Oh No!

I can't say I've decided who to back in the Virginia governor's race, but I do know that I will not be supporting Terry McAuliffe!

Whenever he talks, he makes me think he's trying to sell me something I don't need or want (and that probably won't work anyway). And in this sort-of announcement video, he nods his head A LOT - is that a sign of lying, like blinking too much?

And his use of "hope" and "yes we can" in the video is nauseating. He can not possibly be the best candidate for governor of Virginia. So, should I back Creigh Deeds or Brian Moran? Or is anyone else going to jump into the race?

Daily Kos Decision-Makers?

I'm curious why the Daily Kos decided not to let its contributors blog about the John Edwards' affair, but have allowed them to blog about this story about Sarah Palin's son potentially really being her grandson. How do they decide which 'tabloid rumors' can be discussed on their site?

God and Weather

Anyone remember that idiot "praying" for God to send a big rain storm on top of Mile High Stadium during Obama's speech? Well, seems God has other thoughts...see what happens when you pray for bad things to happen to other people! God, the universe, whatever you call "it" decided instead to remind us all - during the Republican Convention - of how the Republican administration treated poor Americans during/after Katrina:

NEW ORLEANS -- Fear and foreboding gripped this still-mending city Thursday as a potential Category 3 hurricane whirled toward the Gulf Coast on the eve of Hurricane Katrina's three-year anniversary.

Tropical Storm Gustav, which was lashing Jamaica after Haitian officials said it had killed 51 people there, was still almost five days away from the Crescent City, according to the National Hurricane Center. Projections varied greatly, putting its path anywhere from the Florida panhandle to southeastern Texas by Tuesday.

Crossposted here.

President Schweitzer?

According to Kos, it's a possibility. I did like his speech last night, but he'll have to lose the bollo tie. Sorry.



UPDATE: I think Josh Marshall agrees. And more praise at Political Animal.

What is up with John Edwards - and why is the media not discussing?

I have no idea if this story about John Edwards having an affair - and a baby with the mistress - is true. Actually, I assumed it was false last fall when it first came up and then went away after a strong denial from Edwards. But after all the chatter this weekend, I'm back to wondering if he really is a man who cheated on his dying wife with a campaign staffer, had a baby and denied the whole thing publicly. Seems he was caught last week leaving the hotel - at 2:45 a.m. - where the woman and baby were staying in Los Angeles. Now, the folks who "caught" him are from the National Enquirer, but sounds like the story is still true. (And remember, they are the ones who reported on Jesse Jackson's 'love child', Gennifer Flowers' affair with Bill Clinton and other scandals.)

I just can't understand why the MSM is ignoring the story...it's not being ignored by those of us who follow politics (too closely). Read these stories from Slate and Salon for more on the story, and on why it's being ignored. Just Google "John Edwards" and you can find more info, like this one.

I'm going to Netroots Nation! (aka Yearly Kos)

Just got the go-ahead to pack my bags for Austin, TX to spend 4 days hanging out with bloggers...Check out Netroots Nation if you haven't heard of it (or its previous incarnation, Yearly Kos) before!

I'm sure I'll be blogging from the convention!

"Freedom requires religion." Really??

Mitt Romney has been getting all kinds of praise from reporters and pundits for his speech trying to put voters at ease that he is a Mormon. I thought parts of his speech were good, but parts were strange and inconsistent. For instance, if there should be no religious test for presidential candidates, then why the need to proclaim your belief that "Jesus Christ is the son of God and the savior of mankind?" Those two statements just don't fit together in the same speech...

But, the biggest failing of the speech, as noted in a Washington Post editorial today, was Romney's failure to include ALL Americans as equal. He may have reached out to other religious communities, but he purposely left out A LOT of good Americans:

Where Mr. Romney most fell short, though, was in his failure to recognize that America is composed of citizens not only of different faiths but of no faith at all and that the genius of America is to treat them all with equal dignity. "Freedom requires religion, just as religion requires freedom," Mr. Romney said. But societies can be both secular and free. The magnificent cathedrals of Europe may be empty, as Mr. Romney said, but the democracies of Europe are thriving.

"Americans acknowledge that liberty is a gift of God, not an indulgence of government," Mr. Romney said. But not all Americans acknowledge that, and those who do not may be no less committed to the liberty that is the American ideal.

My GOP prediction

I've been watching Gov. Mike Huckabee and his presidential campaign for a while now, and I am ready to go out on a limb and say, "Forget Rudy, Forget Romney, Mike Huckabee is going to be the Republican candidate for president."

If you haven't heard it before, then you heard it hear first!

Recognize this guy?

Do you recognize this guy? He's about to be Australia's new Climate Change Minister...and he's a great dancer (just ask my brother).

Senator Kennedy reminds me why I like him

From Talking Points Memo and the Washington Post:

Schumer and Feinstein said they took solace in Mukasey's assurances that he would enforce any future waterboarding ban passed by Congress. That argument prompted a robust retort from Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.).

"He will, in fact, enforce the laws that we pass in the future? Can our standards have really sunk so low?" Kennedy said. "Enforcing the law is the job of the attorney general. It's a prerequisite, not a virtue." . . .

Pat Robertson Endorses Rudy Guiliani?!

Wow. Read my Plunderbund post here, and catch up on the coverage here.

"Clash of pathos, hypocrisy and ridiculousness"

I have to agree with Josh Marshall on both points: This is not the best part of me either, and I am looking forward to the 'clash' as well.

