2008 USP(G)ET pt. II: counting the days to 2012 primary thread 1

"Did he suspend the campaign because of the economy or because the poll numbers are slipping?"

xp i have never in life heard the word "drubbing"

Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, who is leading House Democrats in negotiating the bailout deal with the administration, was dismissive of Senator McCain’s announcement. “It’s the longest Hail Mary pass in the history of either football or Marys,” Mr. Frank told a group of reporters outside the House chamber.

lol b/c Barney Frank is gay

"Time moves, as you know"

What are Dave's ratings these days? I hope enough people are watching this.

i have never in life heard the word "drubbing"

kids today

that palin/couric interview is so painful

wow letterman openly mocking mccains heroic mythology

ded horse, kicked

omg, xp

the letterman thing has little impact. that interview is devastating.

that chipper "and I'll bring 'em to ya"... yikes. Hard to miss the "and shove 'em straight up yer glamorous little rich and famous ass" inflection.

Jesus, letterman isn't letting up. Every single segment so far has him just hammering away.

palin looks like she's going to cry during that interview. if she can't stand up to katie couric...

i haven't heard anyone on tv bring up the point that if the foreign policy debate-- theoretically mccain's most winnable debate-- goes on as scheduled, it's going to have little to no impact on the election at this point. but if they were able to postpone it to next week after this bill gets done, the mccain people would be able to swing the talk of the race back towards something that he is really strong on, and i think that's as much of a motivation as looking "presidential"

man barney frank is hilarious, i've been completely enjoying his increased presence on the networks this week

today on cnn he said that the senate didn't need mccain "air-dropping" into the proceedings which is lol + unintended o_O

i haven't heard anyone on tv bring up the point that if the foreign policy debate-- theoretically mccain's most winnable debate-- goes on as scheduled, it's going to have little to no impact on the election at this point.

Gergen brought up that exact point with Anderson Cooper, and it's a good one. All panelists agreed it seems pretty calculated.

Good grief... Palin is so unrehearsed that she makes Couric look positively Cronkitean

When she started reiterating her first question back to Couric, some 30 seconds in, I could take no more...

Wow, Palin is now officially a liability.

fuck yeah

more barney frank today:

"We're trying to rescue the economy, not the McCain campaign," Frank said.
however
"On the executive compensation thing, it went to the core of their (the Bush administration's) being," said Frank. "It was like asking the chief rabbi of Jerusalem to eat bacon on Yom Kippur. It was the most unthinkable thing they could think of."
my ass

if you're voting for nader or mckinney because of gay rights you might as well write in paul lynde
― and what, Friday, September 19, 2008 2:27 PM (6 days ago)

Best post of this election.

I too laughed at Frank on his discussion of Marys, miss thing.

during the first part of that segment, i was confused: was her voice cracking because of her folksy-down-home pioneerwoman way-o-speakin' - or was she near tears??

during the last part, i think the twang-laden quote of "i'll try to find you some (examples) and bring 'em to ya" actually plays better on tape than it will on print, since she tries to counter Couric's questioning with folksy down home pioneerwoman "ya know i dont know this shit, who cares?" comes across as self-knowingly comedic!

in print it's even more cringeworthy

kaus jibes with my mccain-as-less-than-adult take

Expectations for Palin are now so low that if she can string a noun, verb and object together in the VP debate she'll be hailed as a genius. Since the debates are more about bettering expectations rather than winning the argument (cf Bush/Kerry), she could actually do well out of them.

hasnt her "debate" been strategically tabled since it was supposed to occur the night mccain is now trying to push his first one to? they might just keep delaying it until they have her fully rehearsed

"I'LL TRY AND SOME AND BRING UM 2 YA!!! OMG lol!!!!"

I hope she uses that line in the debate.

you guys HE RECUSED HIMSELF FROM THE DEALINGS!!

...and last night, HE WAS FLEEIN' THA INNERVIEW!

and that's PARAMOUNT, OK?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v134/tracerhand/EjectEjectEject.jpg

Letterman Misses the Point: This is an Emergency Situation

I don’t think that Hollywood celebrities, academics, or media pundits - like the recently demoted Olbermann - grasp the reality of the serious situation we are facing in the fiancial markets. Most of these people, generally Democratic party supporters, live remote from the ups and downs of the market and the real world.

In contrast, those of us who own our own businesses, put our lives on the line for others, or who work in the most productive sectors of the economy are quicker to react to a real crisis.

I’m pleased that Sen. McCain “ditched” Letterman. I don’t think Letterman appreciated the fact that this is an emergency situation. As for Olbermann, he has mental problems that make it difficult for him to control his childish outbursts. I’m glad NBC clipped his goofy wings.
— John D.

moonlighting on us?

