So In The Tank They Don't Know They Are In The Tank

Michael Powell of the Times probably does not even realize how laughably tilted his first two paragraphs are in his story about Obama and race. 

Senator Barack Obama is a man of few rhetorical stumbles, but this week a few of his words opened a racial door his campaign would prefer not to step through. When Senator John McCain’s camp replied by accusing him of playing the race card from the bottom of the deck, the Obama campaign seemed at least momentarily off balance.

The instinctive urge to punch back was tempered by the fact that race is a fire that could singe both candidates. So on Friday the Obama campaign, a carefully controlled lot on the best of days, reacted most cautiously as it sought to tamp down any sense that it was at war with Mr. McCain over who was the first to inject race into the contest.

Let's see - Barack "57 States" Obama is a man of few rhetorical stumbles?  That would probably appear to be true if we relied on the Paper of Record to record his many gaffes.  But ABC, the Chicago Sun Times, and Michelle Malkin present an alternative reality (although none mention Jerusalem as an undivided city, or not.)

And what about the "instinctive urge to punch back" mentioned by Mr. Powell?  The lack of just that instinct has bedeviled former Dem candidates such as The Duke or John Kerry, and contributes to a general sense of Dem candidates as weak.  Eventually, Mr. Powell notes that the presence of such an instinct is still not proven in the Team Obama camp:

After two straight defeats in presidential elections, Democrats sometimes speak of hungering for a more aggressive standard-bearer to confront Republican attacks. Some wonder why, every time he speaks of the economy, Mr. Obama does not mention that Mr. McCain’s chief economic adviser referred to a “mental” recession rather than a real one.

“I am somewhat mystified that he isn’t attacking much harder on the policy front,” said Ronald Walters, a political scientist at the University of Maryland. “He needs to rev up his attacks, and his proposals.”

But this is to some extent Mr. Obama’s sleight of hand. He relies heavily on surrogates, and tends to back into his attacks. So he cues up Mr. McCain as “an honorable man” and a “war hero,” before skewering him as lacking in ideas.

Whatever - in Times world Obama is a smooth-talking instinctive fighter, and I'm sure they are happy there.

Comments

[kim]

C'mon, Corner, we've got to keep him on his feet through the end of the August round. Sure, he coulda been a contenduh.
==================================

[Sue]

The NYTs recycles the Obama talking points, ie, McCain brought up the race card, and now this. At some point shouldn't all of these articles be reported to the FEC as inkind contributions?

[Sue]

Uh, oh. My post was there and now it isn't.

[Sue]

And now it is. ::sigh::

[centralcal]

"...a carefully controlled lot on the best of days..."

Really? The "lot" each had a different version of the to meet/or not to meet with the wounded troops in Germany. Oh, yeah, carefully controlled. LOL!

[kim]

Maybe it's the paint fumes.
=================

[GMax]

OT

Ayman al-Zawahiri - the second most powerful leader in al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden's No. 2 - may be critically wounded and possibly dead, CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan reports exclusively.

CBS News has obtained a copy of an intercepted letter from sources in Pakistan, which urgently requests a doctor to treat al-Zawahiri. He's believed to be somewhere in Pakistan's remote tribal areas of Pakistan.

The letter refers to Sheikh Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri by name - and says that he is in "severe pain" and his "injuries are infected."

Its CBS so apply the same caution you would with Al Jazeera.

[Danube of Thought]

He coulda had class. He coulda been a contenduh. He coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what he is, let's face it.

What he got is a one-way ticket to Palookaville.

[bio mom]

The best way to weaken a political opponent is to get the comics laughing at you. McCain has scored a major hit with these adds because he has punctured the Obama balloon.

[kim]

GMax, Bill Roggio wants more evidence about al-Zawahiri; others smell disinformation. But what about the Seals?
===============================

[Danube of Thought]

I agree with Bio Mom, and disagree with Dick Morris (as I do frequently). The one thing this guy and his staff can't handle is ridicule.

