Decision ‘08 » 2008

Archive for July, 2008

Thursday, July 31st, 2008

The Tiresome “Race Card” Debate

It’s the topic de jeur: Is McCain playing the race card by trying to scare voters from a black candidate? Or is Obama playing the race card by bringing up a mythical smear campaign to win sympathy?
My take follows this excerpt:
Senator John McCain’s campaign accused Barack Obama of playing “the race card’’ on Thursday, citing […]

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

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

Closing In On The Veep…

…and all signs seem to point to Kaine:
ABC News’ Teddy Davis, Tahman Bradley, and Ayana Harry Report: Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) said Tuesday that Sen. Barack Obama’s, D-Ill., list of possible vice presidential running mates “seems to be getting shorter”.
“There has been a long list. It seems to be getting shorter. And I’m […]

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

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

McCain By Four Among Likely Voters?

I don’t believe it for a minute…but here you go. The more broad-based RealClearPolitics average has Obama by 3.2. I’m more inclined to go with the InTrade crowd, who have Obama leading by nearly 2-1…

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

Monday, July 28th, 2008

But Then Again…

Sigh…I suppose it was inevitable, with all the good news coming from Iraq, that we were due for some bad news again:
Iraq was struck by a series of female suicide bombings and ethnic violence that shook the country and left the volatile northern city of Kirkuk reeling amid fears of further bloodshed between the Kurds […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Iraq by Mark

Saturday, July 26th, 2008

Who Says We Are Winning In Iraq?

The Associated Press, that’s who - in an analysis piece that you’ll have to read for yourself, since I don’t excerpt AP pieces after they got ugly with bloggers. Nevertheless, despite my policy to not even link the AP unless necessary, in this case, I think it’s worth it. Go henceforth…
UPDATE 07/27/08 12:28 a.m.: The […]

No Comments » - Posted in Iraq by Mark

Saturday, July 26th, 2008

You Can’t Be Sirius!

See, this is how bad my ‘blogger’s block’ is - I’m reduced to posting on a story I don’t care about just to get in a jokey headline! Mainly I’ve been silent because (a) I’ve been busy, and (b) I’ve had nothing worthwhile to say (never stopped you before, I hear the crowd murmuring). Short […]

No Comments » - Posted in Celebrities / Pop Culture / Sports by Mark

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008

Listen To The Generals, Senator Obama

The Washington Post notes that NOT everyone on Obama’s Iraq trip agreed with his 16-month timetable:
THE INITIAL MEDIA coverage of Barack Obama’s visit to Iraq suggested that the Democratic candidate found agreement with his plan to withdraw all U.S. combat forces on a 16-month timetable. So it seems worthwhile to point out that, by Mr. […]

5 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Iraq by Mark

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008

The Surge Is Over…

…and it’s time to state for the record, unapologetically, that it was a massive success:
Admiral Michael Mullen said today that he expects to be able to recommend troop reductions in Iraq this fall, as security gains from the troop surge continue to hold. Mullen made his comments in a Pentagon press conference with Defense Secretary […]

26 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Iraq, Foreign Affairs, John McCain, Election 2008 by Mark

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008

Let’s Not Lose Sight Of The Forest For The Trees

I know that for Republicans and conservatives who back President Bush and Senator McCain, it is more than a little dispiriting to read almost daily now how the Iraqi government has apparently decided, whether for political reasons or our of real conviction, to all but endorse Barack Obama. Today brought more stories in this vein:
[…]

9 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, POTUS, Iraq, 2008 News by Mark

Sunday, July 20th, 2008

Lest Anyone Think I’m Dodging The Story…

…I’m well aware that the Iraqi Prime Minister gave a boost to the Obama campaign by seemingly endorsing a quicker troop withdrawal than either Senator McCain or the Bush Administration is in favor of, and indeed, in seemingly direct contradiction of the recent joint statements of the Iraqi government and the Administration of a general […]

10 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, POTUS, Iraq, John McCain, 2008 News by Mark

