Isn't this so cute? (via email)

Senator Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) today issued the following statement on the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States:

"I sincerely congratulate President-elect Obama for his historic and impressive victory. America remains a nation of extraordinary opportunity and the American people are a people of extraordinary fairness. Now that the election is over, it is time to put partisan considerations aside and come together as a nation to solve the difficult challenges we face and make our blessed land stronger and safer. I pledge to work with President-elect Obama and his incoming Administration in their efforts to reinvigorate our economy and keep our nation secure and free."

While I'm trying to get into the spirit of Obama's hope for a post-partisan presidency, can I be allowed this one small, deeply partisan moment and demand the Senate leadership kick this sorry ass out of the Democratic caucus once and for all?

Lieberman is supposed to meet with Harry Reid later this week. Once upon a time, Reid was insisting that Lieberman was "with us on everything but the war." Of course, that was before he said he feared "America will not survive" if Democrats won 60 seats and before he said Obama "has not always put America first" and said he was "not ready to lead."

Lieberman may once have been "an important vote for our caucus," as Reid said in defending Holy Joe this summer. But he's irrelevant now, and deserves the fate he has earned.

With job losses continuing to be a major problem in America, John McCain would rather not focus on the economy. Nope....You can always count on the politics of personal destruction from Republicans and the news coming out is that John McCain will amp up these attacks that have little to do with the issues and all to do with desperation.

Sen. John McCain and his Republican allies are readying a newly aggressive assault on Sen. Barack Obama's character, believing that to win in November they must shift the conversation back to questions about the Democrat's judgment, honesty and personal associations, several top Republicans said.

With just a month to go until Election Day, McCain's team has decided that its emphasis on the senator's biography as a war hero, experienced lawmaker and straight-talking maverick is insufficient to close a growing gap with Obama. The Arizonan's campaign is also eager to move the conversation away from the economy, an issue that strongly favors Obama and has helped him to a lead in many recent polls.

"We're going to get a little tougher," a senior Republican operative said, indicating that a fresh batch of television ads is coming. "We've got to question this guy's associations. Very soon. There's no question that we have to change the subject here," said the operative, who was not authorized to discuss strategy and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Being so aggressive has risks for McCain if it angers swing voters, who often say they are looking for candidates who offer a positive message about what they will do.

Maybe now the Obama-Biden ticket will stop complimenting McCain every chance they get.

Plain is attacking Obama with the FOX News/Sean Hannity/Bill Ayers nonsense. 

Palin cited an article in today's New York Times as evidence that Obama "sees America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who targeted their own country." The Alaska governor was referring to William Ayers, one of the founding members of the Weathermen and someone who once served on a charitable board with Obama in Chicago. 

Obama was eight years old at the time...I saw the really awful Vampire movie on cable called "30 Days of Night" and it reminded me of the type of cities that are in Alaska and I wondered what Palin would do when Vamps attacked her city...

Obama has a lead in all the national polls and has made significant progress in the battleground states at this point. So I think if he wants to cement his run to the White House, he should come out with an updated version of an economic recovery plan that further illustrates his leadership abilities. With his constant call for bipartisanship, he can summon the Republicans to join him for the good of America or he'll be able to paint them as ideologues hellbent on retaining their power in Congress instead of trying to use their authority to help the American people.

It's a simple strategy that could resonate with voters and also knock the Newt Gingrich-led Republicans back on their heels---painting them at obstructing the American dream.

I've never been a fan of calling for bipartisanship because there are no moderate Republicans left in DC since the "Southern strategy" was launched by Gingrich in '94. They've attacked Democrats and liberals at every turn, but as I've said, Obama can use that now to his advantage and it would also finally lead the country in a progressive direction.

The fruits of Conservatism have been finally realized and we can all see that its end game has led this country into ruin so now is the time for a left-wing agenda to guide the country. It will be a difficult task; the Conservatives will continue to kick and scream, but playing the obstructionist game may not help their cause. In any case, if Obama comes out strong and leads with a firm hand he can grab the White House and give us a legitimate shot are restoring America to the promised land.

The ball is in your court now, Obama, will you take it?

The GOP sure knows its base, you gotta hand it to them. A little digging by Govgap.com reveals that www.votefortheMILF.com links directly back to JohnMcCain.com, then on to Sarah Palin's page and a video message.

Govgap.com:

- URL Registered within ~36 hours of McCain's Decision to select Palin as running mate
- Redirect sends users specifically to a palin.htm file, but only on the FIRST redirect
- Whois Privacy Information Matches JohnMcCain.com Whois Privacy
- URL Held by same registrar
- Note that the .net and .org versions also redirect to the McCain Campaign Website.
Network Tools.com Trace Route:
- 64.203.107.149 (VoteForTheMILF.com)
- 64.203.107.149 (JohnMcCain.com) Read on...

Al Franken's new ad features his wife talking about her struggles with alcoholism and how he helped her get through it and kept their family going.  It's so refreshing to see a this kind of revealing and personal ad from a politician, especially in today's volatile climate. 