[E. Nigma]

The media, especially TV, has been a "Virtual reality" before the term was coined with respect to computer generated reality.
Few of us will ever meet a President or even a presidential candidate, so the reality most of us know about these guys is through the prism of the Media.
If they choose to show any candidate only at his best or in the best possible frame, then we perceive that the candidate is really "sharp". The unending diatribe about Bush being stupid, incompentent, corrupt, etc., is just another frame of reference.

Who really knows what these guys are really like? All I know is that Howard Fineman was on "Countdown" last night as Olbermann went on with some of his usual drivel, and Howard looked like he really wanted to be somewhere else. Is that objective reality? Maybe he only had indigestion.

[centralcal]

From Jake Tapper's Political Punch:

"Obama said he didn't think there was a perception that he's arrogant or presumptuous, though his Republican opponents are pushing it, most recently in the McCain campaign's "The One" Web video, in which they paint him as a false messiah.

"It's not really clear exactly what it's based on," Obama said.

Obama doesn't "think" there is a perception that he's arrogant? Hmmm...there is none so blind...yadda, yadda.

[kim]

Chasing that Zawahiri rumour last night I ran across hints of some big Navy Seal operation in the Borderlands. Pakistani Intelligence involvement in the Indian Embassy bombing in Kabul may have inspired the Paki boss into allowing the US, er, NATO, somewhat greater latitude, er, uh, leeway, in the Pakistani Badlands, witness the Predator attacks, and let us pray, pursuit of Big Prey, by other means.
===========================================

[kim]

Butter wouldn't melt in his mouth, but once he opens it, the butter dribbles out all over his chin and his frontispiece. He may become an object of pity.
================================

[dualdiagnosis]

Anyone catch the Bob Herbert piece in the Times? Disgusting.

Unfortunately I can see it becoming the prevailing POV before the campaign is over.

(It's an attempt to portray the celeb ad as "scary black man takes blond white women")

[kim]

That ole redneck, Johnymac is leader of the lynch mob, dontcha know?
===============================

[GMax]

The only way we would know about the Seals if it happened, would be well after the operations was over and everyone was debriefed. Even then, they tend not to make a big deal about their operations, it makes it much easier to stay below the radar the next time.

[GMax]

I am guessing more likely CIA, and blind hog and acorns occasionally meet.

[Karl]

Cap'n Ed notes that the WaPo's Dan Balz has more reality-based coverage of the issue.

[bgates]

Anyone catch the Bob Herbert piece in the Times?
I can't help but yawn every time I see that name.

[Pofarmer]

Mr. Obama does not mention that Mr. McCain’s chief economic adviser referred to a “mental” recession rather than a real one.

My guess is that they aren't attacking him on it because they know he was right.

[Chris]

Direct hit, it would seem. About time. Good for the McCain camp pointing out, in humorous fashion, the obvious.

Zawahiri? Fingers crossed.

[Rick Ballard]

Karl,

I find it pretty interesting that the WaPo isn't "falling in line" - it's a good illustration of the fact that Axelrod's ability to "manage the message" does not extend much beyond the Kennedy/Daley machine's ambit of the Trib, the NYT/Globe and McClatchy groups. ABC seems a bit beyond their reach as well and AP has shifted their economic coverage from "we are trapped in the pits of hell" to "Look! There's a light up above!".

Perhaps Senator Obama needs to confer with Senator Lamont concerning his next move?

[RichatUF]

The bottom must have fallen out of Obama's campaign polling the past couple of days.

These 2 items via Drudge: Obama doesn't support "reparations" (the great idea that of the House passing a non-binding resolution apologizing for slavery and Jim Crow) and this bit charging the McCain campaign with cynicism

"In no way do I think John McCain's campaign was racist. I think they are cynical," Obama said Saturday. "Their team is good at creating distractions and engaging in negative attacks."

A pretty good indication McCain hit Obama very hard this week.

[James Paternoster]

"... the Obama campaign seemed at least momentarily off balance."

