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

This Week with George Stephanopoulos notes the passings of fashion critic Mr. Blackwell, Mr Olympia contest founder Ben Weider and newsman William Headline as well as 9 servicemembers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to icasualties, the total number of allied servicepeople killed in Iraq now total 4,501. According to Iraq Body Count, there were 150 confirmed Iraqi civilian deaths this week.

Download | Play    Download | Play (h/t David)

McCain booster Sen. Lindsay Graham has his talking points and he's not going to deviate from them, no matter how much logic and reality may interfere.

Even though highly visible (and amazingly, still respected) Republicans have openly criticized the choice of Sarah Palin for vice president and endorsed Obama, Graham will have you know that Palin has energized the base like no other. Pay no attention to those polls, people. Strangely, Graham asserts that even though her appeal is to the Republican base, if she was a Democrat, she'd be more popular than "sliced bread". How does that work, Huckleberry?

But incongruously, even though that base is energized by Palin, McCain is still that mavericky man unafraid to take on his party. Does Graham think that might depress the energized base? Maybe this is where those sliced bread Democrats come in. But even more incongruously, Colin Powell (that 'not-real-Republican', according to Graham) is nervous about McCain's SCOTUS picks, which would be just like Bush's selections of Roberts and Alito. How mavericky that is.

My head is spinning from this bizarre, logic-free rationalizations of a campaign without a clear narrative and imploding on itself. So I'll merely leave with the best line from Graham:

Governor Palin is what John McCain has been trying to do in Washington, she has done in Alaska. She has -- filing a complaint against a sitting attorney general of your own party with a Democrat takes a lot of guts. Taking on the oil interests, you know, cutting taxes. She is -- running against an incumbent governor. John sees in her many of the qualities he sees in himself.

And this is a good thing?

Well, she's the gift that keeps on giving.

Sarah Palin told a customer at a Philadelphia restaurant on Saturday that the United States should "absolutely" launch cross-border attacks from Afghanistan into Pakistan in the event that it becomes necessary to "stop the terrorists from coming any further in," a comment similar to the one John McCain condemned Barack Obama for making during last night's presidential debate.   During Friday's debate, Obama criticized the Bush administration for sending billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan without ridding the border region of terrorists.

 McCain fired back hard, arguing that newly elected Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari has had his "hands full" and suggesting that Obama's tough talk was naïve.

"You don't say that out loud," McCain said. "If you have to do things, you have to do things, and you work with the Pakistani government."

Palin's apparent disagreement with McCain's position on Pakistan came as the Alaska governor was picking up a couple of cheesesteaks at Tony Luke's in South Philadelphia. She was approached by a man wearing a Temple University t-shirt, who later identified himself as Michael Rovito...read on

Too bad she wasn't on any of the post debate network wrap up shows. She would have given the media the "sound byte" they were looking for to endlessly loop.  UPDATED:  (Nicole)

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

George Stephanopoulos asked John McCain about his running mate's loose lips and he reiterated his policy of not announcing attacks on a country ahead of time, to which Stephie pointed out that's exactly what Palin did.  McCain's response?

"You know this business of .... in all due respect people, going around and, with sticking a microphone while conversations are being held and all of a sudden that's ... that's a person's position ...it, it's a free country but I don't think most Americans think that that's a definitive policy statement made by Governor Palin and I would hope you wouldn't either."

Translation:  How dare anyone take her at her word?  You know you shouldn't listen to her!

This week we note the passing of Rick Wright, founding member of legendary band Pink Floyd, Green party activist and Ralph Nader's 2004 running mate, Peter Camejo, and famed yacht designer Olin Stephens. We also note the passing of 13 soldiers and marines killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Download | play   Download | play  

  It's a cold day in hell when the entire "This Week" panel rails against John McCain and his utter confusion when it comes to the economy. Cokie Roberts raises the specter of Herbert Hoover, Donaldson rightfully pins the deregulation racket on McCain and Republicans, calling McCain's promise to champion regulation a "hard pill to swallow,"  and George Will says McCain acted "unpresidential" and that the issue of age should re-enter the debate over whether McCain is fit for the job.

Download | play   Download | play

Quote of the segment, from George Will of all people:

John McCain showed his personality this week and made some of us fearful.

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

There are so many aspects of the proposed bailout that should send shivers down any thinking individual's spine that I hope each and every C&Ler take a few minutes to contact their representatives tomorrow to express their distrust of the bailout as written.  From the ironically-labeled Section 8: 

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency. 

to the announcement by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson (oh hell, let's just call him President Paulson now, because he's effectively running the country) that the bailout would include foreign companies as well: 

STEPHANOPOULOS: The original legislation we saw said that you would be buying up the mortgage-related assets from financial institutions having headquarters in the United States. Yet last night, the fact sheet put out by the Treasury seemed to expand that. It said only that the financial institutions have to have significant operations in the U.S., and that you could waive that at your discretion.