Sunday, July 20th, 2008

Sorry For The Weirdness

Looks like the database server of my excellent host, Blogs-About Hosting, was down for several hours. Sorry if you couldn’t get through…
Here’s a quick update on the post below - Warner Brothers is claiming the Dark Knight did indeed have the biggest opening weekend ever, at roughly $155 million, beating Spiderman 3 by about $3-4 […]

No Comments » - Posted in Celebrities / Pop Culture / Sports by Mark

Friday, July 18th, 2008

The Dark Knight: The Decision ‘08 Review

With the Dark Knight potentially having the best opening weekend ever (it already has the best Friday, at $60 million), and with me being the complete geek that I am, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out how I spent MY Friday night. The theater I saw it at was showing it on 4 […]

11 Comments » - Posted in The Decision '08 Review, Celebrities / Pop Culture / Sports by Mark

Wednesday, July 16th, 2008

Foolish Consistency?

So says the Washington Post editorial board regarding Obama’s apparent non-change of heart on Iraq:
BARACK OBAMA yesterday accused President Bush and Sen. John McCain of rigidity on Iraq: “They said we couldn’t leave when violence was up, they say we can’t leave when violence is down.” Mr. Obama then confirmed his own foolish consistency. […]

12 Comments » - Posted in Radical Islam / GWOT, Barack Obama, Iraq, Foreign Affairs, John McCain, Election 2008 by Mark

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008

Okay, Okay, I Got Busy

I meant to blog on Bernanke’s comments today, and I’m long overdue in touching base on Iraq - but I’m out of time, so I’ll be lazy and just throw up a related post to yesterday’s. Here’s Hitchens the Great on the Barack New Yorker cover:

Satire, according to Jonathan Swift, is “a mirror wherein every […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Hitchens the Great, Barack Obama by Mark

Monday, July 14th, 2008

The Death Of Satire

So finely tuned is the public nose in the age of blogging that it detects the scent of outrage and scandal in the most innocuous of places. The New Yorker, as you’ve no doubt heard by now, has as its latest cover a broadly satirical representation of the more far-fetched attack lines against Obama embodied […]

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

Sunday, July 13th, 2008

No Rescue Of Fannie and Freddie? There Almost Was…

…and who knows, maybe there will be yet. The Washington Post reports, however, that it almost happened Friday:
Senior government officials prepared emergency steps yesterday to rescue troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but stopped short after a campaign of public statements eased immediate concerns about the stability of the institutions.
But […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Domestic Affairs by Mark

Friday, July 11th, 2008

Dodd? Maybe…But Hillary’s A No Go

At least, that’s the impression you get from following Obama’s VP vetting process.
First up, Hillary:
Is the so-called Democratic ‘dream ticket’ off the table?
Despite speculation that Barack Obama’s presidential campaign is seriously considering Hillary Clinton for the No. 2 spot on the Democratic presidential ticket, a former senior advisor to Clinton said Thursday he doesn’t think […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, 2008 News by Mark

Thursday, July 10th, 2008

Things I Like About Barack Obama, Part One

It’s not all bad for conservatives and Republicans if Barack Obama wins…there are some very positive things about the man. For example, he’s not Jesse Jackson:
Whatever the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. said in a live microphone on Fox News, it was really, really bad, and none other than his own son seems to know it.
“I’m […]

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

Tuesday, July 8th, 2008

Oh, Dear God, No…

Yesterday, I blogged about my relief that James Webb was out of the Obama veepstakes…but my relief is short-lived. If there is one person in the entire world that would perhaps overtake even Webb in my least-desired category, it’s phony-baloney Mr. “Two Americas” himself, John Edwards. Yet the possibility is raising its very ugly (ghastly, […]

17 Comments » - Posted in John Edwards, Barack Obama, 2008 News by Mark

Monday, July 7th, 2008

Well, THAT’s A Relief…

I will sleep a little easier tonight knowing that, in the extremely likely event of a Barack Obama presidency, at least I won’t have to live with James Webb as the VP:
Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., long rumored to be a leading candidate for Sen. Barack Obama’s choice as his vice-presidential running mate, announced Monday that […]