There's that criticism the press keeps throwing at Obama. What an unfair article.

[Sara]

Rob at Say Anything gets the "few rhetorical stumbles" ball rolling:

Few rhetorical stumbles?  Who is this journalist trying to kid?  Here’s a run-down of Obama’s rhetorical genius (which is by no means exhaustive of the genre) just in case there’s anyone out there who doesn’t think this guy is the liberal version of Dan Quayle.

Last May, he claimed that tornadoes in Kansas killed a whopping 10,000 people: “In case you missed it, this week, there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died — an entire town destroyed.” The actual death toll: 12.

Earlier this month in Oregon, he redrew the map of the United States: “Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go.”

Last week, in front of a roaring Sioux Falls, S.D., audience, Obama exulted: “Thank you, Sioux City. ... I said it wrong. I’ve been in Iowa for too long. I’m sorry.”

Explaining last week why he was trailing Hillary Clinton in Kentucky, Obama again botched basic geography: “Sen. Clinton, I think, is much better known, coming from a nearby state of Arkansas. So it’s not surprising that she would have an advantage in some of those states in the middle.” On what map is Arkansas closer to Kentucky than Illinois?

Obama has as much trouble with numbers as he has with maps. Last March, on the anniversary of the Bloody Sunday march in Selma, Ala., he claimed his parents united as a direct result of the civil rights movement: “There was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, Ala., because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born.”

Obama was born in 1961. The Selma march took place in 1965. His spokesman, Bill Burton, later explained that Obama was “speaking metaphorically about the civil-rights movement as a whole.”

Earlier this month in Cape Girardeau, Mo., Obama showed off his knowledge of the war in Afghanistan by homing in on a lack of translators: “We only have a certain number of them, and if they are all in Iraq, then it’s harder for us to use them in Afghanistan.” The real reason it’s “harder for us to use them” in Afghanistan: Iraqis speak Arabic or Kurdish. The Afghanis speak Pashto, Farsi, or other non-Arabic languages.

Over the weekend in Oregon, Obama pleaded ignorance of the decades-old, multibillion-dollar massive Hanford nuclear-waste cleanup: “Here’s something that you will rarely hear from a politician, and that is that I’m not familiar with the Hanford, uuuuhh, site, so I don’t know exactly what’s going on there. (Applause.) Now, having said that, I promise you I’ll learn about it by the time I leave here on the ride back to the airport.”

I assume on that ride, a staffer reminded him that he’s voted on at least one defense-authorization bill that addressed the “costs, schedules, and technical issues” dealing with the nation’s most contaminated nuclear-waste site.

Last March, the Chicago Tribune reported this little-noticed nugget about a fake autobiographical detail in Obama’s Dreams from My Father: “Then, there’s the copy of Life magazine that Obama presents as his racial awakening at age 9. In it, he wrote, was an article and two accompanying photographs of an African-American man physically and mentally scarred by his efforts to lighten his skin. In fact, the Life article and the photographs don’t exist, say the magazine’s own historians.”

And in perhaps the most seriously troubling set of gaffes of them all, Obama told a Portland crowd over the weekend that Iran doesn’t “pose a serious threat to us” — cluelessly arguing that “tiny countries” with small defense budgets can’t do us harm — and then promptly flip-flopped the next day, claiming, “I’ve made it clear for years that the threat from Iran is grave.”

[Danube of Thought]

I have no reason to think Obama's internal polling differs materially from what we're seeing (principally Gallup and Ras, in my case), but even if his internals are identical to those sources it's very bad news for him. He is far underperforming relative to the Dem "brand," and it's getting worse not better.

In retrospect, it's easy to see that he got the nomination in a very quirky way, and would not have stood a chance but for a couple of inexplicable gifts from the Hillary camp. She didn't know how to do caucuses, and she had no plans for what to do after Super Tuesday, because she was sure she'd have it locked up by then.

And no one can doubt that the pixie dust that surrounded the man in the spring is gone for good.

