October Surprise : W. delivers FL to McCain

Dubya eventually picked Syria to deliver the October Surprise McCain needed (red flag provoquing an artificial tension). Smart move : putting economy behind security was one thing, but boosting AIPAC vs JStreet may help the GOP keep FL red.

W. : "Here is the October Surprise you needed, John. My unprovoqued aggression of Syria will put economy behind security, and Florida is yours."

Mc : " Thanks, my friend. Do I need to put the bombs on my campaign budget ?"

PS (addendum 20081027) - the US attack Syria because the US didn't defend Syria enough : "Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem of Syria accused the United States earlier this year of not giving his country the equipment needed to prevent foreign fighters from crossing into Iraq. He said Washington feared Syria could use such equipment against Israel."(IHT 20081026 "US choppers attack Syrian village near Iraq border")

Bonus : TNL endorsement of McCain-Palin by Ferrell / Bush :

McCain has been "tested" as a soldier, not as the decision maker

McCain used the Cuba nuclear crisis to make his point "I've been tested, not that one"*.

The fact that he pictured himself on the USS Enterprise in a plane loaded with nuclear weapons, which he was not supposed to have ever piloted, should be enough to backfire on him. But more fundamentally, in this situation, McCain was tested as a soldier, not the decision maker. And after all, he wasn't tested all the way : he didn't even take off.

JFK was the one tested as a President, not him.

Now following the first wave of the financial krach, both McCain and Obama received the same 3 AM call. And guess who reacted as a leader and who reacted as a follower...

The point is McCain is not a good decision maker. He lacks judgement. But he does take decisions... only of the suicidal kind : ending up in the hands of the enemy and thus endangering the nation, picking the most dangerous person for the most vital job...

McCain is not a Maverick : he is a daredevil and a compulsive gambler**.

My friends, John McCain has been tested, and proven totally unfit for the job of President of the United States of America.

* "I was on board the USS Enterprise. I sat in the cockpit, on the flight deck of the USS Enterprise, off of Cuba. I had a target. My friends, you know how close we came to a nuclear war. America will not have a president who needs to be tested. I've been tested, my friends."
** see "A Maverick or a Gambler ?"

Paulson, Sarkozy to Socialist Heaven : "show me the money !"

Europe hastily awarded some jailed Chinese dissident with some prestigious human rights prize before embarking on a plane for Beijing.

There, Jose Manuel Barroso, Nicolas Sarkozy et al went down on their knees and begged the Great Socialist Empire to let some of its wealthy reserves trickle down over the bankrupt Capitalist rest of the World.

From DC, Hank Paulson also asked the IIIrd Millenium's Hyperpower to consider some kind of a Marshall plan ("could you please bail out the US of A ? you know, we don't hate socialists that badly, after all - according to John McCain we're even about to elect one as our President").

In other words, capitalism defies socialist China : "Show me the money".

Wen Jiabao is all ears. And smiles*. "Yes, we can".

Yes, Wen can provide some kind of relief to his new admirers, but he has some fish to fry at home as well. Will he chose to secure China's business model and one fifth of the World's population, to help the richest fifth, or to give a hand to the forgotten rest ? Probably a little bit of each : China will durably strengthen its positions in Asia, Africa, Europe and America, but the trickiest part will be China itself (see "Pervasive China's CIA (Central Investment Agency)").

New series of models will emerge. Not this week-end. Nor November the 15th, when the World Egghead Forum takes place. Nor even during the couple of years to come. But timely (at a geologic time scale at least).

They will differ from XXth century socialism or capitalism (see "This is not a financial crisis"), and China is no exception.

* Actually, I'm wondering how badly Wen's jaws hurt - he was already jubilating during his interview with Zakaria a couple of weeks ago (GPS @ CNN / Newsweek). But not as much as I did, listening to Alan Greenspan swallow just a tiny little bit of his titanic pride.

October 29 Surprise ?