You can see all of Al's ads at his Franken For Senate YouTube Page and if you would like to show him some love and donate to his campaign and help him give Norm Coleman the boot, you can visit his official campaign website.

The Obama campaign has already released an ad using footage from last night's VP debate and they've scored another direct hit.

The ad targets Sarah Palin from last night's debate as she proudly announced John McCain's disastrous health care plan that allows a $5000 tax credit for Americans to purchase health care -- and then strikes right back with Joe Biden's brilliant response, reminding people that in order to offset the credit McCain's plan would tax American's health insurance premiums for the first time in American history. The ULTIMATE bridge to nowhere.  Brilliant! (h/t Jamie)

Tonight's debate between Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah "Main Street, Wasilla" Palin yielded few fireworks, but Biden did a good job of keeping the focus where it should be -- on John McCain, his miserable voting record and the fact that a McCain presidency would look a lot like the disaster we've seen from George Bush.

Biden: "Past is prologue, Gwen. The issue is how different is John McCain's policy going to be than George Bush's? I haven't heard anything yet. I haven't heard how his policy is going to be different on Iran than George Bush's. I haven't heard how his policy will be different with Israel than George Bush's, I haven't heard how his policy on Afghanistan will be different than George Bush's, I haven't heard how his policy in Pakistan will be different than George Bush's. It may be, but so far, it is the same as George Bush's, and you know where that policy has taken us. We will make significant change, so once again, we're the most respected nation in the world. That's what we're going to do."

The Politico:

John McCain is pulling out of Michigan, according to two Republicans, a stunning move a month away from Election Day that indicates the difficulty Republicans are having in finding blue states to put in play.

McCain will go off TV in Michigan, stop dropping mail there and send most of his staff to more competitive states, including Wisconsin, Ohio and Florida. Wisconsin went for Kerry in 2004, Ohio and Florida for Bush.

McCain's campaign didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Oh, but don't fear you lurking McCain supporters...the RNC isn't leaving Michigan and most of McCain's staffers will move to their headquarters.

A McCain adviser confirmed the news but noted that the Republican National Committee's independent expenditure arm is still running ads there, and that McCain will keep most of his staff in-state. McCain officials and Michigan Republican Party officials declined to comment. Weirdly, McCain's staff scheduled a surrogate conference call with Mitt Romney for this afternoon, perhaps assuming that their shift in advertising would not be noticed or reported. The McCain move was disclosed one day after auto manufacturers based in the state reported record revenue declines. Previously, McCain has argued that Obama's intention to raise taxes on the rich would further deepen Michigan's worst-in-the-nation recession.

The move away from Michigan reflects the abandonment of any pretense that McCain can spend freely to expand the map for Republicans this year, and it's a sign that the campaign recognizes how the past two weeks have erased nearly all of McCain's gains since August.

In fact, the word on the street is that the RNC is planning a big blitz against ACORN in Milwaukee, since ACORN had a big voter registration blitz here.  Can't wait to see the barely veiled racism of those ads.

"I don't know what yardstick Senator McCain uses, but where I come from, there is nothing more 'fundamental' than a job.  The fundamentals of our economy are not strong and it's time we had a President who understands that."

  Download | play   Download | play   (h/t Heather)

Obama also explains his vote in favor of the "rescue plan" last night, and calls this crisis the "final verdict" on trickle-down economics and deregulation. 

Transcript of the entire speech (available here) below the fold

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    Most folks missed it, because the vote came just before the bailout bill, but on Wednesday the US Senate voted 86-13 to approve the India 123 bill, giving India access to US nuclear know-how and materials for the first time since India conducted a nuclear weapons test three decades ago. Both presidential candidates voted for the bill and the House had already passed it 298 to 117. The roll call for the Senate vote shows that Boxer, Byrd, Feingold, Leahy and Sanders were among the few "Nay" votes.

Arms control experts aren't at all happy with the deal:

Daryl G. Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, blasted the deal as a "nonproliferation disaster." India, along with Pakistan and Israel, has never signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty. India conducted nuclear tests in 1974 and 1998, despite international outrage, and continues to produce fissile material. Kimball said the deal "does not bring India into the nonproliferation mainstream" because it "creates a country-specific exemption from core nonproliferation standards that the United States has spent decades to establish."

But Bush is:

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I'm watching my teevee now, but both Obama and McCain voted for it.

The Senate on Wednesday passed a $700 billion plan to stabilize U.S. financial markets, in a dramatic game of one-upmanship that sends the issue back into the lower chamber, where it narrowly failed on Monday.

The bill had no trouble exceeding the 60-vote threshold needed for passage after Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) hammered out an agreement late Tuesday. Mindful of Monday's 777-point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the two Senate leaders had worked unusually closely and quickly to cobble together a compromise in consultations with House leaders and the White House.

Reid and Mitch are speaking now...Dodd got major props...And then there's this.

So Obama crossed over into enemy territory.

He walked over to where McCain was chatting with Republican Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida and Independent Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut. And he stretched out his arm and offered his hand to McCain.

McCain shook it, but with a "go away" look that no one could miss. He tried his best not to even look at Obama. Finally, with a tight smile, McCain managed a greeting: "Good to see you."