[Sara]

Somebody should send this link to the NYT:

Barackgaffes.com

[Neo]

Now this is cruel.

[Captain Hate]

The WaPo must feel that hitching their wagon to Uhhbamerr is a losing proposition, probably because David Broder has a better feel for things than the in-house lunatics for whom Pinch continues to provide an op-ed forum in the face of declining earnings.

[Daddy]

I saw a CNN round Table last week wherein that strong Conservative talking head, David Gergen, declared that Obama was a moderate politician, right down the middle of the road, and in no way a far lefty. Gergen was instantly seconded in that opinion by the unbiased member of the CNN panel, Berstein, of Woodward and Berstein infamy. The Liberal member of the panel didn't even have to respond, her work having already been done by the 2 preceeding bombasters.
The media are exactly as nutty as that scene of the magic mirror in the first Harry Potter movie. They look into it and see not reality, but whatever their heart most desires in a political candidate.

[centralcal]

Sue: Your comment above about in kind contributions made Instapundit - who linked to this post.

[Danube of Thought]

David Gergen is a genuinely nauseating, unprincipled sycophant.

As for Bernstein, my favorite memory of that corpulent has-been was a TV appearance during the Gore-Bush litigation following the 2000 election. A Florida state court judge had handed the Gore team a setback on some issue or other--I believe he had ruled against them in their effort to disqualify the absentee ballots cast by servicemen overseas. Bernstein observed that "the judge must have been a Republican," whereupon he was informed that the judge was in fact a life-long Democrat who had been appointed by a Democratic governor. It seems that the crack investigative skills had become a bit rusty.

I have always wondered just what are his credentials for offering his judgment about political matters. He was a reporter--that's all. He has dined out on his one accomplishment more than anyone since Don MacLean of "American Pie" fame.

[Jim Rhoads aka vnjagvet]

This approach won't play well in the middle of the country -- North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minsota, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado.

The Ohio and Pennsylvania primaries showed that even covert racial bs will turn off (in the words of Hillary Clinton) "white, working-class voters".

[Michael]

The NYTs recycles the Obama talking points...At some point shouldn't all of these articles be reported to the FEC as inkind contributions?

Not that it would occur to any of you to say the same about FOX and McCain....

Let me know when Obama's gaffes/flip-flops exceed 70. Until then, he's just a piker compared to McCain.

[SukieTawdry]

The sooner we can get the Great Obambi nailed down on actual issues, the better I'll like it. Which is why he's forever railing against the many distractions from the issues while seldom tackling them head-on.

I'd like to recommend Stanley Kurtz's piece in the current edition of The Weekly Standard: Barack Obama's Lost Years: The senator's tenure as a state legislator reveals him to be an old-fashioned, big government, race-conscious liberal.

There's a good deal Barack chooses to leave out of his "personal narrative" and it's time to start filling in the blanks.

Does anyone remember at what point the Swift Boat Vets entered the fray? We need someone willing to pick up their mantle and expose the real Barack NMN Obama. Timing, I suppose, is all.

[PeterUK]

Obama doesn't flip flop,he has no knowledge of the subject of which he speaks.He simply emits gas from alternate orifices.

[Ted]

Um, just for the record, that scene was from the *book*.

[Bender]

This New York Times article might be the most delusional one for that paper I've read in a long time.

They are Stalinizing Obama, rewriting history, reshaping blunders into cautious victories. They did the same for John Kerry. John Kerry yelled and yelled "Bring it on!" and the Times complained when they did. Obama has been playing this race and name sentences for a long time and the Times acts like it is new.

[Nenicho]

PUK is so dead on about "emitting gas from alternate orifices" I've seen Obama give two completely different answers in the same interview to the same question.

[Ann]

SukieTawdry,

Dr. Jerome Corsi is a credited co-author w/ John O'Neill, of "Unfit for Command."

He has written a book about Obama called "Obama Nation" and it sounds like a must read. He has also been on several T.V. shows and talk radio.

