Buck Naked Politics

A Quadruple Score on the Sick Joke Scale: McCain's Ape Joke

by Damozel | Wow.  Even at the time, his campaign said the discussion was a politically motivated sideshow.  That, as we all know, is the defense of last resort.

From Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion:

His Chelsea Clinton joke was as tasteless as it goes. And of course his answer about birth control and Viagra was classic.

But this 1986 joke during his Senate run is just off the wall.

Obama & the Miffening* of Dem Insiders...

By Damozel | According to The Politico (via Alegre). relations between Obama and Capitol Hill are a leetle strained.  Apparently, some Dems aren't feeling so much Obamamania anymore.

The article describes them as 'miffed.'   

*Please don't email me.  I know it really isn't a word.  I just think it should be.

Jon Swift and Others on Satire-Gate (Obama's New Yorker Cover)

by Damozel |  I admit it.   I am afraid I thought the infamous cover was hilarious. It didn’t occur to me till the condemnation started rolling in that it could be detrimental to Obama in the wrong hands.  I can’t imagine that anyone with a sense of context (or humor) could possibly have taken it as anything but a knock at those who buy into attempts to demonize Obama.

But I understand the concern of those such as Jesse Taylor at Pandagon who perfectly well understand the intent while still feeling concerned that the cover might just give legs to the rumors. And if you don’t believe that there is a segment of the public prepared to swear that the cover is an absolutely literal and accurate accurate depiction of the secret life of the Obamas , see here, here, and here.  Finally, there's a good piece today by SilentPatriot at C&L about why some people are so upset about the cover that may pretty much undercut what I've written here.  You decide.

Obama: It's Time to Begin to End the War

by Damozel | The New York Times has published an op-ed by Barack Obama.

It’s good news, isn’t it, he pointedly notes, that our troops’ sacrifices have got the Iraqis to a point when their government might actually be about ready to take off the training wheels and ride off without us holding the handlebars? (NYT) 

And whether they are ready are not — see this BBC article clarifying the quote on which Obama relied — isn’t it about as clear as it could possibly be that we can’t go on babysitting them indefinitely, or even very much longer, without severe strain to major muscle groups?

Shut Up Whining About the Imaginary Recession, You Whiners!

by Damozel | Even John McCain knows more about economic reality than Phil Gramm, who told The Washington Times:

“You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession. ... We have sort of become a nation of whiners."

“You just hear this constant whining, complaining, about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline. ... We've never been more dominant; we've never had more natural advantages than we have today.”

McCain at least knows there's a problem:  one that he is going to eradicate with his magical new plan (endorsed, sort of, by 300 economists!).

You Jest: 300 Economists 'Enthusiastically Support' McCain's Economic Plan?

by Damozel | The Politico has the story on those 300 economists' 'enthusiastic endorsement' of his economic plan --- or as he put it, 'a whole lot of economists, including Nobel laureates.'

The endorsement could hardly have been stronger. On Monday, John McCain’s campaign released a statement signed by 300 economists who “enthusiastically support” his “Jobs for America” economic plan, providing a heavyweight testimonial to the presumptive Republican nominee’s “broad and powerful economic agenda.”

But there is a credibility-shredding 'but.'

An Eloquent Critic of the Obama Campaign

by Damozel | Among many bloggers who remain critical of Obama and the Obama campaign, one of those I find most powerful and persuasive is Anglachel, who writes both eloquently and intelligently about the divide in the Hillary campaign. 

Here are a couple of quotes from Anglachel's posts, though it's only fair to say that they aren't reducible down to extracts; they are intricately thought through and unified --- the blogging equivalent of origami --- and pulling out a piece here and there isn't really illustrative.

GOP Senate Outlook Not Looking So Good

by Damozel | Here's a trend that should give some comfort to Democrats who are still recovering, or who haven't yet recovered, from the painful battle for the presidential nomination.

Democrats are running strong Senate campaigns in states such as Mississippi, Alaska and North Carolina that Republicans have long taken for granted.

The outlook for the GOP is so grim that party leaders have readily conceded there is no chance they can regain control of the Senate in 2008, even though Democrats' current majority is slim, 51-49.

