Samantha Power was forced to resign as prominent adviser to Barack Obama on all things foreign policy after she called Hillary Clinton a “monster.” The controversy which broke out after her remark, caused her to resign, even though she would have liked to remain in place and even though she played an important role in shaping Obama’s foreign policy views.

Now a video has surfaced of this lady’s take on Israel. The video should make those who consider voting for Obama in November aware that he chose this person to advise him and that she was not fired for these anti-Israel remarks, but for insulting Hillary Clinton. It is quite safe to assume that Power and Obama agree quite a bit on foreign policy, especially considering the fact that quite some of Obama’s other foreign policy advisers agree with Power as well. (more…)

The Bush administration has decided to shelve plans for a diplomatic office in Iran. Bush and his staffers fear that establishing such an office now would give people the impression that they are trying to influence the outcome of the elections in November of this year.

Some, the White House believes, would believe that the office was created so as to take wind out of the sails of Barack Obama who argued for negotiations with Iran. If diplomatic office was created in Iran, the White House fears, people would accuse it of playing politics - it would make the point about establishing diplomatic ties with Iran mute. (more…)

It’s amazing how things can change in a matter of hours, isn’t it?  Mere hours ago, I was pondering my options for the future, given John McCain and Barack Obama’s contempt for their critics.

Yesterday, Sarah Palin brought up the Obama-William Ayers connection , saying Obama was “palling around with terrorists.”  Then hours ago, Politico had a report about Obama’s return volley in the form of the Keating 5 scandal, which McCain was embroiled in some years ago.  Our own Michael ver der Galien discussed this development in another article.

Both are misleading at best.  But both are the types of things I thought I’d never see from both campaigns.  And thus, my support for them is lost.  On November 4th, my vote goes to Libertarian Party candidate Bob Barr.

Earlier, our own Michael van der Galien wrote about the switch in the McCain campaign to attacks on Barack Obama’s character, judgement, and associations.  In particular, he discussed Sarah Palin’s questioning of Obama’s past associations with domestic terrorist William Ayers.

I seriously hope that ‘questions’ are not all the McCain campaign has.  How many staff members do they have on their campaign?  Surely there are people looking for any and all facts with which to destroy Obama?  And if there is something, I would think that releasing it sooner rather than later would be the proper thing to do.

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Last week, Sen. John McCain attempted to point out his opponent Sen. Barack Obama’s hypocrisy during the financial crisis by stating that Obama was the senator who got the second most amount of money from the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, behind Banking Committee chairman Chris Dodd.  Politifact checked into the situation, and labels McCain’s statement as “mostly true,” but not in the way you may think.

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John McCain’s choice for running mate, Governor Sarah Palin, ignited a well documented firestorm. As most readers will know, conservative Republicans were suddenly re-energized, white women got involved in the elections because they had a candidate they could identify with, while liberal feminists - second-wave feminists, not ‘traditional’ feminists - exploded in anger.

The main reason for the feminist anger towards Palin was that Palin did not share any of their more radical views, which they connect to being a feminists and, perhaps, a confident and ambitious woman in general. (more…)

That’s why they call them bumps; they don’t last. McCain and Obama are now basically in the same place they were before the Democratic and Republican National Conventions.  Obama is up by an RCP average of 1.9 points. The day the DNC started, the 25th of August, he was up by 1.6.The only figure that has changed is the undecided, down to just 7%.

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Obama has released a 2 minute ad addressing the Economy.

Did you see it whole? Congratulations, you have an attention-span that is above average.

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Jewish voters in Florida are reporting that they are being push-polled (the practice of sliming your opponent while pretending to poll voters) against Obama, by people who are trying to portray him as being anti-Jewish and sympathizing with Palestinian militants.

The McCain campaign had no comment. I would hope, considering the vicious push-polling McCain himself endured in the 2000 campaign, he would be quick to condemn such actions and demand none be taken in his name or by his campaign.

Then again he claimed he wouldn’t go dirty or belittle anyones integrity, or deal with “agents of intolerance” or question anyones patriotism….so maybe I hope in vain.

Iraqi officials said, Amir Taheri reported on Monday, that Senator Barack Obama tried to convince them to agree to a delay the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq during his visit to this country in July.

