Joe the Plumber is an Idiot

Obama Informerical

This was a weird idea. But it does give him a chance for numerous sound bites over the rest of this campaign.

People talk about how this half hour is just this half hour, but by creating a half hour commercial, they are creating a full half hour of things people can quote over the next 6 days.

We'll see if it matters. He was winning anyway, so probably not.

Yeah... Awesome

Read this article. Here are some gems:

Several McCain advisers have suggested to CNN that they have become increasingly frustrated with what one aide described as Palin "going rogue."

"She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone," said this McCain adviser. "She does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else.

"Also, she is playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party. Remember: Divas trust only unto themselves, as they see themselves as the beginning and end of all wisdom."

"Her lack of fundamental understanding of some key issues was dramatic," said another McCain source with direct knowledge of the process to prepare Palin after she was picked. The source said it was probably the "hardest" to get her "up to speed than any candidate in history."

"She's no longer playing for 2008; she's playing 2012," Democratic pollster Peter Hart said. "And the difficulty is, when she went on 'Saturday Night Live,' she became a reinforcement of her caricature. She never allowed herself to be vetted, and at the end of the day, voters turned against her both in terms of qualifications and personally."

There is a reason that McCain's judgment should be questioned.

The Strategy to Win McCain the Election

Palin and McCain have found the strategy it looks like they are going to stick with. The "Don't Write Us Off" strategy. What they do is they go from state to state and say "we can still come back" or "it's not over yet" or "team X knows a little something about being an underdog" and then they compare Obama to a socialist and then leave for another state.

This is a stupid strategy.

There are less than 2 weeks until the election. You are not going to pick up 7-10 more points nationally by telling people that you are losing but hope to pick up votes. What McCain is doing is analogous to apologizing before a speech - "I'm sorry in advance if this speech sucks, I didn't have time to practice." He is making himself sound bad before he tries to excite people - and with that, with the exception of the socialism argument that hasn't seemed to hold much weight, he doesn't say anything to win over those 7-8% of voters. He is speaking directly to his supporters assuming that he is going to win over voters that are not in attendance at every one of these events.

He has very little left. Attack ads haven't worked. This socialism thing is stupid. Robocalls only served to alienate voters and trying to steal the message of "change" away from Barack Obama was never going to work, ever. It is time to give up - not on the campaign, but on these stupid strategies that were designed to appeal to the Bush parts of America.

McCain has one option left. The Republican strategy has always been to appeal to gullible people that will somehow believe that the Kerry swiftboat attacks were real, or that Obama is a Muslim, or that Hillary Clinton secretly had someone killed. It is the Sarah Palin strategy - be a good hockey mom that someone can have a beer with or buy a beer for and you will get people to think: "Awesome, this woman is just like me. She would make a perfect president because I would too!"

But this year, people are finally looking for something different - they are looking for someone to show that they can intelligently run this country. Someone that has actual, substantive, possibly even complicated plans to run this country. Someone that can understand complex things.

The only way McCain can win the election is if he starts running it how campaigns were meant to be run - as though he were intelligent. Explain specific, complicated plans - don't talk in ways that Joe the Belcher can understand, but show that you are not an unintelligent prick by laying out comprehensive plans for the country.

His last hope is to show people his actual plans for the country in all aspects of foreign and domestic policy. What Barack Obama does every day that seems to give him this "elitist" label is what McCain needs to do, otherwise he is wasting time and money.

John McCain should lose. Obama is a better candidate in every way. But McCain's best strategy is also the one that even many Barack Obama supporters want to see - because if McCain also finally starts providing a clear, intelligent message, it will be easier to have hope for the future country.

Healthcare and Socialism

With Barack Obama's universal healthcare plan, many Republicans are screaming "socialism," saying it will be the end of quality care and health services.

"Look at the UK! You have to wait months to get seen by a doctor. More people die waiting than are saved by the universal care."

The idea, then, is that universal healthcare will cause doctors to leave the country, and hospitals to go out of business.

The problem with that is that it is already happening. Over 50% of hospitals are in severe debt and at risk of closure. Over half have either already claimed bankruptcy or is close to it, and even more are slowly hemorrhaging money. And because more and more people are now uninsured due to the state of the economy, that number is expected to balloon.

Doctors are already leaving. Hospitals are already closing. And because people DON'T have insurance, that number is going to get worse.

As much as Republicans like to complain that universal healthcare is going to bring about the end of quality care, at this point that end is already just a short time away, and without universal healthcare, it's guaranteed to occur sooner, rather than later.

