far short, as early polls from CNN and CBS seem to suggest. Palin continued to Palinize by skirting around questions and answering with vague message points that were long on platitudes and cheerleading, and short on substance or specific plans of action.

Palin’s answers do not lack confidence, they lack coherence. —Bob Schneider, CNN