“He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington,” Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said in an interview. (more…)

If you believe the latest by Democratic nominee Barack Obama, a big Washington lobbyist is leading the McCain transition team.  They’re the people who will work with the Bush administration to plan the handover of power should McCain win.  Here’s Obama’s take on Timmons:

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In a highly unusual effort to court voters abroad, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama (more…)

It was reported on Sunday that British Prime Minister and leader of the Labor Party Gordon Brown had asked members of Senator and Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama’s team to help him win the elections against the conservative Tories.

If true the initiative would mean a break with the long standing tradition of governments and foreign parties trying not to influence the elections in another country. (more…)

Karl Rove today warned both the Obama and McCain camps over statements they have made in recent ads must check out on the fact meter, or they will risk hurting themselves.

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Team Obama has come up with a new strategy to counter the resurgence of John McCain in the polls. The new strategy will, Chris Cillizza explains, aim at appeasing both progressive activists and the party’s more conservative (less progressive) leadership.

Most significantly, his campaign will be distinctly partisan from now onwards. (more…)

I haven’t given myself enough opportunities to visit the tireless researchers at factcheck.org, but I think that may change as the election draws near.  Most especially, the debates will provide plenty of material on both sides for them.  Here’s a few “facts” used by McCain or Obama that have been checked.

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On Tuesday, Senator Barack Obama gave a speech about education. It was trumped by his campaign as one of the major political addresses in the last months.

Read the speech here at PoliGazette. (more…)

Americans for Tax Reform has published a press release attacking Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee for the presidency. In it they claim that Obama himself admits the tax hikes he wants to impose on richer Americans will hurt the economy.

The tax hikes the organization speak about are, especially, the Bush tax cuts which Obama does not want to make permanent. (more…)

The following will undoubtedly encourage more speculation about Barack Obama’s faith and, more specifically, about the religion he adhered to as a child. However, it seems to me that he meant to say that McCain’s campaign has not in any way suggested that Obama is a Moslem. He changed his wording immediately, further enforcing the impression that it was an innocent rather than a Freudian slip of the tongue. (more…)

Barack Obama, speaking to reporters today, strongly emphasized that Sarah Palin’s family is off limits in this election season.

“Let me be as clear as possible,” Obama said. “I think people’s families are off-limits, and people’s children are especially off-limits. This shouldn’t be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin’s performance as governor or her potential performance as a vice president.”

John McCain also has made a statement regarding the Palin family:

“This is a very personal matter for the family. We should all respect the love they have for the child and the desire all parents would have for their children’s privacy.”

“The media should respect Bristol’s privacy. That’s always been the tradition and practice when it comes to the children of candidates.”

Couldn’t agree more.  I would remind liberals out there who are citing “hypocrisy” that the Republicans haven’t even gone near the subject of Obama’s family.

Matter’s such as Bristol Palin’s pregnancy are private matters.  It should be left alone.  If you want to make an argument on abstinence-only education, there are so many other arguments that can be made without being specific to that family.

Recent posts and commenters have come to virtual loggerheads over labels, support for one candidate over another and the competing social policies and ideologies of the two major political parties in the U.S.  Those who are label obsessive accuse one another of possessing either extreme liberal or conservative ideologues.  Label mongering, however, is both inaccurate and intellectually lazy.  For the vast majority, individual political views and ideologies are much more nuanced and complex.

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True, I tend to prefer the Obama-Biden ticket, but I identify with the feelings expressed in this cartoon by Tom Janssen about the exaggerated (mostly positive, uncritical) attention of Dutch ( and other (foreign) ) media for Mr Obama. I also get really annoyed when I hear people like Michael Stipes tell the world that they will emigrate from the US if Mr McCain gets ( or maybe they mean: if Mr Obama is not ) elected in November. Where are all those artists and others who claimed something similar four years ago? Most probably still in their homeland. Like many world citizens I was not impressed with the democratic process through which Bush jr. was elected once, but saying that you will leave your country if you do not get your political way can hardly be considered democratic either. I do believe that big changes in America’s foreign and domestic policies are necessary and that the Bush administrations have been a disaster in more than one way, but turning change into a meaningless mantra does not really convince me, and I understand why some voters get scared by the change-for-change’s-sake slogans. When it comes to personalities, I have great sympathy and admiration for John McCain and for his service record, probably more than for Barack Obama(’s). If only the GOP candidate was 10, 15 years younger, had a VP who has any known positions on foreign policy, and was supported by a different party…

Amongst all the hoopla about whether or not Sarah Palin was the right choice for John McCain’s running mate, I have yet to see one sentiment expressed.