Haha, I am without internet for 36 hours and this happens. Jesus.

the palin interview is incredible

I almost don't want to see her interviewed again

I didn't catch it, did rick davis recuse himself?

Caek, this suspension/debate shellgaming seemed to unfold in the time it took me to go out last night and grab a take-away. You are not alone in your WTF?

Somewhere in MN my mom's gotta be dining on deep fried CROW on a stick.

the palin interview was horrible. like watching chris morris beat up on dumb celebrities.

this needs posting some more

http://dailyrepublic.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/05/19/obama_ready_to_ko_mccain.jpg

oh my God big hoos there are other people whose names are John and whose last names begin with D? fuck dude I'm gonna have to rethink my whole strategy now, thanks 4 heads up

Note multitasking possibility here: Barack's got left TFJ all fired up and ready to go. xpost

I’m pleased that Sen. McCain “ditched” Letterman. I don’t think Letterman appreciated the fact that this is an emergency situation.

Didn't catch the part where McCain was shown, live, getting made up for another TV broadcast during what would have been the taping of his interview, apparently.

Palin interview, wow.

REPORTER: "I just wondered if, you could give us an example of a major idea of [Nixon's] that you had adopted in that role as the decider and the final, uh.."
EISENHOWER: "If you give me a week I might think of one; I don't remember."

That was classic. A grab of the event was on YouTube well before TX time; rumour has it Dave placed it there himself.

lol go drink yr fuckin coffee dude damn

xp to j0hn

Barney Frank has reasons to chuckle: he's partly responsible for the fix we're in, and he's getting us out of it.

Anyway, James Fallows:

Candidates have made a lot of unforced errors over the years. Richard Nixon promising to campaign in all 50 states when running against John Kennedy in 1960 -- and getting sick, tired, and cadaver-looking as a result. Nixon again thinking he had to get those crucial Democratic National Committee records from the Watergate building in 1972. (He obviously made it through the election, but then....) Dukakis getting into the tank in 1988.

But compared with John McCain "suspending" his campaign and trying to postpone the debates? Puh-leeze. None of the reasons below is original, but it's worth adding them up to see how risky McCain's proposal is, in giving people impressions he doesn't want to convey.

The senator with (understandably) one of the lowest actual-attendance rates at the Capitol in the last two years, and who has played little role in crafting legislation recently, suddenly needs to be nowhere but Washington -- exactly now?

The candidate whose strongest claim to office is his experience, mastery, and understanding of foreign policy, cannot handle a debate on that topic, against a rookie, when he has other things on his mind?

The candidate who wants to quash any suspicion that he is not quick enough, not vigorous enough, or not multi-tasking enough to handle a job that poses a new challenge every minute, is essentially asking for everyone to take things a little slower so he can concentrate?

The candidate whose first response to the financial crisis was to propose firing the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and whose second response was to run ads linking his opponent (hazily) to former Fannie Mae officials (before news came out that his own campaign manager was still on the Freddie Mac payroll), now wants us to believe that statesmanship and love of country govern his every move on this issue?

The most famously stoic candidate of recent times is willing to have it look as if he's running away from a confrontation WHILE HE'S BEHIND.

"essentially asking for everyone to take things a little slower so he can concentrate?"

haha

So I return from a day of teaching and discover that John McCain has decided to suspend his campaign and return to Washington DC, the better to deal with our nation's urgent problems. Goody! It might have been even better had he bothered to show up for even a single one of the 108 Senate votes that have been taken between April 8, when he last showed up, and today. Who knows how many problems might have been averted had John McCain managed to show up before today?

Seriously, though, I agree with Steve Benen: this is flailing desperation. It also makes no sense: he's still giving some speeches, but he has stopped airing ads. Does anyone seriously think that airing ads would seriously impair John McCain's ability to address this crisis? Does he usually wind the ad tapes himself? Does he go around to all the TV stations in order to say "I'm John McCain and I approve this message" in person?

not airing ads = saving money while at the same time getting networks to report on the fact that you're not airing ads = free advertising, with money for actual ads later - if it worked it would be brilliant

i'm not sure that it's working -- maybe it will but i doubt it. if he doesn't show at the debate tomorrow it would be the ultimate insult to the press, who have been starved for access to the mccain-palin campaign for weeks. i don't think they're going to withhold criticism if mccain continues to stonewall by ducking out.

it IS dumb that the formatting is so inflexible that this debate can't be about the economy, frankly - it's all anyone wants to hear them talk about

It might have been even better had he bothered to show up for even a single one of the 108 Senate votes that have been taken between April 8, when he last showed up, and today.

Last night Anderson Cooper pointed out that McCain missed more votes than the senator who's recovering from a stroke.