I just received Joe Biden's robomail for Barack's 10/29 special :

"Next Wednesday, October 29th, is a perfect night for supporters like you to
host a party in your home. Barack will appear on TV at 8:00 p.m. Eastern for 30
minutes. He'll share a positive message with Americans and discuss his plans for
healthcare reform, economic recovery, and a responsible end to the war in Iraq."

And I thought to myself hold on a minute. I'm John McCain, I don't have a dime to spare and my opponent is trusting prime time TV. My only way out is to have something else making the headlines that day. My new pal Dubya happens to be at a position where strings can be pulled...

If something really huge must hit the fan before November 4 (e.g. China invades North Korea), I'm ready to bet a buck on that very date.

---
addendum 20081027 (see cartoon)

Dubya eventually picked Syria to deliver the October Surprise McCain needed (red flag provoquing an artificial tension). Smart move : putting economy behind security is one thing, but boosting AIPAC vs JStreet may keep FL red.

Drop ACORN, pick-up YPM

YPM (Young Political Majors) are under several investigations for voter frauds across different states (ie bait-and-switch registration schemes). YPM owner Mark Jacoby has just been arrested in Ontario*.


Now here is a genuine threat to democracy, Mac. The problem is, YPM was hired by the GOP to do this, so you'd better keep quiet a low profile on ACORN... which has nothing to do with the Obama-Biden campaign, nor even the Dems.

I guess this is it, John McCain. All your accusations have failed lamentably :

How can you say Obama is a threat to democracy when HE is its last chance and YOU are ready to destroy it ?
How can you say Obama is a socialist when HE is working on the salvation of the whole economy, and YOU are voting for the same rescue package ?
How can you say Obama is palling around with a former terrorist when HE is simply accepting a membership to the same charity run by Republicans (the said terrorist turned into a Chicago Citizen of the Year), and YOU are a member of the USWCF board during the very peak of this organization's most infamous exactions ?
How can you say Obama doesn't share American values when HE is fighting for the restoration of America's greatness and advocating a sound, respectful and profound approach of religion, and YOU are fueling racial and religious hatred, courting Amerika's worst enemies, and reciting empty mantras in which you obviously don't even believe ?


Your smear ads backfired to the point Republican candidates are begging you to stop them. Colin Powell broke the dam, and will unleash a flock of true Republicans who cannot subscribe to your not-so-hidden agenda***.


You lost, because you chose the wrong side of your party, the wrong side of your country, the wrong side of your own self.

You lost the War in MacCainistan.



* see "Voters contend they were duped into registering as Republicans" (LA Times 20081017)
** see "Ontario police arrest man in voter fraud case" (LA Times 20081020)
*** at last ! see "GOP : Time to Split"



PS : don't forget to report any voter fraud attempt (more more about this CMD initiative on "The Election Protection Wiki")

Addendum 20081022 : speaking of the wrong side of America, here is Jon Stewart wondering where the pf..k is real America :

Debate # 3 : That One tamed The Whipper

And the winner is... Joe The Plumber. Or maybe Bob Schiffer.

John McCain survived another day, leading the first half of the debate, putting Barack Obama on the defensive, wording his distance with Bush ("Senator Obama, I'm not President Bush"), and winning the closing address.

In his best debate so far (and the last one : should he win, Palin will probably do the next one), McCain even survived the Veep test, Obama failing to point out the fact that Joe Biden was ready to lead the country from day one.

But the Sitting Bull looked once again very grumpy when his opponent was talking, and Obama, who gracefully dodged the abortion ("Nobody's pro-abortion") and Bill Ayers bullets, wrapped the second half thanks to health and education. And he was a little bit more subtle when it came to courting Ohio / Michigan voters ("Joe The Plumber" crushed by a Detroit motorcade).

Obama was tired and not in his best day. But he didn't make any mistake and didn't hurt his batting average that badly.

He was just a nice smart man debating with a nervous person who came to make a show or better : to fight on a ring. McCain came out smiling, but Americans are not in a mood to count this kind of points.

