Decision ‘08 » 2008

Archive for June, 2008

Monday, June 30th, 2008

Ugh - Say It Ain’t So

Mike Allen of The Politico has put a damper on my day with this report:
In a surprise to many Republican insiders, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is at the top of the vice presidential prospect list for John McCain. But lack of personal chemistry could derail the pick.
“Romney as favorite” is the hot […]

6 Comments » - Posted in Mitt Romney, John McCain, Election 2008 by Mark

Sunday, June 29th, 2008

Blogging’s Fundamental Legacy - Lying Partisan Hackery?

I became a ‘part-time’ blogger some time ago for personal reasons - in the past, I put up 7 or 8 posts a day for several years running. Now I put up one a day, on average. In all honesty, I’m not proud of some of these old posts. I’m thinking of a specific kind […]

7 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots®, John McCain, Election 2008 by Mark

Friday, June 27th, 2008

The Blankety-Blank Economy, Or, Bring Back Paul Volcker!

I must tell you in all sincerity that I have deep, deep concerns about the American economy that I haven’t had in a long time. It’s not that we are in a slump/possible recession - it’s not the subprime meltdown/credit crisis that has me worried…it’s the pitiable, pathetic state of the once mighty U.S. dollar.
See, […]

14 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Barack Obama, John McCain, Election 2008 by Mark

Thursday, June 26th, 2008

Did Pinocchio’s Nose Grow Because He Was ‘Inartful’?

Oh, dear, me…we appear to have a pattern here.
“I support the FISA bill except for that terrible bit about retroactive telecom immunity that unfortunately is in the bill I support - only I don’t support that part of the bill, and I promise to filibuster this bill while campaigning for the Democratic nomination, and not […]

12 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Barack Obama, SCOTUS, Election 2008 by Mark

Wednesday, June 25th, 2008

No, We’re Not Going To Let This One Go…

…at least, as long as Barack Obama keeps shamelessly trying to win APPLAUSE for completely selling out on his pet issue of campaign finance reform. Ruth Marcus in the Washington Post puts it deliciously:
When in the course of political events it becomes advantageous for a presidential candidate to dissolve a campaign promise, a decent respect […]

18 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Election 2008 by Mark

Tuesday, June 24th, 2008

Unclear On The Concept

Someone needs to explain to Barack Obama what a ‘gimmick’ is:
Offshore drilling continues to be a major sticking point between Barack Obama and John McCain, and the two candidates are still jabbing at each other’s position for the second week. Obama, who has argued that drilling will not immediately lower gas prices, is expected today […]

19 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Barack Obama, John McCain by Mark

Monday, June 23rd, 2008

The Case For Stubbornness

Well, I’m a bit under the weather tonight - a cold or the flu or something, in the middle of what is literally the hottest summer in Austin’s very hot history! I do want to pass on one link, however - a quite provocative column by David Brooks arguing that it was President Bush’s […]

13 Comments » - Posted in POTUS, Iraq by Mark

Sunday, June 22nd, 2008

McCain VP Pick Tipped?

So says Sarah Baxter of The Times (London, that is):
ONE name has risen to the top of John McCain’s shortlist for vice-presidential running mate. Tim Pawlenty, the governor of Minnesota, a trucker’s son and advocate of Republicanism for the masses, is the favourite to join his ticket, according to sources close to the McCain […]

5 Comments » - Posted in John McCain, 2008 News, Republican Candidates by Mark

Friday, June 20th, 2008

More On Obama’s Campaign Finance Sellout

David Brooks in the New York Times:
Barack Obama has worked on political reform more than any other issue. He aspires to be to political reform what Bono is to fighting disease in Africa. He’s spent much of his career talking about how much he believes in public financing. In January 2007, he told Larry King […]

9 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, John McCain, 2008 News by Mark

Thursday, June 19th, 2008

Another Day, Another Broken Promise

Don’t get me wrong - I like Obama, and I don’t intend to turn this blog into a “slam of the day”. But one day after he backed off his NAFTA rhetoric, he most definitely broke a promise by forgoing public funding of his general election campaign. John McCain immediately accused him (rightly) […]