So, will foreign financial institutions be eligible to have their assets bought?

PAULSON: Yes, and they should, because as you think about this, if a financial institution has business operations in the United States, hires people in the United States, if they are clogged with illiquid assets, they have the same impact on the American people as any other institution.

That's a distinction without a difference to the American people. The key here is about protecting the system.[..]

But, remember, this is about protecting the American people and protecting the taxpayers. And the American people don't care who owns the financial institution. If a financial institution in this country has problems, it'll have the same impact...

What a giant, steaming load of bovine excrement.  The LAST thing on Paulson's mind is protecting the taxpayers...we are financing his buddies' golden parachutes, with no oversight, no changes and no guarantees that we won't be IN THE EXACT SAME PLACE in a couple of months.  Because if Paulson gave two bits about the American people, he would be in favor of the Democratic plan to give some relief to homeowners instead of making sure that he can hand cash over to foreign companies.   Note the complete sidestep (shame on you, Stephanopoulos, for letting him get away with it) of what the taxpayers get back in return.  Even conservative blogs are finding this bailout to be ridiculous: 

We're setting precedents that will govern the behavior of the international business community for decades to come. Do we really want to signal that risks are public and rewards are private?

For that matter, do we really want such fundamental decisions being made by obscure, unaccountable men like Bernanke, Paulson, and SEC chair Chris Cox? Shouldn't Congress and the president be more than bit players?

Speaking of those who have forgotten history, dooming us all to repeat it, C&Ler Diane emailed me a link to this BBC-Radio4 documentary, Document, that has quite a few parallels to today's financial climate. 

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

This Week with George Stephanopoulos marks the passing of basketball coach Don Haskins, actress Anita Page and novelist David Foster Wallace as well as 7 soldiers and Marines who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, I also have to note the passing of Green Party founder (and former Nader running mate) Peter Camajo.

According to icasualties, the number of allied deaths attributed to Operation Iraqi Freedom is now 4,471. During this same week, Iraq Body Count lists 129 Iraqi civilian deaths.

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

Liberal media, my Aunt Fanny.  McCain campaign proxy Carly Fiorina keeps pushing the Clinton PUMA meme as a way to reinforce for those women voters why they should vote for John McCain.  Sadly, George Stephanopoulos -- who, as a former member of the Clinton administration really ought to know better -- lets her get away with it.  Note that every time Obama supporter Sen. Claire McCaskill tries to make a point, Stephanopoulos interrupts to give Fiorina the rebuttal. 

And proving that while they absolutely cannot govern, Republicans are masters at campaigning, as McCaskill tries over and over again to show that McCain's own record belies his stated support for women's issues (a patronizing concept in and of itself--these are everyone's issues), Fiorina goes personal against Obama himself, while providing herself the alibi that Obama has gone negative despite his rhetoric of hope.   And Stephanopoulos doesn't bat an eye, nor ask Fiorina to rebut the specific legislation that McCaskill brings up.

The final indignity?  After Fiorina spins that really, she and McCaskill agree that women vote on issues and that's why they're going to vote for McCain, Stephanopoulos cuts off the interview with a Rovian let's "end on that point of agreement." Point of agreement, really?  How about corporately-pushed-low-info-voter propaganda, George?

Transcripts below the fold

Continue reading »

"... not a maverick."

Download | play Download | play h/t Heather! (Watch the entire segment on YouTube)

Via Digby:

Works for me:

STEPHANOPOULOS: ... Howard Wolfson, Senator Clinton's former communications director, said that this pick might just work to draw women to the Republican ticket. Are you worried about that?

KERRY: Well, with all due respect to Howard, you know, I have much more respect for the Clinton supporters than that sort of quick- blush take with -- I mean, how stupid do they think the Clinton supporters are, for Heaven sakes?

Do they think Clinton supporters supported Hillary only because she was a woman. For Heaven sakes, they supported Hillary because of all the things she's fought for, because she fights for health care, which John McCain doesn't support; she fights for children and children's health care, which John McCain voted against; she fights for a windfall profits tax on the oil company, which John McCain opposes.

I mean, for Heaven sakes, the people who supported Hillary Clinton are not going to be seduced just because John McCain has picked a woman. They're going to look at what she supports.

The fact that she doesn't even support the notion that climate change is manmade -- she's back there with the Flat Earth Caucus. And I don't see how those women are going to be fooled into believing -- I think it's almost insulting to the Hillary supporters that they believe they would support somebody who is against almost everything that they believe in.

STEPHANOPOULOS: OK.