Wrestling with Joe The Plumber, The Maverick won the WWF bout, but facing America, Barack Obama won the Presidential Debate.

SNL Prez debate #2 - Mac lost his bearings

Featuring Barack Obama / Fred Armisen, John McCain / Darrell Hammond, Tom Brokaw / Chris Parnell and William Murray / Bill Murray

+ Actors Studio bonus : I like to say "body language doesn't lie", but Kathlyn and Gay Hendricks went much further on the Huffington Post ("Body Politics: Sarah Palin's Body Language And Why It Should Worry You"). Here are the first 3 flags they raised about Sarah Palin (2 more to come) : 
- Attitude-Flag #1: The Aggressive Confidence Of The Con-Person
- Voice-Flag #1: The Exaggerated Folksiness Of The Huckster
- Voice-Flag #2: The Metallic Shriek Of The Fear-Monger

John, Ben, Barack Hussein, James, Thomas, and other beautiful American names

What do McCain and Obama have in common ? Any of the two would be the 15th US President with a Semitic name*.

Yep. Barack Hussein is as American as John, Joe or Sarah.

And Barack Hussein Obama is no more un-American than such radical terrorists as Benjamin Franklin or Abraham Lincoln. Maybe President McCain would arrest Bin Yamin Franklin for inventing a weapon of mass destruction collecting energy from lightning bolts, or Abraham for sporting such a suspicious beard...

Obama never made a mystery of the nature of his relationship with Bill Ayers, and repeatedly denounced his past actions. We have yet to hear from John McCain about his relationships with John Singlaub and his presence at the board of the sulfurous U.S. Council for World Freedom (not exactly the board of a charity at that time, ask any Nicaraguan).

"Who is Barack Hussein Obama ?" We know the answer, the man is quite open about his past, present and future, about what he knows and doesn't know, about what he did wrong and right, about where he stands and whom he stands for.

"Who is John McCain ?" I'm not sure John himself wants to face the answer.

* praise Juan Cole : "Barack Hussein Obama, Omar Bradley, Benjamin Franklin and other Semitically Named American Heroes"


---
Addendum 20081019
Praise also Colin Powell for not only endorsing Barack, but also setting the record straight about US Muslims (NBC's "Meet the Press" 20081019) :

see also Barack's reaction - ABC News "Obama 'Beyond Humbled' as GOP's Powell Says He'd Be 'an Exceptional President'" 20081019)

Debate # 2 : XXIst Century wins

In a dull re-run of the previous debate*, McCain lost one of his last chances of changing the dynamics of his erratic campaign.

Even on his own turf (Town Hall format), and even with the help of Tom Brokaw (the ultimate loser tonight : he didn't even prevent the Senator of Arizona from reaching across the aisle and shaking hands with a member of the audience), McCain lost.

Condemned to control himself in front of the camera (which did catch some angry moments in the background, though**), stuck to XXth century role models (clumsily courting Reagan fans), and XXth century solutions that are not solutions (like Tina Fey's Palin plegdes to "fix it" in every sentence, he keeps saying "I know how to" without actually telling how), McCain lost.

Claiming a "vision of the future" but exposing a vision of the past while the next President set the pace for the next century, McCain lost.

Referring to other people's ideas while the next President articulated views that resonated in everybody's minds, McCain lost.

Moreover, Barack Obama won. Against the XXth century's last presidential candidate, he smacked grand slam homeruns on economy and health care, but he also claimed Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan (leaving only "tiny" Georgia to Sakash's pal)***. 

Tonight, many Americans must feel even more comfortable with such a Commander in Chief.

McCain ? His "vision of the future" doesn't point to the White House. If he truly wants to save the country, he must first win the McCainistan war and second lose the November elections.

* see "Debate # 1 : McCain didn't lose, and President Obama spared him" 

** watch him grab his chair in the background while Obama's speaking. The chair didn't break and that's the only difference with Amy Poehler / Hillary during Fey's first SNL stunt.