"If you have an R in front of your name, you better run scared," said Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, who says the party will do well if it holds its losses to three or four seats. (HuffPost)

Building a Better Conservatism

by Damozel | Conservative columnist Steven Greenhut writes:

Syndicated columnist Bob Novak, writing about the surprising number of conservatives who are backing Democrat Barack Obama rather than Republican John McCain for the presidency, captured their widespread sentiment when he quoted one "Obamacon" with impeccable GOP credentials: "The Republican Party is a dead rotting carcass with a few decrepit old leaders stumbling around like zombies in a horror version of 'Weekend at Bernie,' handcuffed to a corpse." These Obama supporters hold no illusions about Obama's liberalism, but they are so angry at the GOP, Novak writes, that they seek a "therapeutic electoral bloodbath."... [I]n a two-party system, when one party screws up royally, the voters reward the other party.' (OC Register; emphasis added)

It's actually quite affirming that some conservatives have decided to rebel against what the Bush administration and its abettors and enablers and are prepared, in the best traditions of democracy, to 'throw the rascals out.'

McCain to Balance the Budget And Spin Gold Out of Manure

by Teh Nutroots | Ho ha ha.  Ha ha hee. He's going to turn seawater into crude oil right before your very eyes as well. Right.  Via Mike Allen at The Politico:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) plans to promise on Monday that he will balance the federal budget by the end of his first term by curbing wasteful spending and overhauling entitlement programs, including Social Security, his advisers told Politico.

“The McCain administration would reserve all savings from victory in the Iraq and Afghanistan operations in the fight against Islamic extremists for reducing the deficit. Since all their costs were financed with deficit spending, all their savings must go to deficit reduction.” (Emphasis added)

Victory, eh?  And cutting 'entitlements'. It won't work.

Spitefulness Towards Obama: Some Reflections

by Damozel | John Cole is baffled by the intransigence of  Dems, including many recent Obama supporters, who have bashed Obama's every move since the nomination. 

The continued intransigence of left-wing bloggers and liberal Democratic interest groups that make up part of the Democratic voting block remains completely and totally mystifying to me. The utter unwillingness to allow Obama any latitude in framing his positions on issues so that they are more palatable to independent voters, demanding that he adhere to strict and rigid positions with no room for movement or nuance, appears to me to be an unwitting sabotage of a candidate who has always been a center-left pragmatist. Any slight deviation from orthodoxy, real or perceived...is met with derision, assaults on his integrity, and charges of flip-flopping. .

The Times Of London Weighs in on Obama's So-called 'Pivoting'

by Damozel | The Times of London rather gleefully comments on Obama's perceived 'reversals,' on which I have just this moment commented at some length.  First, they sum up the positions which have so disappointed the party's progressive wing, and which are bound to disgust a large number of conservative Brits:

Last month he dropped his opposition to a Bill before Congress that would give telecoms companies immunity from prosecution for carrying out illegal wiretaps on potential terrorist suspects.

He told a cheering crowd of Israel's supporters of his fervent commitment to the security of the Jewish state and added, for good measure, that an “undivided” Jerusalem should be the nation's capital. He said that he likes free trade after all, and that his primary campaign pledge to dismantle the North American Free Trade Agreement was a case of “overheated rhetoric”.

Barack Obama, Who is He?

by Damozel | On this July 4, Barack Obama is drawing a lot of criticism from some who were previously anxious to support him. 

A New York Times editorial calls out Obama for his numerous failures to support the hopes of liberals that they finally had a champion worthy of the glory of their cause.  They aren't pleased with his most recent incarnation of the swing voter's Democrat.  And it's not just the so-called 'far left' that is reeling with shock.  In fact, even very moderate Democrats --- i.e., those who support a liberal agenda without necessarily wishing to see it implemented without some concession to the feelings of the opposition --- are shocked; shocked, I tell you!--- to learn too late what Obama is really about.  Once again, I can only shrug and say, 'Weren't you listening?'

In fact,  I don't think I'm ever going to get tired of saying, 'We told you so'  to his champions on the far left.  Another time, maybe they'll read the fine print.

Christian Conservatives Unite Behind McCain

by Damozel | The evangelicals and other Christian Conservatives have decided that McCain is, after all, God's candidate.  That is to say, while many of them feel that McCain was most definitely not God's first choice, God most definitely prefers him to Barack Obama.