10 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, 2008 News by Mark

Wednesday, June 18th, 2008

Obama Backs Off On NAFTA

Should I be relieved that Obama didn’t mean what he said about NAFTA during the Democratic primaries, or disappointed that our probable next president has revealed himself as another shameless opportunist?
The general campaign is on, independent voters are up for grabs, and Barack Obama is toning down his populist rhetoric - at least when it […]

15 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Foreign Affairs by Mark

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008

Offshore Drilling: Yay or Nay?

Okay, I know it’s not politically correct to be “against the environment” at a time when global warming is increasingly accepted by most people on both sides of the aisle. However, though I know they are taking a ton of flack for it, politically, I think John McCain and President Bush are right - it’s […]

45 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Barack Obama, POTUS, John McCain by Mark

Monday, June 16th, 2008

Don’t Forget The ‘Loser’

Okay, so Tiger Woods is one of the most amazing athletes on the planet - with 14 majors to his credit, he’s closing in on Nicklaus’s 18, and he pulled this one off weeks after his third knee surgery (so bad is his knee that Tiger is considering skipping the British Open, though I hope […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Celebrities / Pop Culture / Sports by Mark

Sunday, June 15th, 2008

Scholars For Obama

Do presidential historians know anymore about elections in progress than the average Joe? It’s an iffy proposition - but if they do, then John McCain is in trouble, according to this article:
One week into the general election, the polls show a dead heat. But many presidential scholars doubt that John McCainstands much of a […]

2 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, John McCain, Election 2008 by Mark

Friday, June 13th, 2008

Sad News From The World of Television…

…with the passing of Tim Russert. I’m sure there are some on the right who will, if not welcome, at least not be too upset at the death of a man they viewed as biased. I’m not one of them…as with the passing of Peter Jennings, I view this as a huge loss. There are […]

2 Comments » - Posted in Celebrities / Pop Culture / Sports by Mark

Thursday, June 12th, 2008

What? He Was Still Running?

Surely this must have been the bottom story of the day:
Texas Rep. Ron Paul announced Thursday he is suspending his bid for the Republican presidential nomination to focus his time on building an organization to help recruit and elect “limited government Republicans.”
“We want to elect constitutionalists, limited government Republicans across the country at the […]

4 Comments » - Posted in 2008 News, Republican Candidates by Mark

Wednesday, June 11th, 2008

A Peek At The Early Polling

You would expect Obama to be the frontrunner in this campaign, and you would expect he would get a bump from winning the Democratic nomination after so much hoopla…and you’d be right. Still, the early polling would seem to support my contention that this election is not going to the cakewalk some Obama supporters think […]

3 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, John McCain, 2008 Polls by Mark

Monday, June 9th, 2008

Campaigns Discover Dangers Of Social Networking

Web 2.0 has come to the 2008 presidential election, and the outlook is decidedly mixed. While I suppose there are some people who enjoy having blogs ‘hosted’ on official campaign sites, it’s hard to see how this can be allowed to continue without at least some oversight. There WAS a post on Barack Obama’s site […]

9 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, John McCain, Election 2008 by Mark

Saturday, June 7th, 2008

She’ll Run Again…

…but the bloom is off the rose. Hillary Clinton did her best today to put a brave face on her defeat, but in retrospect, her candidacy has to be rated as a giant disappointment. Though her strategy was not as disastrous as Giuliani’s, Rudy left the race with his dignity and reputation intact…his […]

12 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Democratic Candidates, Election 2008 by Mark

Thursday, June 5th, 2008

Gee, Now What?

Feels kind of anticlimactic now, doesn’t it, with the Democratic primary over? Now it’s on to the general election, so we’ll have to switch gears soon and start talking more about the issues when viewed through the lens of each candidate’s positions.
On a general note, Obama has to be considered the frontrunner, because of […]