[joel]

I don't believe Democrats are capable of learning from experience.

This is the same newspaper that wrote, after the call girl scandal, that Spitzer had a squeaky clean reputation before becoming governor.

Only in the NY Times did Spitzer have a clean reputation. They gave it too him.

That paper is a mess.

But, they have their heart in the right place. Their head, well, let's not go there.

[bad]

I may not have spoken out the way you want me to speak out,” he said. “But I am suggesting that I have spoken out, and spoken out forcefully.”

The NYT meant this Obama quote to be complimentary. Quite the opposite....

[william]

Remember how Dan Quale was crucified for just mispelling a word?

[The Ace]

Not that it would occur to any of you to say the same about FOX and McCain

Not that it would occur to you to provide a singular example of McCain getting positive coverage from Fox.

Let me know when Obama's gaffes/flip-flops exceed 70. Until then, he's just a piker compared to McCain

Let me know when you can substantively defend Obama's idiocy instead of waving your arms and shouting "McCain does it more!"

[The Ace]

Mr. Obama does not mention that Mr. McCain’s chief economic adviser referred to a “mental” recession rather than a real one.

Too bad we're not in a "real" only a Democratic/media imagined one.

[ParseThis]

What struck me about the choice of Britney and Paris in the 'Celeb' ad is that those two are representative of John McCain's taste in women. Britney is the ex -- rises in career helped by her looks then falls on hard times. Paris, of course, is the moneyed heiress honey. I can't say whether this was a conscious effort on the part of the campaign, but it was doubly smart. It's one thing to associate the black man with white women, but to extend that to the other candidate's two wives suggests an even more clear and present danger. Bravo!

[MayBee]

My favorite Obama rhetorical stumble has been When he claimed the Senate Banking Committee was his. I see no way out of that one.

[JM Hanes]

TM:

The Times is so in the tank, they've got two versions of this article running at the same time!

Compare yesterday's draft (while you still can) by Michael Cooper & Michael Powell with today's new improved product by ..... Michael Powell.

On Friday, the Michaels were flat out blaming McCain for injecting race "into the general election campaign for the first time, after it became a subtext in the primary between Mr. Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton."

With his rejoinder about playing “the race card,” Mr. Davis effectively assured that race would once again become an unavoidable issue as voters face an election in which, for the first time, one of the major parties’ nominees is African-American.

And with its criticism, the McCain campaign was ensuring that Mr. Obama’s race — he is the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas — would again be a factor in coverage of the presidential race. On Thursday, it took the spotlight from Mr. Obama when he had sought to attack Mr. McCain on energy issues.

The tactic could cut both ways: it might tap into the qualms some white, working-class voters in crucial swing states may have about a black candidate, or it could ricochet back against the McCain campaign, which has been accused even by some fellow Republicans of engaging in overly negative campaigning in recent days.

The remarks put Mr. Obama’s campaign, which has tried to keep him from being pigeonholed or defined by race, in a delicate position. He did not address the matter himself on Thursday, and his campaign gingerly tried to tamp down the issue, saying he did not believe that Mr. McCain had tried to use race as an issue.

I'm surprised you didn't excerpt this laugh line which was included in the upgrade today, although I suppose when you've got so much material to work with, fair use limitations can be daunting:

There simply was no percentage for the first black major-party presidential candidate in the nation’s history to draw too much attention to his race, much less get into a shooting war with the Republicans over the combustible issue.

Because, it's not like it worked for him in the primaries, right? In Powell's rewrite of paragraph #3 above, the risk no longer cuts both ways; it's all about disturbing the sleeping giant of white racism:

For Mr. Obama, the risks of fighting back are that anything that calls attention to the racial dynamics of the contest would potentially polarize voters and stir unease about his candidacy, particularly among white voters in swing states.

Oddly enough, when "even some Republicans" show up today, they seem to have the author's own words in their mouths. Powell reports that they are "not convinced that Mr. Obama intended to accuse Mr. McCain of racism, as there’s no percentage for him." I'm sure that error will be corrected in the next version.