The Hairdamentals of Our Economy are Strong

Clearly I went into the wrong profession. I should have become a makeup artist - that's where the money is at:

Who was the highest paid individual in Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign during the first half of October as it headed down the homestretch?

Not Randy Scheunemann, Mr. McCain’s chief foreign policy adviser; not Nicolle Wallace, his senior communications staffer. It was Amy Strozzi, Gov. Sarah Palin’s traveling makeup artist, according to a new filing with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday night.

Ms. Strozzi, who was nominated for an Emmy award for her makeup work on the television show “So You Think You Can Dance?”, was paid $22,800 for the first two weeks of October alone, according to the records. The campaign categorized Ms. Strozzi’s payment as “Personnel Svc/Equipment.”

To put that in perspective, the president of the United States makes $400,000. A United States senator makes $169,300 per year. The governor of Alaska makes approximately $90,000. At Amy Strozzi's current rate, she would make $592,000. Excellent use of taxpayer money.

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL:

In addition, Angela Lew, who is Ms. Palin’s traveling hair stylist, got $10,000 for “Communications Consulting” in the first half of October.

There are no Republican hair stylists willing to volunteer their time?

Open Debate

Yes or No: Do you think that an Osama Bin Laden tape will be "released" in these final 2 weeks until the election?

Colin Powell

Obama receives Powell's endorsement. This is good news, but also irrelevant news. The scenarios about this endorsement were:

- Obama receives endorsement. Not likely to change anyone's mind.
- McCain receives endorsement. Shock makes this bigger news than it would have been. McCain gets wave of undecided voters that had been looking for an excuse to vote for him.

The endorsement of a major political figure only matters when people do not know much about the candidate. At this point, everyone knows Barack Obama. He's "the biggest celebrity in the world."

It would have made a difference if he supported McCain because he would have received the endorsement during a time where the media narrative is discussing his "surprise comeback" (though there is no evidence that is actually occurring) and because everyone expected him to choose Obama, so the narrative is only fed. Since media narrative is really the only way an endorsement like this can sway voters, this endorsement should unfortunately not make any difference to either candidate.

Still, it is nice to hear.

The Curmudgeon John Sidney McCain III

This is less funny than I thought it would be, but I took the time to write it and no one is going to read it anyway, so here you go:

Op-Ed Columnist
The Curmudgeon John Sidney McCain III
By Joe the Plumber
Published: October 16, 2008

IF you think way back to the start of this marathon campaign, back when it seemed preposterous that any old man could be a serious presidential contender, then you remember the biggest fear about John McCain: a crazy person might give him a heart attack.

“I’ve got the best health in the world, so stop worrying,” McCain reassured his supporters. Eventually the country got conditioned to his appearing in loud arenas without incident (though I confess that the first large numbers of young people at the end of his convention speech gave me a start). In America, nothing does succeed like success. The fear receded.

Until now. At Obama-Biden rallies, the raucous and insistent cries of “Octogenarian!” and “Senile!” and “Nursing Home!” and “Get off my lawn!” as well as the uninhibited slinging of elderly epithets, are actually something new in a campaign that has seen almost every conceivable twist. They are alarms. Doing nothing is not an option.

What makes them different, and what has pumped up the Weimar-like rage at Obama-Biden rallies, is the violent escalation in rhetoric, especially (though not exclusively) by Obama. McCain “launched his political career in the living room of James Garfield.” He is “palling around with elderly Jews” (note the plural noun). McCain is “not a man who sees America the way you and I see America. At this point in his life, he’s not sure where he is.” Wielding a wildly out-of-context McCain quote, Biden slurs him as an enemy of young kids and their music.

By the time McCain asks the crowd “Who is the real John McCain? I’m serious, I forgot.” it’s no surprise that someone cries out “Corpse!” The rhetorical conflation of McCain with old dead people is complete.

That’s a far cry from simply accusing McCain of being a senile-by-correlation-with-his-age erratic old fogey. McCain is being branded as an accessory to past attempts at signing the constitution. “John McCain’s friend tried to discover India” was how an Obama press release last week packaged the remembrance of the Santa Maria incident from 1492 — when McCain was 8.

Could the old ageist politics still be determinative? I’ve long been skeptical of the incessant press prognostications (and Republican panic) that this election will be decided by educated young men on the Coasts.

But we’re not at Election Day yet, and if voters are to have their final say, both America and McCain have to get there safely. The Obama campaign has crossed the line between tough negative campaigning and inciting ageism, and each day the mob continues to listen to that “rap music.” The onus is on the man who says he puts his country first to call off the dogs, pit bulls and otherwise.