KERRY: What John McCain has proven with this choice -- this is very important, George. John McCain wanted to choose Tom Ridge. He wanted to choose Joe Lieberman. He wanted to choose another candidate, but you know what? Rush Limbaugh and the right wing vetoed it.

And John McCain was forced to come back and pick a sort of Cheney-esque social conservative who's going to satisfy the base. What John McCain has proven with this choice is that John McCain is the prisoner of the right wing, not a maverick.

I like it. ...

I do too. Kerry keeps swinging for the fences like that and someone's going to want to test him for steroids.

Digby also shares some good advice, as always, on what our response to Palin might ought to be. While I tend to agree, that might be a tall order, as this well just keeps getting deeper. Your thoughts?

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

This Week with George Stephanopoulos acknowledges the passings of Ford Agency head Jerry Ford, LGBT activist and same sex marriage pioneer Del Martin and Nobel Laureate Thomas Weller as well as 5 soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.  

According the icasualties.org, the total allied deaths for Operation Iraqi Freedom now stands at 4,150.  Per Iraq Body Count, there were 141 Iraqi civilian deaths this week. 

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

This Week's In Memoriam segment noted the passing of NFL great and union head Gene Upshaw,  Dave Matthews Band sax player LeRoi Moore, Ohio Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones and the names of 12 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to icasualties, the total number of confirmed military deaths to date in Iraq is 4,460. And per Iraq Body Count, there were 153 Iraqi civilians killed during this week.

And finally, SteveAudio remembers his friend, producer Jerry Finn, who died unexpectedly this week at the age of 39.

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

During the roundtable discussion on today's This Week, "journalist" Mark Halperin shows yet again that he's fully in bed with John McCain.  As Donna Brazile, Cokie Roberts and the always flaky George Will do the usual back and forth, Halperin chimes in with a zinger that is so ridiculous that even host George Stephanopoulos can't let it slide:

Halperin: " My hunch is that this is going to end up being one of the worst moments in the entire campaign for one of the candidates, but it's Barack Obama. I believe this has opened the door to not just Tony Rezko in that ad, but to bring up Reverend Wright, to bring up his relationship with Bill Ayers. I think that the Obama campaign agressively jumped on something -"

Stephanopolous: "Don't you think that was going to come up anyway?"

Of course it is, it already has and Halperin knows that. He speaks as though John McCain hasn't already been running a nasty, Rove-designed campaign already.  Halperin's talking points sound eerily familiar to those of another McCain hack, Joe Watkins. Perhaps they're feeding at the same trough?

UPDATE:  (Nicole) Oh, this is too good.  Balloon Juice's John Cole awards Halperin an award of merit for his servicing of McCain. (h/t Bill W.)

Download | play Download | play

This Week with George Stephanopoulos marks the passings of Issac Hayes, Bill Gwatney, Jerry Wexler, Leroy Sievers, and the pentagon released the names of 9 service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to icasualties, the total fatalities for the Iraq coalition is now 4,460, and per Iraq Body Count, there were 138 Iraqi civilians killed this week.

  Heather writes:

Tom Daschle manages to get in a dig after George Stephanopoulos mis-speaks and confuses Poland for Czechoslovakia and gets in a shot at McCain for not remembering that the country does not exist any more in response to Romney touting McCain's worldly experience with his response to the Russia/Georgia conflict.

Download | play   Download | play

It really is a shame that Mitt's $35 million investment for President didn't pan out; it's pretty obvious that he would have been the weakest candidate of the bunch. And his "experience = judgment" argument re: McCain is laughable. Just as is true with Rumsfeld and Cheney, so-called "experience" is worthless when 30+ years of it leads you to believe that, say, a war with Iraq will be a cakewalk with no negative repercussions. For all his naivete and "inexperience," Barack Obama predicted rather accurately what an invasion would entail.

On ABC's THIS WEEK, Cokie said this about Obama going to Hawaii:

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

 Roberts: …going off this week I know his grandmother lives in Hawaii and I know Hawaii is a state, but it has the look of him going off to some sort of foreign, exotic place. He should be at Myrtle Beach and if he’s going to take a vacation at this time. I just think this is not the time to do that.

Responding to Cokie Roberts ridiculous statements about Obama's vacation to the state of Hawaii--here's a little message for her via email from Senator Akaka's office:

"Saying our 50th state is somehow "foreign," does a great disservice to the hard working, patriotic Americans who call Hawaii home. For months people have been asking me, 'when is Sen. Obama going to come home?' I'm so glad he found time to visit his sister and his grandmother, show his daughters more of his home state, and relax a little. Hawaii is a great U.S. destination, just ask the 5.5 million Americans who visited last year for business and pleasure.

I wonder how many times Cokie has been there herself?