[bad]

It's one thing to associate the black man with white women..

This is an interesting racial accusation. Many people don't make that association independantly and must have it explained to them. Maybe its time to put this one to rest.

[MayBee]

I wonder what rules of grammar and capitalization I was following in my last comment.

[bad]

Maybee

looks like mine. I am honored

[Terry Gain]

A full 6 months after it was obvious (to those of us who took the time to inform themselves of the actual situation in Iraq) that victory was likely, Obama still wanted to concede Iraq to al Qaeda and Iran. And he did everything in his power to make that possible.

All else is trivia.

[Danube of Thought]

" It's one thing to associate the black man with white women..."

This whine is among my very favorites. If we can assume that every adult American recognizes that the purpose of that hugely effective ad was to associate Obama with vacuous, accomplishment-free celebrities, let us pause to consider just which such celebrities McCain might have chosen in lieu of Britney and Paris. Suppose he had picked either Eddie Murphy or Will Smith in lieu of either of them, or better yet he had used them both in place of the two blondes.

Can you imagine the racial squealing that would have ensued? Eveh the great castrator Jackson would have got back on his high horse. Or put Whitney Houston or that drug-addled supermodel in there--what would we have heard then?

What the nation sees on display right now is the hypersensitivity about race that it has come to know and dislike. A brilliant stroke, taken all in all.

And it would appear that poor Michael is feeling the flop sweat, big-time. We're having much more fun right now than he is, that's for sure.

[Terry Gain]

"My favorite Obama rhetorical stumble has been When he claimed the Senate Banking Committee was his. I see no way out of that one.

Posted by: MayBee | August 02, 2008 at 05:06 PM "

With respect, shouldn't we distinguish between a rhetorical stumble and an outright lie?

[Jim Rhoads aka vnjagvet]

By "this approach", I mean the Gergen/Bernstein discription of Obamination as a moderate.

[Danube of Thought]

Would some archivist here care to review the bidding on this subject? Just from memory, it seems to me that we had not one, not two, but three instances--most famously in Berlin--in which Obama himself declared that he "doesn't look like" those other folks who've been to Berlin, or appeared on paper currency. In at least one of those instances he said "and by the way, I'm black."

"They're [sic] gonna try to scare you, because I've got a funny name." Who said that?

Then we heard that none of these remarks were a reference to Obama's race. Then we heard a concession that well, actually they were.

Keep whining, fella--it's a really endearing trait.

[Sue]

ParseThis,

Or it could have just been McCain chose 2 of the most useless celebrities there are. I'll go with that one, since it fits the theme of the ad.

[Topsecretk9]

Maybee

I liked when he said Rockefeller told him Clinton didn't bother to read the NIE (or something like that, can't remember exactly now) and then when he was busted on it Obama's aide said it didn't really matter because no one knows or cares about Rockefeller

[Sue]

Sue: Your comment above about in kind contributions made Instapundit - who linked to this post.

Wowsy, wow, wow. TM can thank me later. ::grin::

[Danube of Thought]

Don't interrupt Parse, Sue. He's still laboring to come up with a few useless black celebrities McCain might have used if he wanted to escape the charge of racisim.

[Sue]

Oh, nevermind, after checking Instapundit, I find Tom made it without me. ::sigh:: But my quote in lights is nice anyway.

[Sue]

DoT,

Mums the word then...

[bad]

"and by the way, I'm black."

Should be easy to find the clip of this remark. As I recall it was played often to showcase how charming and witty he was/is.

[Nick]

Bush avoided pressers because he displayed his fourth rate mind almost every time he opened his mouth, and yet you're going to go after Obama on this topic.

Can you link to what must be a chock full archive of criticisms of Bush's gaffes?