Fox News: Fair and Balanced

One side note - Kristol and a few other neoconservatives on Fox News very reluctantly (and with a hint of disappointment) called Obama the winner of the debate. Shocked, I went to Fox News message boards to check what people "thought" of the debate.

Scrolling down the comments, I found that over 30% of the comments were about these neoconservatives "becoming traitors to their party."

"Traitors" requires that one believe that the purpose of Kristol et al. as a "political pundit" is to try to get McCain to win, not actually to analyze the event. It is good to see that at least Fox News supporters understand what Fox News is for.

Debate 3

Well, the third and last debate is over, and it was - as far as I'm concerned - the most exciting one thus far with everything that went on. Perhaps I will write more on it tomorrow, but I do like this statement that popped up on FiveThirtyEight:

10:26 EDT: [Sean] McCain keeps saying Palin's son has autism, but it's Down's Syndrome.

I forgot about that, but that is funny.

Anyway, McCain did his best. His first and second were less so. But was it a victory? I doubt it. If any debate was a tie, it was this one, and since Obama wins in a tie, that's what I'm guessing he was going for.

Not that Important, Interesting Nonetheless

Several years ago, William Buckley Jr., a conservative, founded the National Review - A Newspaper with a right wing lean. In a way, it is the Fox News of Newspapers, except they generally do not make up facts - only choose what to discuss and believe, and hire almost exclusively conservatives for their editorials.

Buckley's son, Christopher, is equally as conservative and also wrote for the National Review.

Until now.

Despite a like for McCain and his continued conservatism, Chris Buckley endorsed Barack Obama for president.

Needless to say, the subscribers of the National Review were displeased - so displeased, in fact, that his personal opinion of a presidential candidate had thousands of individuals emailing the Newspaper to cancel their subscription - even though the endorsement did not actually take place in the pages of the National Review.

Buckley resigned from his own dad's newspaper.

For an editorial columnist, his endorsement is not that well written. But his reasoning is sound, even for a conservative, as to why someone with his views seems McCain as the wrong pick.

Hint: Palin - big part of that.

Full article here.

More Times Plugging

Today is a day of several well written articles and gems. Some quotes:

The Republican campaign strategy now involves sending their candidates to areas where everybody is a die-hard McCain supporter already. Then they yell about Obama until the crowd is so frenzied people start making threats. The rest of the country is supposed to watch and conclude that this would be an enjoyable way to spend the next four years.

From here.

“Barack Obama’s friend tried to kill my family” was how a McCain press release last week packaged the remembrance of a Weather Underground incident from 1970 — when Obama was 8.

From the start, there have always been two separate but equal questions about race in this election. Is there still enough racism in America to prevent a black man from being elected president no matter what? And, will Republicans play the race card? The jury is out on the first question until Nov. 4. But we now have the unambiguous answer to the second: Yes.

There are indeed so few people of color at McCain events that a black senior writer from The Tallahassee Democrat was mistakenly ejected by the Secret Service from a campaign rally in Panama City in August, even though he was standing with other reporters and showed his credentials. His only apparent infraction was to look glaringly out of place.

From here.

Something Nice About McCain

While it was his fault for getting this started, I have to give credit for McCain for realizing that it has gotten out of hand. At the recent rally, he had to correct someone in the crowd that said he was genuinely scared of Obama as President, by pointing at that Obama was a good man (receiving boos from his own supporters).

He then took the Microphone away from a woman that called him a Muslim and said "no, he's not. He's a good family man and not a Muslim." You also hear the woman saying out of embarrassment and confusion "He's not?"

While it is McCain's fault that all of this got started, and likely his fault that it will still continue, at least he did what few other Republicans would and tried to correct them - at his own rallies, on the Microphone.

Don't vote for him. You don't get credit for correcting something that you caused, and it was his own strategy of trying to refer to Obama as a terrorist that made this anger arise in his supporters. But at least he's said something about it. Let's see if that kind of honesty will continue so that he loses with dignity instead of with disgrace.

Palin Abused Power. Will She Step Down?

From the New York Times, only a few minutes ago:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- A legislative committee investigating Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has found she unlawfully abused her authority in firing the state's public safety commissioner.

The investigative report concludes that a family grudge wasn't the sole reason for firing Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan but says it likely was a contributing factor.

This sounds like old news, but this is the first step towards saying outright that she abused her authority. She can now officially be called "corrupt" without the word "alleged" though nothing is going to happen quite yet.

If she is going to leave the campaign in order to help McCain, this is exactly when she would do it. Within the next 72 hours, if she does not step down, she won't do it at all. I hope she stays.