*** in the process, great admissions on "I don't understand" (... why invade Iraq instead of fighting terrorists where they actually were) or "Government intrusion" (... to crack down big corporation abuses) - funny : we didn't even hear once the word "maverick" tonight...

Help me help you help me help us all

I need to go back to my most personal work but I can't.

Nothing to do with writer's block : I've been writing all day for months, thank you.

No. I'll take that last one back. Damn you.

Damn you, American citizens, for being on the verge of electing a couple of "Mavericks" who pledged allegiance to the enemies of democracy.

Damn you, American citizens, for being on the verge of preventing this world from being led by the best man at the best place at the best moment.

Damn you, American citizens, for voting for the worst person at the worst place at the worst moment four years ago.

Damn you, American citizens, for once more sucking all my energy as I try to wake you up on time, while I should be writing my meaningless book.

One month to go today.

One month untill the end this nightmare of mine. 

Or the beginning of this nightmare of ours.

McCain's Golden Jet Wings

Those "Golden Parachutes" are things from the past.

I pledge to replace them with Fusionman's "Golden Jet Wings".

The New Energy Expert Doesn't Blink - She Winks

Tonight, we met the latest version of Sarah Palin. A mix between the RNC pitbull and the brawling Ross Perot.

We've been winked at, mavericked, joesixpacked, hockeymommed, heckovulotted, mainstreeterlikemeed, youbetchized, wakdawaktakdataked by the new self proclaimed national expert in energy issues.

Tonight, Joe Biden was controling himself (he only managed to lose the gay-lesbian voters, who anyway won't rush to Sarah Read My Lipstick Palin*). Like Obama the other day**, he missed opportunities on economics (he could for instance denounce the politics of "fear" of her opponent).

But he didn't blink when it came to put a label on the Bush legacy ("an abject failure") or Dick Cheney ("the most dangerous Vice-President in History"). And he shed a tear that looked more genuine than Palin's fake and nervous compassion. Besides, his support of Israel sounded more sincere than her AIPAC leaflet... The true "natural" was the one who didn't have to train clumsily to look and sound like one.

As expected, Palin fared better than many thought, but only in appearance. I'm not sure everybody will be fooled, but at least some hardliners must feel some relief.

Biden wasn't fooled, but he too must be feeling some relief.

You don't debate with someone who doesn't believe in debate. You don't debate with someone who thinks he/she is always right and never make mistakes. You don't debate with someone who thinks there is no such thing as evolution.

You just speak and listen to this person speak. And hope he or she will never be in a position to nominate Supreme Justices.


* Gobernator III doesn't read newspapers (see Couric interview) but I know she subscribes to such publications as AmericanRifleman, The Neo-Creationist, Theocon Weekly, or the Bushnomist (the First Dude is rumored to favor an Alaskan skin magazine (Of Moose and Men).
** see "Debate # 1 : McCain didn't lose, and President Obama spared him".

A Maverick or a Gambler ?

Jo Becker and Don van Natta Jr from The New York Times delivered a very interesting paper on John McCain and his relationship to gambling and the gambling industry*.

The man is a gambler, and members of his team as well as major sponsors of his campaign have close ties with the industry.

This doesn't come as a surprise and explains a lot about the man, and his behavior... particularily after a week during which the wheel kept turning in the wrong direction for him.

I want to raise the issue of timing. Why raise this issue right now ?

It sounds like more and more people, including in the GOP, are not feeling so comfortable with the McCain-Palin ticket.

Palin is a magnet for theocons, but a scarecrow for voters who want a reliable vice-president instead of a theocon puppet. McCain and Bush will have to invent a major diversion to cancel her "debate" with Joe Biden (even if the format of the meeting protects her : no direct confrontation, this impostor can safely recitate Schmidt's mantras)

McCain was relatively spared, but the media will be more focusing on his character in the days to come : a gambler, often bad tempered, a womanizer who dumped his first wife because she didn't look as nice after a dramatic car incident... not exactly a poster child for the religious right.

