Now this is political genius

Sooooooooo....John McCain, this is YOUR AD, constructed by the finest political consultants money could buy!



Dear lord! I had NO IDEA that was how Britney felt about offshore drilling.

And I'm really interested in this new GOP meme: "People like Obama. You know who else people liked? Hitler. So Obama must be a FASCIST!"

I wonder if the Germans are a bit offended by this. I mean, they like David Hasselhof and I don't believe he has been accused of plotting the Fourth Reich. But then I'm in the reality-based community.

Senator McSame, I know it hurts your feelings that no one wants to sit at your lunch table anymore but you will always have this:

A Lesson in Constitutional Law

My granNE, part of the vanguard of the Nebraska Democratic Party, sent me the Greatest Political Cartoon Ever.



If you can't read the caption it says: "I keep thinking we should include something in the Constitution in case the people elect a f*cking moron."

And they need to include a clause of what happens if they do it twice! And then threaten to elect a guy who doesn't know the price of gas, or that Czechoslovakia is no longer a country, or that Afghanistan and Iraq don't share a border.



I'm just sayin'.

An American Abroad

Obama in Berlin!



Er ist ein Berliner. Ich moechte ein Berliner essen.

Our resident German Shepherd gives his review:

Das war sogar besser als David Hasselhof! (It was even better than David Hasselhof)

Sly Fox

A Musical Interlude!

Nas performed "Sly Fox" on The Colbert Report. Nas is not a fan of the Fair and Balanced network because Bill O'Reilly is not a fan of The Rap Music that Those Darned Kids listen to. And now Nas is part of a protest of Fox for their not so subtle racism--like referring Michelle as his "baby mama" and the terrorist fist jab nonsense.



This old feller can appreciate a bit of the rap music. Especially this line:
"I watch CBS/And I see BS/Trying to track us down with GPS/Makes a brother want to invest in PBS"

Now see if you can write Car Talk into your lyrics!

Who needs campaign staff when you've got the media?

The media is so in McCain's Obama's pocket. I mean, they'll even lie on his behalf!



Good thing McSame is not the type to whine about these things! You just keep rearranging time to fit your narrative, bud!

Viagra is a CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT

Many outlets have covered the uncomfortable interview with John McCain in which he says he doesn't know enough about the whole health insurance thing to say whether or not it is fair to cover viagra but not birth control (he knew enough to vote against a bill mandating birth control coverage). Bill O'Reilly Takes! It! Personally! that Planned Parenthood thinks you should know that John McCain doesn't think reproductive rights are important enough to think about:



Um, sounds like someone's got a personal axe to grind. But don't worry, Bill, you can't knock anyone up by sexually harassing them via phone!

Here to represent the disdain of women everywhere is my totally cool feminazi sister Ethel:

She wouldn't let Bill O'Reilly buy her dinner and she happens to like controlling her own ladyparts, thank you!

Send help, please

I just read this story "It's a class war stupid" by Matt Taibbi about increasing poverty rates in the U.S. in the last decade. It includes this story sent to Senator Bernie Sanders-VT:

I am a single mother with a 9-year-old boy. To stay warm at night my son and I would pull off all the pillows from the couch and pile them on the kitchen floor. I'd hang a blanket from the kitchen doorway and we'd sleep right there on the floor. By February we ran out of wood and I burned my mother's dining room furniture. I have no oil for hot water. We boil our water on the stove and pour it in the tub. I'd like to order one of your flags and hang it upside down at the capital building... we are certainly a country in distress.

And then I watched this video of Bush joking about the stock market being "drunk" and then joking about how he's going to retire to Dallas, not that durned Crawford ranch.

You'll note he's laughing at us, not with us.

Geography!

John McCain wants you to know that he is on top of the security situation on the border between Iraq and Pakistan.

(Helpful Geography lesson from Shakesville.)

Universal Health Care in the House!

This is for Gus's mom, a fan of Elizabeth Edwards, health care justice, and other awesome things (like Gus):

The Wisdom of Babes

This little girl was invited to participate in the White House Tee Ball Tournament.



She decided to make a comment on the President's policies.

Hasn't John McCain been similarly running from the President?

About that Cover

It has not been a great couple of weeks for Obama. He seems to be dancing to the right on FISA and abortion and other important things. And then Reverend Jackson threatened to neuter him. And now this New Yorker cover.

I'm quite a fan of satire myself but I'm not sure that this works and I'm not sure that saying so makes you a humorless liberal.