[Danube of Thought]

Let's face it: If you criticize Barack Obama about anything at all, and particularly if you ridicule him, the usual suspects are going to accuse you of "playing the race card." Recall that three weeks ago, before any of this started, the distinguished if somewhat corrupt new governor of New York declared that if Obama doesn't win the election it will be a "victory for racism." That would certainly seem to suggest that no matter how badly Obama stumbles, nor how clean a campaign McCain runs, unless Obama wins it's a case of Jim Crow being back in the saddle again.

[Danube of Thought]

Nick, if Bush is on the ballot in November my guess is he won't stand a chance. Must be all those gaffes.

[bad]

Nick

You brought up Bush's gaffes. It is customery for you to provide the link to bolster your argument.

[Danube of Thought]

From TalkLeft, as quoted at Instapundit:

"'Barack Obama is having a press conference this morning and it is being dominated by questions about the "race card." That makes it a good press conference for McCain. The big hook for McCain is the fact that Obama supporters disgracefully smeared Bill and Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primaries. The McCain riposte to pushback from Obama supporters is "that's what you said about Bill and Hillary Clinton." . . . The fairy tale has come home to roost. All the dirty work these folks did during the primaries to slime Bill and Hillary Clinton is now fodder for John McCain. Yes, it kind of suggests that anyone who dares to oppose Obama will be called a racist."

[GMax]

Not sure you want to be banging on the intellect of candidates with your current candidate and your last candidate as being shining example of anything. Kerry was a mediocre c+ student who had worse grades than Bush in college. I see nothing to convince me that Barack is possessed of a fine intellect either. An editor who never wrote for the law review? What? Have you heard him speak away from a teleprompter? Whoa verbal detritus and had to string a congent thought pattern together. Sorry bud, but Rhodes scholar he aint.

[PeterUK]

"Can you link to what must be a chock full archive of criticisms of Bush's gaffes?"

Well,eight years as president,you have to allow him a few.But you are missing the point,Bush has the job,Obama is trying to sell himself.

[Danube of Thought]

Just received an e-mail with a photo of Barack's 757. Instead of a US flag on the vertical stabilizer, he's got a stylized, stars-and-stripes logo in the shape of an "O." Kind of a variant on his pre-presidential seal.

[Danube of Thought]

GMax, I believe he also managed to become--and remain--a "professor" at a prestigious law school without a single item of scholarship being published under his name.

[Nenicho]

Obama has nothing to sell. He's mediocre at best. The only thing he has going for him is that he is black. If he were white he would never have gotten this far on the credentials he has.

[PeterUK]

"'Barack Obama is having a press conference this morning and it is being dominated by questions about the "race card."

Perhaps he will have a tip for the 2:30 at Goodwood.

[Elliott]

Bravo, PUK.

[Nick]

No, the point is it's blatant hypocrisy to criticize Obama for a few verbal mistakes without noting that Bush's staff kept him away from press conferences because intellectually he's not suited for much more than manager of a QuickMart.

Editor on the Harvard Law Review and a ConLaw prof compared to legacy students Bush and McCain.

As for Rhodes Scholars, the last one was trashed because he lied about having sex, whereas you all said nothing about Bush and his staff of liars who led us into the costly and unnecessary mess that is Iraq.

Ah, the WMD were moved to Syria, I forgot.

[Danube of Thought]

For those keeping score--and you've got to be quite nimble--here is the latest version (as far as I know):

"But Obama also admitted that, despite what Obama senior adviser Robert Gibbs told reporters, there was a racial dimension to his Missouri remarks in which he said McCain and the Republicans would make an issue of the fact that he doesn't look like presidents who have been on the dollar bills.

"'I don’t think it’s accurate to say that my comments have nothing to do with race,' Obama said."

[Danube of Thought]

"Editor on the Harvard Law Review and a ConLaw prof..."

Susan Estrich for president!

[Nick]

[Bush/McCain] has nothing to sell. He's mediocre at best. The only thing he has going for him is that he is [the son of rich and connected parents/and or married to a rich woman]. If he were [forced to succeed on his own merits] he would never have gotten this far on the credentials he has.