True Republicans will feel relieved if this ticket fails. It's the only way of reforming the GOP, of getting rid of the Bush-Cheney theocon-neocon clique who disgraced the party and the country over the past 8 years.

Expect more circumstantiated character destruction about John McCain and Sarah Palin in the days to come.

This character destruction will prevent the character assassination of the US of A**.


* see "McCain and Team Have Many Ties to Gambling Industry" (NYT 20080928)
** see "Change is coming" and Mac "will fight", but for whom and for what ?"

Debate # 1 : McCain didn't lose, and President Obama spared him

McCain didn't lose, which can be considered a win.

Abusing of Rove / Schmidt tactics (ie repeating "Senator Obama doesn't understand" / "doesn't get it", when McCain actually is the one who's to blame), John made the best of the little he had, stuck at the tactical level (surge) when Barack was trying to lift the debate at the strategical level (going to war).

Obama missed several opportunities. He was great on foreign issues, but not incisive enough on economics. He didn't attack McCain on his key contradictions, and to the surprise and relief of his rival, he didn't even mention his ties with lobbyists (if the GOP candidate wants to change Wall Street, the first guys to fire are his own campaign team, whom HE appointed, and not the SEC chairman, whom HE cannot fire).

At times, it felt like Bush-Kerry redux : a populist, sneaky, bent but humorous reptile dancing in front of a tall presidential figure with a clear vision, clear values. I don't know if independent voters will be fooled by McCain's dance, but fundamentalists must have enjoyed the Bushish vocabulary ("greed", "evil", "Holocaust"...).

McCain has no choice but playing the emotional, "compassionate not so conservative" tune, and Obama needs Americans to sober up, but without sounding like a party crasher.


---

Addendum : the SNL version featuring Darrell Hammond / McCain and Fred Armisen / Obama (about suspensions and suspenders...) :

The Washington Dodgers

Meet the Washington Dodgers : Bush-McCain-Palin

Rookie Sarah Palin proved a perfect match for the "franchise" : she refuses all kind of accountability and expects voters to trust her in a few weeks.

George W. Bush was the first to join the roster, during the Vietnam war. Ever since, he kept breaking all Sluggish Average records, smacking budgets well over the fence. His trademark home run ? Crawling back to Crawford, TX, and from there signing the orders for thousands of coffins to be sent to Iraq.

While Bush avoided Vietnam, John McCain was stuck there, playing for a very different team. But this All Star favorite faded into an opportunist, ready to sell himself to his former enemies. He is now a proud Dodger and refuses to face the press, the facts, his rival Obama, and ultimately History.

Now John McCain wants to skip the debate, a "time out" in the middle of the financial crisis. What kind of leader cries Uncle so clumsily ? Why not say "sorry, my staff can get back to you but as far as I'm concerned, I can't handle several problems at the same time" while you're at it ?

This is no time for cowardice and denial : it's time to face the problems, the nation and History.

The only truly presidential leader remains available on every front : Obama keeps his cool and authority, and he firmly reminds his opponent that this is the very best moment for voters to know exactly where the candidates stand on key issues.

I guess the campaigns should modify the debate agenda : domestic and economic issues should be coped with this friday instead of foreign issues.

Do You Cash Straight Talk Express ?

McCain is regaining some ground in the polls (45-49 vs 44-50 yesterday according to Gallup), but remains groundless as far as economics are concerned.

His glorious plan can be summed up in two sentences :

1- "less Government but more oversight and less regulation in order to fix a fundamentally sound economy in crisis"

2- "Obama did it : this un-American Muslim terrorist married a witch who couldn't even offer him 7 houses and 13 cars, and he is friends with people who actually understand economics"

Well. According to today's New York Times (20080922) : "Senator John McCain’s campaign manager was paid more than $30,000 a month for five years as president of an advocacy group set up by the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to defend them against stricter regulations, current and former officials say".