Perhaps this is not the best part of me. But I must confess that quite apart from the larger issues of public and private, public acceptance of homosexuality and Republican politics, I am in favor of an aggressive defense on Craig's part simply because I cannot resist the novelistic clash of pathos, hypocrisy and ridiculousness of seeing Craig's effort to 'clear his good name' torpedoing the White House's September Petraeus propaganda campaign.

"Prick any conservative and the kink oozes out."

I had not heard the theory about the corruptness and hypocrisy of conservative politicans put that way before, but I like it.

I also like the rest of Nina Burleigh's post about finding some sympathy for Senator Larry Craig:

Because we are people of compassion, we should also feel a little horrified by this tortured man's sad, humiliating demise. He's obviously lived his whole life afflicted by the religious psychobabble and outright bigotry of people who say homosexuality is a sickness and a lifestyle decision instead of an innate state of being that has nothing to do with illness or choice.

The sickness, of course, is in the suppression, which is why closeted men seek love in rank public bathroom stalls.

Does Dodd have "The Buzz"?

Chris Dodd got all kinds of great media attention yesterday after the IAFF endorsement. Today, I see this post on the Huffington Post highlighting Dodd:

Yesterday, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) stepped up to the patriot's task and gave the American Freedom Campaign the following statement:

"It's a sad day when a presidential candidate actually has to talk about restoring the Constitution, but that's where we are after this administration's assault on the rule of law -- an assault, by the way, that actually makes us less secure and more isolated by weakening our standing around the world. I have said repeatedly that if elected, the *FIRST THING* I would do after being sworn in is to reverse as much of the damage done to the Constitution by President Bush as possible. And I would immediately do as much as I legally can by executive order."

Chris Dodd is acting like an American. He should be congratulated. But the rest of the candidates should be ashamed -- at least for now. We know they are aware of our efforts, since they have all received thousands of emails from supporters of the American Freedom Campaign. In some cases, calls to the candidates to defend the Constitution have been even more direct.

Wonder what sort of coverage he'll get over Labor day weekend...

Fire Fighters Union Endorses Dodd. Anyone Surprised?

Read my blog post on Plunderbund.

Plunderbund

Just a quick note...I am now contributing (hopefully once a week) to a great blog on Ohio politics: Plunderbund. Since I no longer live in Ohio, and pretty much get my Ohio political updates from this blog, I'll be writing mostly about national politics.

Check out my first post: The Permanent Republican Majority? Not so fast.

This is great

Who wouldn't have loved to get the questions in advance before taking a test or being interviewed? The results would be a slam dunk, right?? Well, we'll just see how well Gonzales does this time around:

Via Bob Geiger writing at The Huffington Post:

Leahy, the [Senate Judiciary] committee's Chairman, sent a letter to Gonzales on July 17 pointing out the number of times the embattled Attorney General said he could "not recall" in response to previous direct questioning on his department's operations and saying that he "would like to avoid a repeat of that performance."

So Leahy sent questions in advance hoping to give Gonzales a week to think about some better responses to the questions surrounding the U.S. Attorney firings, National Security Letter abuses and the White House's warrantless domestic spying program.

Bush vs. Science, part 205

Former Surgeon General Says He Was Muzzled
By REUTERS
Published: July 10, 2007, NYT
Filed at 4:25 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The first U.S. surgeon general appointed by President George W. Bush accused the administration on Tuesday of political interference and muzzling him on key issues like embryonic stem cell research.

"Anything that doesn't fit into the political appointees' ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried," Dr. Richard Carmona, who served as the nation's top doctor from 2002 until 2006, told a House of Representatives committee.

"The problem with this approach is that in public health, as in a democracy, there is nothing worse than ignoring science, or marginalizing the voice of science for reasons driven by changing political winds. The job of surgeon general is to be the doctor of the nation, not the doctor of a political party," Carmona added.

My question to Dr. Carmona: Why did you keep working for these people for four years????

Virginia Politics

So, yesterday was primary day in Virginia...I am an election geek, so I went to vote for the only "contest" in my county...the Democratic primary for County Treasurer. Not much of a contest...the incumbent won with more than 73% of the vote, with a 4.5% voter turnout. Well, at least he had a challenger...

News was a little more interesting around the state though - and November's elections should be good. I'm not sure I can imagine the Democrats in control of the Virginia Senate - we need to pick up 21 seats - but it's great to have a goal (and some actual competition in the state)!

Here's the quick recap from the Washington Post:

Two moderate Republican incumbents lost to conservative challengers who accused the sitting senators of having morphed into big spenders just like the party's now widely disliked standard-bearer, the president of these United States. Martin Williams of Newport News and Brandon Bell of Roanoke are gone goodbye, and while hard core Republicans will celebrate this as a reassertion of the party's pre-Mark Warner-Tim Kaine era commitment to chopping spending and eschewing taxes, plenty of Democrats will also be cheered by these results. That's because Kaine and the Dems had already planned to make this fall's campaign--the entire Virginia legislature is up for election in November--about how the Republicans are supposedly so far to the right that the state needs to push the Senate over to the D side to provide safety and balance. These primary results will only strengthen the Dems' hand--not necessarily in those firmly Republican districts, but elsewhere around the state where the party split is closer.

Is he not embarassed?

At my job - I'd be embarassed to say that I didn't know what my staff was doing, or why I made big decisions...but Alberto Gonzales got up there and said he didn't know, or couldn't remember, why decisions were made at the U.S. Justice Department.

Amazing!!