When Barack Obama secured the Democratic nomination in June, it was said to be historic.  Yet, at that time, and up until this morning, changing the face of the two top positions in this country was not guaranteed.  Then John McCain chose Sarah Palin for his running mate, and that sealed the deal.

No matter what happens on November 4th now, how we see the the country’s two top leadership positions has changed forever.  And whether or not you agree with Barack Obama’s or Sarah Palin’s political views, that change can only be a good thing for the country.

Well the instant message finally arrived. Biden is the VP nominee for the Democratic Party. The Obama camp put up a valiant effort to keep the pick secret until the very end, and though they didn’t entirely manage it, having kept the thing under wraps from a downright rabid press for as long as they did deserves to be commended.

Now, after the fevereish VP guessing game comes the fevereish VP evaluation game. Predictably, almost all the evaluation is going into political perception, not actual judgement.

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As the hours tick by to the time Barack Obama will probably announce his Vice Presidential running mate, I thought I’d chime in with some last minute thoughts.  As if you haven’t gotten enough already.

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There have been rivers of real and virtual ink, and days of tv network time dedicated to the (eagerly awaited) massive flight of women from the Obama camp. They would never accept Obama. They would be too angry to vote for him after he beat Clinton. They would blame him for all the slights against Clinton in the media. They would go to McCain that made them “feel secure”. Ironically, underlying many of these predictions there seemed to be a thread of (sometimes minor sometimes glaring) sexism; an assumption that women were so emotional that they’d resent Obama forever, so fearful that they’d go to McCain.

Well it’s a good thing virtual ink is free, because as it turns out, the exodus did not happen.

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History gets rewritten over and over these days. Many attempted rewrites and their “proofs” are sometimes laughable, most often tragic. In all cases they are despicable lies. Occasionally they are the result of woeful misinformation (read: miseducation). Bolivarian politics, like Bolivarian econmics, lead to educational bankruptcy.

[…]

Venezuelan Bonilla-Molina - a leading proponent of Bolivarian educational reforms interviewed one of Chavez political heroes, Bill Ayers. Where Hugo Chávez “Bolivarian Revolution” is heading is unfortunate, it is obvious that Simón Bolívar - the great Libertador of Latin America - must repulsed at the misuse of his name and turning in his grave. Unfortunately, for us in the USA, one of Professor Ayers indoctrinates is currently running for President. Think about it, gentle reader… think about it!

For the whole post, please go to: Freedom’s Cost

So Barack Obama is a celebrity who likes to chomp on arugula, get buff at the gym, and like to gather crowds and make speeches around the world as if he’s already President.

So John McCain is a Hollywood and late night show favorite whose rich wife owns upwards of seven houses and likes to send his surrogates to Georgia as if he’s already President.

Are both by definition elitists, then?  Probably.

Should we move on from these stupid character attacks by both candidates that do nothing but deflect from the real issues? Definitely.

Is that really likely?  Probably not.

I think I’ve figured out who McCain and Obama will pick as their veep choices.

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Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary
over many a quaint and curious unchallenged item in the life of the Great Orator
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping
as if someone’s boldly knocking, knocking and mocking mine and everyone’s gray matter
‘Tis surely a lie,’ I muttered, ‘knocking and mocking mine and everyone’s gray matter
Only this, and nothing more.’

Many have wondered what is there in Senator Obama’s curriculum vitae that would qualify him as President of the United States, and it’s not merely dyed in the wool Republicans who’ve been busy so wondering.  Since his school days, he has managed to amass some noteworthy titles indeed. Harvard Law School Review President, Lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School, Illinois State Senator, and United States Senator are all enviable achievements worthy of notice. And… who can deny the power, the delivery of his superb keynote address at the 2004 Democratic Convention?

The impressive job titles in his resume show that he had every opportunity to shine, had he really cared to or been capable being capable of doing so. Instead he was too busy promoting himself, while running around with dubious associates some of them already criminally indicted. Even his staunchest supporters have finally asked him to define himself, to speak in concrete terms rather than spout lofty sounding but meaningless slogans. Will he? Can he?!?

Chaim

To read the rest go to: Freedom’s Cost