Ouch. Do you cash Straight Talk Express ?

Movin'on to Sarah Palin : how did the Cheney with lipstick try to recover from a week where she lost 8 positive points and gained 4 negative points ? She visited a conservative spot in Florida, drew a crowd of tens of thousands (even better than in Colorado Springs, CO, a fundamentalist's heaven). Recited lines from The Bullet for 20 minutes, took or answered no questions.

No interviews
No investigations
No subpoenas
No direct debate with Biden (where were the Dems on that one ?*)
...

How on Earth can millions of decent human beings still consider voting for this ticket ?


* FYI, the full (vice-) presidential debate(s) schedule :
. Prez debate #1 (Foreign policy) : 20080926 at Ole Miss in Oxford, MS - Jim Lehrer (PBS)
. Veep debate (all issues except Troopergate, Pentecostal doomsday scenarios, Bridges to Nowhere...) : 20081002 at Washington University in Saint Louis, MO - Gwen Ifill (PBS)
. Prez debate #2 (Town hall style questions from the public and the web) : 20081007 at Belmont University in Nashville, TN - Tom Brokaw (NBC)
. Prez debate #3 (Domestic policy) : 20081015 - Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY - Bob Scheiffer (CBS)

I can't wait to have my staff get back to me and introduce me to economics

Collapses in Wall Street and Alaska

The fundamentals of the McCain-Palin ticket sound as good as those of the US economy...

The Palin Imposture :

- a "Maverick" shaking DC... with Cheney's neocon agenda and Bush's theocon agenda

- an "independent" reaching across the aisle... but firing anybody who disagree with her

- an agent of change... who doesn't even believe in Evolution

- in favor of investigation... but not of subpoenas

- ready to protect the country... but running Alaska from an unprotected Yahoo! account

- ...

Q "Well John, don't you think it's time to accept you're not good at casting people fit for the job ?"

A "I haven't changed my mind: I think... I'll have my staff get back to you"

PS / bonus : for the road, Fey / Palin's premiere at SNL with Poehler / Hillary :

Change for Bush ? Thanks, but no thanks, John McCain

Indy John, raider of the lost Arch-rival ?

I'm John McCain and I approved this mess-up.

Obama answers 3 A.M. phony calls

If you think the 2004 campaign was nasty, sit down and watch the rivers of lies pouring down the screens.

I dubbed McCain's campaign manager Steve Schmidt "The Infratect" because he truly is Karl Rove's Mini-me and because McCain won't build anything good if he keeps working with such designers*, but everybody knows his nickname "The Bullet" and his prowess in Weapons of Mass Disinformation.

Schmidt's nasty jabs often strike below the belt, and even when the referee (independent media) cry foul, he keeps on trying new ugly tricks.

No, Obama is not a Muslim. But boy, does he have the Muhammad Ali mojo and punch on that one* :



This man won't let someone who spat on him dictate him what to say and what to do.

This man won't let "some member of his staff get back to you" when you ask him a tricky question.

And yes, this man can take any 3 AM phone call. We now the truly phony ones won't work.

Between 2001 and 2003, with bold lies, they managed to forge a case for a war that costs billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands casualties.

Between 2003 and 2004, with bold lies, they managed to get George W. Bush and Dick Cheney elected in spite of all the evidences likely to get the both of them impeached.

Between 2005 and 2007, with bold lies, they managed to make you believe their strategy was working, but all they did was to build walls of hatred all over the Middle East and even at home.

And now, with bold lies, they are painting Obama as un-American and McCain as un-Bush in order to get an extra 4 years and finish their work of destruction.

As the latest polls show, their bold lies seem to be working once again, but once again the loser will be America.


* Rove and Schmidt are better at destruction, as McCain himself could testify eight years ago. Now this guy is reshaping a Maverick into a carpet.
** CNN footage about the so-called "lipstickgate"