Two things. Number one is that satire is about exaggeration in order to reveal absurdity. When a poll at World Net Daily (aka, Wing Nut Daily which I will not link) showed that 60% of their readers thought that the cover actually depicted the real threat posed by the Obamas? That means it's not an exaggeration of their views (see below). But second, the New Yorker is trying to parody the folks who believe the conspiracy theories by deploying stereotypes which strikes me as sorta arrogant. As a bloggy friend of mine said, it's like the hipsters who wear racist T-shirts because of course it's ok for them because THEY'RE not racist. They're ironic. And the New Yorker thing seems similar--not so much political commentary but self-congratulation for being above it all. It feels insider-y. Which, ironically, is the other stereotype that Obama is fighting against, the idea that his supporters are soy latte sipping elitists who are thumbing their noses at their fellow Americans. And while people who believe the things in this cartoon deserve a bit of scorn, doing it in The New Yorker might only reinforce, not challenge, their views. Here's what the right wingnuttery has to say:

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IMAGE IS EVERYTHING Sound off on the New Yorker's cover with turban-wearing Obama, gun-toting wife

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Sound off on the New Yorker's cover with turban-wearing Obama, gun-toting wife (3130 votes)

The image isn't too far from the dangerous truth about the Obama family	59% (1856)
Funny, because there's some truth in it	12% (390)
Hilarious, it's perfect satire	7% (218)
It will do what it's designed to do: sell magazines	7% (214)
The image will only add to the massive publicity Obama receives while McCain remains in the shadows	6% (191)
Tasteless and offensive	3% (97)
This is character assassination, literally and figuratively	1% (40)
Other	1% (34)
It's obvious the New Yorker wants Obama to win	1% (26)
Everyone should boycott the New Yorker over this huge insult	1% (25)
There's no such thing as bad publicity	1% (22)
This is probably a joke and is not intended to hit newsstands	0% (12)
It's obvious the New Yorker wants McCain to win	0% (5)

Bushed!

Many thanks to the Whippet Waggle who sent me this vid-ya as Dub-ya would say:

Obama on the Military

One of my BFF's Peanut e-mailed me this link to an interview with Obama from Military Times. He talks about Iraq, improving pay and benefits for servicepeople and veterans, the problems with private contractors, and Don't Ask/Don't Tell. It's an informative interview.

Peanut's Dad is in the military and is currently serving in Iraq so this stuff is very important to him. As you can see above, Peanut is Barking for Barack! Thanks for the link, Peanut!

This is Your President, America!

Dear World,

I'm sorry for this:

George Bush surprised world leaders with a joke about his poor record on the environment as he left the G8 summit in Japan.

The American leader, who has been condemned throughout his presidency for failing to tackle climate change, ended a private meeting with the words: "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter."

He then punched the air while grinning widely, as the rest of those present including Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy looked on in shock.

Well, actually I'm sorry about the last seven and a half years.

January cannot come too soon.

with love,

wally t. corgador (who admits to pretending to be Canadian)

Empty Suits, Empty Chairs

From Think Progress. Mr. Rove is jetsetting rather than responding to a Congressional subpoena to discuss his role in the firing of U.S. attorneys. Ethics, baby!

First Girls

Malia Obama says her dad is embarrassing.

Malia sez:

She recalled one time when a friend came over to their house in Chicago and her father, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, ever in campaign mode, shook the girl's hand to say hello.

Malia recalled telling him: "You really don't shake kids' hands that much ... You just wave or say hi."

Yeah, not everyone is as cool as us, Malia. How awesome will it be to have two young girls in the White House? Girls rule!

Dog Owners, Get It Sorted!

Supposedly pet owners--especially dog owners--support McCain. According to this AP story, polling data show:

—All pet owners: McCain, 42 percent; Obama 37 percent; Nader, 3 percent; other, 3 percent; undecided, 14 percent. Margin of error, plus or minus 2.9 points.

—Do not own a pet: Obama, 48 percent; McCain, 34 percent; Nader, 3 percent; other, 3 percent; undecided, 12 percent. Margin of error, 4.1 points.

—Dog owners: McCain, 43 percent; Obama, 34 percent; Nader, 3 percent; other, 3 percent, undecided, 12 percent. Margin of error, 3.6 points.

—Cat owners: McCain, 41 percent; Obama, 38 percent; Nader, 3 percent; other, 4 percent; undecided, 14 percent. Margin of error 3.9 points.

This is surprising--people other than Nader support Nader? Oh, I mean, they need me out there on the campaign trail!

John McCain Hates Me.

Darn bloggers. And the cables.




And also get off my lawn.

SWAG!

I have a Cafe Press store! I wish I could be a model for the t-shirts and show you how to eat from the bowls. I hope to make some more stuff soon.

This is a dogocracy! And we have swag!