So even though they -- meaning the lead mouthpieces of the Christian Right -- said they would never, ever do it, Senator McBack 'n Fill carefully repudiated his every principled stand during the primaries.  Besides:  he's incontrovertibly not Obama.  They've evidently decided on these grounds that they have to support him for not being Obama, whether they like it or not.  I get the impression that they don't much, even now, but are trying to make the best of him.  That's so sweet.

A Review of the Freestyle Flip-Flopping of John McCain

by Damozel | This is a crucial post from Crooks and Liars for disillusioned Dems (like me) and for anyone, anywhere who has considered voting for McCain (unlike me).   It's extracted from Steve Benen's June 19 post at The Carpetbagger Report, which I linked at the time. But let's just review:

[B]ack in 1999, McCain was walking a tightrope by calling himself pro-life on a personal level while at the same time assuring pro-choice voters for pragmatic reasons that “in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade.”

Moving to the Center (Part 2); Dodd Bitter-Enders

by Damozel | I wrote at some length on this issue.  But you can skip the whole thing and just refer to Brad at Sadly, No!:

Candidates have traditionally moved toward the center after winning their primaries to attract more undecided voters. Except that that isn’t happening with John McCain, who has if anything gotten crazier in recent months....How does this happen? How has wingnuttery so poisoned our elections that both candidates are striving to show the rest of the country just how stupid and crazy they are? Don’t we need, to coin a phrase, a choice not an echo?.

Um...Gen. Wes Clark Challenges McCain's Military Credentials?

by Damozel |   Huh. Wouldn't it be better and more persuasive to focus on Obama's strengths, i.e., the fact he's right about Iraq and McCain is wrong?  I'm starting to think I would be an ace campaign strategist, if the problem with the following isn't apparent to Obama's advisers when it is so apparent to me. (Barack: Call me!)

Wes Clark is arguing that McCain's military credentials don't necessarily qualify him to be Commander-in-Chief.  I like Gen. Clark, but I think this was tactically a mistake.  According to Josh Kraushaar, this is what he said:

Clark said that McCain lacked the executive experience necessary to be president, calling him “untested and untried” on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”...

The Dread 'Move to the Center' & Obama's Campaign

by Damozel | Paul Krugman made the same point months ago as Greenwald does in this piece arguing that Obama's run rightward to meet McCain the so-called 'center' is in fact not the winning strategy his advisers must think.  Why is there an assumption that Americans want some sort of compromise between Bush and the principles expressed by the Democratic candidates?

With the Republicans still mechanically spouting policies consistent with Bush-era neoconservatism, what's needed to achieve balance again isn't compromise action, but corrective action.  What most Democrats I know want is a different choice.  Sadly, Obama lately seems intent on ensuring that there is no distinction between his policies and McCain's:

Why Bill ---and Certain Hillary Supporters --- Should Let Hillary Drive the Car

Posted by Damozel |  Don't get me wrong. In my opinion --- and as a Clinton supporter, I followed the exchanges extremely closely while they were happening--- Bill Clinton has every right to be angry about the way Hillary was treated by the Obama campaign.  I don't think his anger is productive, mind you; and I think he is undermining Hillary's chances.  But if Hillary values her political career, she needs to give Bill a time out. 

Hillary, as a mature woman, knows the best way to prove someone wrong is just to prove them wrong. You don't get there by sulking in your tent or complaining; you get there by rising above the slurs and gossip, as Clinton-supporter and lifelong civil rights activist Maya Angelou advised Hillary to do in this poem.  Bill used to know how to rise above the fray. Why isn't he doing it now?

To accuse someone of being a racist -- a vile thing for a person to be --- is, by definition, to accuse them of vileness.  It is a grave insult.  It seems to be these allegations that are fueling Bill Clinton's outrage and wounded feelings. Most of us would feel just the same.

U-N-I-T-Y! A Bloggerama

By Damozel | At The Moderate Voice, Joe Gandelman speculates that the wounds might be too profound to heal.  I personally doubt it.  A month in political time is equal to a year in real time.  And as the subsequent post shows, many Democrats were moved by the event and the speeches.  I can't see the sour feeling of some of the insiders having much of an effect on the average voter. 

Marc Ambinder likewise wonders whether unhappy Clinton donors can be brought into the circle and made to join in the unity boogie.  See above.

At The Reaction, Michael Stickings is optimistic that at last we're on our way: