McCain Claims He's Not George Bush...

...But the facts prove otherwise. At last night's third and final debate, John McCain turned to Barack Obama and said "Sen. Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago." Barack Obama - wisely, as the polls seem to be bearing out - chose not to respond to that comment.

The full story discusses a hypothetical response Obama could have given to shut McCain down. McCain is so vulnerable on this issue that making such a statement may prove to be a liability for him.

Rob J

Can you explain McCain’s goals and priorities?

McCain’s a fine man; his record shows he’d be an adequate President for those who are so wealthy that taxes are just a nuisance handled by an accountant - a number that never impacts their daily spending decisions.

The rest of us, the folks on Main Street still waiting for Bush’s economic policies to trickle down some personal prosperity or create jobs, need Obama~Biden. We don't understand why McCain wants the government to administer 11 million mortgages but says health care should be as deregulated as Wall Street has been - we think bureaucrats already impede our access to health care, and we haven't lost faith in the power of the Government to be a positive force.

In some ways, if you don't try to get inside McCain's head or worry about which of Bush's fiscalor tax policies are to blame for the sub-prime mortgage crisis, it's really a pretty simple choice.

You can choose between:
1) a guy who wants government to do less because he doesn't trust the competence of anybody and everybody below him - except evidently in areas it's politically expedient to say government must intervene like the mortgage mess - or
2) the guy who wants to make health care universally affordable and available while extricating us from Iraq, fixing some inequities in the tax policies Bush has established, and bringing a unified vision to our energy and environmental policies that he sees dovetailing with national security.

One of these guys is going to run the country, taking over the government in the midst of profound economic turmoil. If you're rich, and have no kids, you may pick the former if you so desire. After watching the final 2008 Presidential debate, I prefer the vision of the latter, and I'm voting for "that one."

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"Joe The Plumber" Makes Less Than $250,000 - Didn't Tell Obama

According to this Yahoo article, "Joe The Plumber" or Joe Wurzelbacher, the man featured by Senator John McCain, doesn't even make $250,000 according to his own statements.  Joe comes off as a kind of suburban Ohio hick with a past, and this level of attention may not be what he wants.  But he's got it and really in fairness he didn't ask for it.

This all could blow up in McCain's face if he gets too close to Joe.  McCain, desperate for a better performance than he's shown thus far, may very well be inclined to hitch his star to Joe as  he did Sarah Palin: without proper vetting.

Plus, there are other "Joe The Plumbers" who are also benefiting from this publicity and are not as conservative as Joe Wurzelbacher, just consider this Texas man who has a website called "Joe The Plumber".  

Moreover, Wurzelbacher may -- and I stress may -- be a close relative of, drum-roll please, Charles Keating, according to the blog "The LitterBox", which has an extensive post devoted to Mr. Wurzelbacher.  Here's what was written:

And then there are some other questions.

Is Joe the Plumber’s real name Joseph Wurzelbacher or Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher?

According to some sources, including the Politicoblog, which claim to have already checked voting records, Joe the Plumber is NOT registered to vote in Ohio.

Joe the Plumber appears to have multiple addresses, including the one at which he gave the media a short interview this morning.  He is not registered to vote from that particular address.  It is not clear if he is the owner of that address (curious given his claim to an income of over $250,000).  Of the other given addresses for Joe the Plumber, his parents are registered to vote on one, but none are listed for him.  Which means he is either more than just an undecided voter.  Or less, since non-registration means he’s not eligible to vote!

He has an open unpaid income tax tax lien case against him in Lucas County, Ohio.

Twice married, with the public records of those cases available at:
http://apps.co.lucas.oh.us/onlinedockets/Default.aspx
Just type his name into the search box to bring up both divorce cases.

There are some suggestions that he does not own his own business but may be related to another Joseph Wurzelbacher who does run a septic tank company.  Ironic that Joe the Plumber may be full of shit, eh?

Wow.  Well, perhaps this exposure's good for Joe in some strange way, but if I were McCain, I'd be real careful in how I associate myself with Joe The Plumber.  He has a tax lien but claims to make money -- not good.  I could understand it if he was poor -- different story.  Let's see what McCain does with this.

Obama Talks To "Joe The Plumber" But Joe Mistates His Position

This video shows the now famous converation between Senator Barack Obama and Joe Wurzelbacher, an Ohio plumber looking to purchase a business.  Joe's under the impression that Obama's plan will cause him to not be able to purchase a plumbing business, but at the end of the conversation, Obama does explain his intent to eliminate the Capital Gains Tax for a small business like his, something not reported by the mainstream media.

Also, Joe didn't make the distinction between his income and the income of his current business operations.  If his personal income is less than $250,000, then his personal taxes will be lower.

But the main thing is Barack didn't throw BS at Joe.  He stood there and talked to him.  You gotta like that.

Regi of NUMBLIFE Calls Obama "A Pimp" (In A Kinda Good Way)

This video ranges from being downright funny to a bit tragic as Regi explains why he thinks Senator Barack Obama's a pimp, in his evaluation of the final Obama / McCain debate. 

Third 2008 Presidential Debate (Full Video) - C-SPAN

 
This is the full length video of the third and final presidential debate between Senator Barack Obama and  Senator John McCain, presented by C-SPAN. 

Obama - McCain | Final Debate Thoughts On Who Won

Who won the final Presidential Debate? I asked that question -- well more what they thought of the debate -- of Obama supporters at the Temple Lounge in San Francisco. My thanks to the staff of the Temple Lounge. Great place; great people.

Here On CNN iReport

The American Poverty Problem - Blog Action Day 2008

This is my contribution to Blog Action Day. The subject is poverty. My call is for us to spend what we need to solve our economic and poverty problem. I also ask that we stop asking what it costs when we don't do so when spending for war is in quesion.

Sarah Palin's I.Q. Record Rejected By Nick Denton At Gawker

Thanks to my friend Oreo at DemConWatchBlog for bringing this to my attention.  Nick Denton over at Gawker conducted at analysis of the alledged  Palin "academic records" that have been buzzing around the blogsphere at a rapid pace,  and in this blog, and determined they were false.  

He based his decision on a careful look at the way the documents were assembled.  Great work.  But it calls into question what can be trusted.  For example, this information was placed on a giant listserv and sent out to thousands of people. Now, it's left to me to send out a corrective, but the damage is done.

In a way I'm glad because it means I don't have to take any heat for asserting in my video that Palin is clever enough to fashion an exit strategy beyond the campaign.  I still believe she's positioning herself for a run at the Alaska Senate seat currently held by Lisa Murtowski, but when I presented why many commented that Palin could not be "bright enough" to do that.  

I disagee. 

Sarah Palin's I.Q At 83 - Palin Academic Records Rounding The Blogsphere

At first I thought the blogger at the Silenced Majority Portal was kidding when he or she wrote  that Alaska Governor and GOP VP hopeful Sarah Palin's I.Q. was at 83.  I mean wow.  I'm not into I.Q.s, -- mine was rsnked at 156 when I was 7 years old -- but a score's a score.  


I thought it was a joke, but then I saw a pretty authentic-looking document that's also making the rounds on the blogsphere.   It's a compilation of her academic record and photos that someone (??) assembled and posted for view.  The link is here:


http://clapboard.org/temp/SarahPalinReport.pdf



In just looking through it, we find that her then-latest high school grades went like this:  she scored a B in English, a D in Foreign Language, and didn't get an A in anything.  Her SAT scores were 425 verbal and 416 for math.  


The report also has a LOT of media clippings, all negative, about Palin.  But what got my attention was the information about Bristol Palin's soon-to-be husband Levi Johnston.  It claims that his MySpace has race-hate words...

Bristol Palin's boyfriend, the father of her unborn child, refers to himself as proud to be a "fuckin' redneck" on his MySpace page (before his profile was removed). He also said if anyone “messes” with him, he would "kick their fuckin' ass." He uses the N-word freely, and under hobbies, says “I like to shoot shit" for fun.

Ah...OK!

The document also has her education and resume:

Education:

1978-1982: Wasilla High School, diploma, 2.2 GPA

1982: Hawaii Pacific College (dropped out)

1983: North Idaho Community College (dropped out)

1984-1985: University of Idaho (dropped out)

1985: Matanuska-Susitna Community College, AK (dropped out)

1986-1987: University of Idaho, BA Communications

Career (1978-1997):

1987-1989: Sports Reporter

KTUU-TV, KTVA-TV (Anchorage), and Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman

1988-present: Co-owner, husbands fishing operation

1992-1996: Wasilla AK city council

1994-1997: Co-owner, snow machine dealership (failed)

Wow. Palin attended, let's see, five colleges in five years!  WTF?  What was up with that?  Think about it. You would have to sign up for a new college midway into the time you were at the existing college.

She's got some explaining to do there.  I've never seen a VP candidate with a resume like that.  I wonder if it has to do with that "83"....

Hmm....

I wonder who Sarah pissed off so badly they posted all of this information?  It's clear someone in Alaska's got it in for her.

CNN on Sarah Palin's Association w/ Alaska Independence Party

CNN takes a look at Sarah Palin's association with a political party that embraces white supremacists and pro-Confederate groups.

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John McCain was for ACORN before he was against them.

Bertha Lewis, Chief Organizer of The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) said, “It has deeply saddened us to see Senator McCain abandon his historic support for ACORN and our efforts to support the goals of low-income Americans. Maybe it is out of desperation that Senator McCain has forgotten that he was for ACORN before he was against ACORN." Seriously, McCain was the keynote speaker at a 2006 ACORN rally. Evidently McCain was for Immigration reform before he was against it? It does make one wonder why he and his campaign are so exercised over their allegations that Senator Obama has also got ACORN connections.

Perhaps McCain's actions, and those of surrogate organizations such as the Buckeye Institute, are more than the typical election-year stunts we've seen in recent election cycles. Perhaps this time they aim to take some focus off Wall Street's bailout after years of deregulation and the resulting chaos in U.S. and world economies? But in 2006 McCain was pleased to be photographed at the rally, seated beside Florida Democratic Representative Kendrick Meek.

The rally, co-sponsored by ACORN in partnership with the New American Opportunity campaign (NAOC), Catholic League Services – Archdiocese of Miami, Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, Florida Immigrant Coalition, Miami Dade College, People for the American Way/Mi Familia/Vota en Accion, the Service Employees International Union [SEIU], and UNITE/HERE, was intended to call attention to the need for comprehensive immigration reform.

Senator McCain spoke at the rally attended by hundreds of ACORN members, most of whom were dressed in the red shirts typical of its members. Senator McCain's speech focused on the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act, a bipartisan, comprehensive reform bill, which McCain sponsored with Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA).

See The Actual Links Between John McCain and ACORN for Yourself!

If you're a GOP supporter, or just a McCain enthusiast, please get your facts straight about McCain's association with ACORN. Remember Attorney General Alberto Gonzales arranging the firing of Republican U.S. Attorneys because they refused to prosecute voter assistance groups, including ACORN? Remember how it ended up with Gonzales resigning in disgrace? That was the same year Senator McCain partnered with ACORN.

It's no wonder McCain is trying to take over the "change" theme; his record is littered with sudden reversals in positions that leave him open to charges he's been both for and against virtually anything that Congress has voted on depending on what seemed politically expedient, and his initiatives on health care and taxes don't favor the middle class when examined impartially.

Ms. Lewis' recent remarks about McCain included a scathing assessment of his potential leadership, "...he was a maverick before he became erratic. We were thrilled to partner with him to help reform the outdated immigration laws in this country, and were pleased to work closely with him on this issue."Lewis continued, "We expected Senator McCain to support our efforts to give voice to millions of Americans who have never participated in an election before. We are surprised at his efforts to vilify an organization that, until recently, he saw as an ally. Maybe this surprise attack and change of heart is indicative of his state of mind, and the way he would govern."

Maverick, or political opportunist?

Ms. Lewis went on to say that, "We are sure that the extremists he is trying to get into a froth will be even more excited to learn that John McCain stood shoulder to shoulder with ACORN, at an ACORN co-sponsored event, to promote immigration reform."

Senator McCain was joined at that 2006 rally by Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL), Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), leaders from both political parties, immigrant communities, and members of labor, business, and religious organizations.

When a department store calls the police to report a shoplifting employee, no one says the department store is guilty of consumer fraud. But for some reason, when ACORN turns voter registration workers over to the authorities for filling out bogus forms, it gets accused of “voter fraud.” This is a classic case of blaming the victim; indeed, these charges are outrageous, libelous, and often politically motivated. The commercial media may be content to echo McCain's talking points, and tacitly approve them by not contradicting "misstatements" during so-called debates, but the era when divisive political attacks and partisan smoke-screens are accepted as just "business as usual" is ending. We demand more now, and we deserve better from commercial news organizations and candidates alike.

The conduct of Schieffer, Obama, and McCain during tonight's debate at Hofstra University will be scrutinized closely by millions. I suggest one simple ground rule: "No more lies."

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