During the recent debate with Barack Obama, John McCain stated that "I know the veterans, I know them well, and I know that they know that I'll take care of them". Obama let it slide, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Our good friend Brandon Freidman of VetVoice has done some excellent work researching and compiling the Master List of how little McCain cares for troops and veterans. It's a must-read post that's too detailled to excerpt but it comprehensively lists all the times McCain: refused to support veterans by refusing to vote for veteran benefits, healthcare and support; refused to support the troops in combat by voting against extra armor for them; refused to  support the troops by first cheerleading for and then voting for enmiring America in Bush's war of choice in Iraq; refused to support the real front in Afghanistan by continually voting against any withdrawal from Iraq. It also lists a whole slew of McCain's foreign policy gaffes, pointing to systemic ignorance and bad judgement rather than a few accidental mis-speakings. Brandon has included sources for his list and YouTube videos to back many of the items.

Seriously, you'll want to read and cite this list often. His support for veterans and troops is a big part of McCain's pitch but in reality it's simply mythology created out of whole cloth.

And so is McCain's "judgement" on Iraq.

McCain: "We're going to win this victory. Tragically, we will lose American lives. But it will be brief.  We're going to find massive evidence of weapons of mass destruction . . . It's going to send the message throughout the Middle East that democracy can take hold in the Middle East." (Fox News, Hannity & Colmes, 2/21/03)

  Bill Clinton gave a blistering endorsement of Barack Obama's leadership at a huge rally in Ft. Pierce, Florida today.

Download | play   Download | play

Clinton: We have to elect a President that will rebuild the American dream, repair a badly shattered financial system and restore America's standing in the world. Look at the mess that we have  in our financial  system. This is not accidental folks. It doesn't have to be this way. It matters who the President is, it matters what decisions he makes and it matters what the policies are. Obama's got better answers.  He knows what it will take to get this country back on track.

Obama's answers are better!

Bill Clinton explains the financial crisis and how Obama will be able to grow the economy and lead America back like no other.

Huff Post: Why Sarah Palin Is A Better Debater Than You Think

Given the debate's format on Thursday night, I expect Palin will do just fine. I will be quite surprised if she gets caught off guard or has a moose-in-headlights moment. I don't think she'll display much in the way of specifics, but she will get the values-oriented language right, and that should be good enough at least for a draw, and that will mean she beats expectations.

I know that the McCain camp is setting expectations on the VP debate as low as possible so if or when she does survive the debate it'll be viewed as a huge victory for her and McCain. That's their plan. I'm not certain how Biden will handle it. His overall knowledge is on a different level obviously, but how he approaches the debate will be pivotal, being that the media is just looking for those "sound byte" moments and side show theatrics to make their post debate chatter have some drama.  Obama's camp should be explaining to people that she is an experienced debater and they have.

"We've looked at tapes of Gov. Palin's debates, and she's a terrific debater," Plouffe told reporters on a conference call. "She has performed very, very well. She's obviously a skilled speaker. We expect she'll give a great performance next Thursday."

She is pretty good. Check out here and here. I think she will come out tough and go after Biden like she did the other day. Eric has some advice:

This all lends itself to a strategy of Palin avoiding answering any questions in the debate that she's not comfortable with, and instead trying to shift the focus to attacks on Joe Biden. This strategy makes sense for the two reasons above. Biden is proud of his record and could feel the need to defend it, but, he only has two minutes in the highly structured format of this debate. So, the more he falls to temptation to defend his record, the less time he has to talk about what he and Senator Obama want to do. Additionally, it allows Palin to look tough and confident, with the seasoned Senator on the defensive.

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This is one of those moments when the unexpected comes out of nowhere. Of all places FOX & Friends announced to Sen. McCain that Sen, Obama had led the way on asking to increase the FDIC program up to 250K and what was HE going to do....And it gets better....

  Download | play   Download | play

Q: Barack Obama already has a proposal to  revive negotiations. He wants to increase the amount of money guaranteed by the FDIC of 100 to 250K . What would Sen, John McCain do? Well let's ask him. Sen. McCain, your serve. Barack Obama has made a bold move.

(Silence and blinking from McCain) McCain: Uh, I, I uhhh talked with the President this morning....

He looked like he was not prepared for that. And then he was forced to admit that he did not save the day when he suspended his campaign last Thursday and went to DC to whip the Republicans to vote for the bail out. He was supposed to be the savior.

Q: So Senator are you saying that you went back to get more Republicans on board so then you are in favor of voting yes yesterday. And in essence then going back...

McCain: Oh, Absolutely.

Q: OK, well then going back last week---did not change enough Republicans minds.

McCain: No, it didn't change enough Republican minds. We're going to have to change enough Republican and Democrats minds...

So McCain is not in control of his party. I guess Newt Gingrich really is running things over there.

NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reported this morning that conservatives may have been taking their marching orders from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who “was whipping against this up until the last minute” — despite issuing a statement supporting the bill as the vote was taking place...read on

That's very scary for a number of reasons...