[Elliott]

The one thing this guy and his staff can't handle is ridicule.

Our modern day Von Clausewitz recognized this weakness right away and laid siege long ago.

[Danube of Thought]

"Ah, the WMD were moved to Syria, I forgot."

If Bush ever said that, I'd appreciate a cite. Meantime, I suppose it should suffice to say that among those who believed Saddam had WMD's at the time of the invasion were Bill Clinton (who never completed his Rhodes Scholarship), Madeleine Albright, John Kerry, Joe Wilson--and Saddam Hussein.

[Danube of Thought]

"If he were [forced to succeed on his own merits] he would never have gotten this far on the credentials he has."

You're seriously saying this about John McCain?

[Sue]

Nick,

Do you really think you are going to convince anyone who isn't already in Obama's camp to vote for him? Not many here wanted McCain but we got him. And we will be voting for him in November. And there isn't anything much to say after that.

[kim]

He's sort of confessing his own cynicism by projecting it.
=================================

[Sue]

And, I'll just add this. If Bush was able to run in November for 4 more years, I'd be lined up behind him, cheering all the way. More so if Cheney was the nominee.

[kim]

Nick, your a MDW moran.
================

[Danube of Thought]

We need a smarter bunch of trolls around here...

[Nick]

John McCain is third generation Annapolis legacy whose main claim to fame is he was shot down, imprisoned, and recorded propaganda statements for the VC. He got as far as he has politically because his wife had the funds to exploit his 'war hero' status.

Alvin York must be rolling in his grave. When did we cheapen the word 'hero' this way?

[PeterUK]

"No, the point is it's blatant hypocrisy to criticize Obama for a few verbal mistakes without noting that Bush's staff kept him away from press conferences"

Holding two opposing positions on every policy issue isn't verbal mistakes,it is absolute cluelessness.One would expect a more positive attitude from a door to door double gazing salesman.What is Obama,the push me pull me man
Get over Bush,the boy be gone.

[bad]

that thar nik is sevrule kurnals shi of a korn kob.

[PeterUK]

"We need a smarter bunch of trolls around here..."

We never get smart troll,I feel rather hurt.

[PeterUK]

bad,
Hes muther wer kiked b' a bullok.

[PeterUK]

nick you have it easier,you only get shot down here.Luckily for you we don't take prisoners.

[bad]

Gotta give him credit for trying though. Some won't even know there was an election.

[JM Hanes]

I think this one is not worth feeding.

I'm working on a wish list of Top Ten October Surprises & will post what I come up with later on -- in case anyone is up for a game of Saturday Night Live.

[Jim Glass]

Something is seriously wrong with Obama.

Gallup Daily: Race Tied at 44%

Registered voters evenly split in their support for Obama versus McCain

August 1, 2008 -- John McCain and Barack Obama are now absolutely tied in the race for president, each favored by 44% of national registered voters...

Here's a link to that and a and a couple other polls

With everything Obama has going for him he should be ahead by 25 points by now.

You know, in sports when the big favorite can't put away the underdog, sometimes the dog finds a new life and the fans in the stands change sides and start pulling for him.

Republicans until now have been basically, "Aw f***, we can't win this year, who cares?"

But if they wake up one day and collectively go...

"Damn, we haven't tried at all and we're still within 3 points. Hey, you know what ...???"

... things might get really interesting.

[centralcal]

Amen, Sue, Amen!

[Captain Hate]

"We need a smarter bunch of trolls around here..."

Too bad that Nick is the pick of the litter at the DKos & DU brain trust. That's why he was selected as as the troll du jour and sent out on a double-secret mission.

"Bush's staff kept him away from press conferences because intellectually he's not suited for much more than manager of a QuickMart."

It must really suck that he's a two-time POTUS, son; receiving more than 50% of the popular vote against Terrreeeezzzzaaa's kept-windsurfer-boy, something that your Rhodes scholar red-nosed predator never did.