The Smell Of Fear

The Captain is funny with this link to Barack whining about how he has a funny name and mean Republicans are going to attack him.

Now, the Captain describes this as playing the race card.  My thought - if a Republican says anything at all, such as "Obama was a community organizer" or "the sky is blue", that is a coded racial attack.  But unless Obama does his most earnest Richard Pryor impression and starts yelling "It's because I'm black", it is not code when he talks about his pedigree or his funny name.

Just trying to think like a lefty here.  Sorry, typical MSM reporter.  Pardon my redundancy.

On a related topic my free advice to Team Obama is inspired by this from Drudge:

Obama At Bon Jovi Event: 'We Won't Be Bullied'

Whether Obama is revealing personal weakness or simply highlighting the historic weakness of his party, this is not talk that projects strength, especially in the current context - what is Obama saying, he won't be bullied by a 44 year old hockey mom?  Stand Tall, Barack - you won't be bullied by Sarah Palin!  OMG, is this a secret plan to assassinate Putin by making him laugh so hard he gets an aneurysm?  Or is this Laugh Attack launched at the Right Blogosphere (It's working!  I can barely type through the tears). 

Man up, Barry - even though she was a state champ, you are probably a better baller, too, what with being 6' 2" and a guy to boot.  'Course there is that cigarette smoking that may have cut your wind...

Our next President - ready to take on hockey moms, PTA heads and small town mayors.  Even former ones.

COURAGE!  Get me Bert Lahr!  Or Dan Rather.

UNRELENTING:  A certain type of lib likes to pretend that Obama showed courage by opposing the war in Iraq back in 2002, thereby risking the scorn of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Dick Cheney.  In fact, Obama recently claimed that speech as an example of a "tough decision" when chatting with Rick Warren.  Last March he offered the speech as an example of courage and judgment.

Here is a debunking from someone else if you are tired of mine.  The gist:

I checked the congressional records and confirmed that eight of the 10 Illinois Dems in the U.S. House voted No on the resolution. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois also opposed the resolution authorizing the use of force.

All eight Illinois Republican congressmen plus GOP Sen. Peter Fitzgerald all voted Aye. The Chicago newspapers were editorializing in favor of the resolution, and polls showed that a majority of Americans and the majority of Illinoisans favored the use of U.S. military force to remove Saddam Hussein.

...If the climate in Illinois was such that most Democratic elected officials opposed the war, it hardly seems that the decision of a state senator who was contemplating a run for Fitzgerald's U.S. Senate seat should qualify for a Profile in Courage award for taking the same position.

To which I would add that 90% of the Congressional Black Caucus opposed the resolution as did Carol Mosely Braun, who was still in play as a Senate candidate in Oct 2002.

By way of contrast, Sarah Palin took on her own state party chairman and the Republican governor en route to the governorship.  Hmm, maybe Obama ought to pick on someone his own size.

Comments

[clarice]

HEH!
Bill Kristol's take on O's weakness (failing to pick a better vp) and the press' role in creating Sarahmania:
"By the end of the week, after Palin's tour de force in St. Paul, the liberal media were so befuddled that they were reduced to complaining that conservatives aren't being narrow-minded enough. Thus, Hanna Rosin--who has covered religion and politics for the Washington Post, and has also written for the New Yorker, the New Republic, and the New York Times--lamented in a piece for Slate: "So cavalier are conservatives about Sarah Palin's wreck of a home life that they make the rest of us look stuffy and slow-witted by comparison." I suppose it was ungenerous of conservatives, in our broad-mindedness and tolerance of human frailty, to have let Ms. Rosin down, just when she was counting on us to bring out the tar and feathers. But she gives us too much credit when she suggests we make the liberal media look stuffy and slow-witted. They do that all by themselves."

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/526mzhjz.asp>Thanks Guys

[boris]

Sarah Barak OODA

[bgates]

After all these months of hearing about hot-tempered John McCain, it's so funny to see that Obama is the one who can't help but respond when he's being baited. Especially when he's being baited by a woman, and especially when the woman is beating him.

That's really how the Palin pick is going to woo Hillary voters. The pitch isn't, "We have a woman on the ticket, vote for her," it's, "See what a douchebag Obama is every time he has to deal with a woman? You cannot vote for that guy." It's not identity politics, except to the extent that "not a douchebag" is an identity.

[hit and run]

One special word of thanks to John Kerry for helping to firmly plant the idea in Fighting Barack's deeply intellectual and reflectively nuanced head that he has to fight like a fighter against his opponents at every turn and at any cost ... now the clear and present danger being Palin.

Because, she'll kick the living daylights outta him.

[MIke]

Wha wha wha....

[centralcal]

So, how long before Biden is kicked to the curb, made to get off the bus? And, why would Hillary be the least bit motivated to get on? Doesn't she see a glimpse of a future run up the road a piece?

Poor Messiah! What to do, what to do?

[Danube of Thought]

The sweet, acrid stench of putrefaction...

[hit and run]

One thing is certain. Barack Obama will come away from a fight against Palin having to change his position.

Not on any issue.

Not on any previous vote.

When she is done with him he will assume

The Fetal Position

[Captain Hate]

So, how long before Biden is kicked to the curb, made to get off the bus?

Biden's been the only one running a smart campaign by keeping his stupid yap shut. I can't believe I typed those words but they're true; and about as likely as Schmuck Shumer avoiding a camera.

[hit and run]

Centralcal:
And, why would Hillary be the least bit motivated to get on? Doesn't she see a glimpse of a future run up the road a piece?

Here's what Hillary is doing. Focus on the sabotage. That's the under-reported angle so far...she now knows the price she paid by listening to those she entrusted with her campaign...and she is going to use them.

[hit and run]

DoT:
The sweet, acrid stench of putrefaction...

I don't know which I am enjoying more, the defeat of the Clintons, the crash and burn of Obama, or the reaction of DoT to either of the former.

It may just be the latter.

[Sue]

Captain,

Apparently you missed Biden campaigning for McCain yesterday. Jake Tapper has it.

[centralcal]

I dunno about that Capt. Hate.

Biden declared there would be trials or something silly of the Bush administration in one city, and then said they would do no such thing a day or so later. Doesn't sound like his messaging is under control.

[centralcal]

Yup, Hit! Rearranging the sock drawer! I can agree that Hillary does have her priorities, doncha know.

[centralcal]

Oh, wait a minute Hit! Sock drawers are for guys. Nah - Hillary really needs to color code her pantsuits hanging in the closet for her next big foray onto the public stage.

[clarice]

Doesn't sound like he remembered there are no unreported speeches any more.
Man, is Hit HOT today or what?

[M. Simon]

She took his lunch money.

[hit and run]

Centralcal:
Oh, wait a minute Hit! Sock drawers are for guys.

If Hillary gave Obama one of her cojones, then they'd both have two.
--James Carville

[Captain Hate]

Sue & Centralcal

Ach; sorry I missed that. Everyone else was screwing up so badly (like that doofus on Laura Ingraham melting down in Mega.Epic.Fail quantities) it got lost in the crush.

[M. Simon]

Hit,

Ihaven't looked but if Hillary is wearing orange it means (in PUMA color code) vopte McCain.

[MayBee]

All Putin cares about is whether Sarah was properly vetted.

[MikeS]

I expect to see Obama's cajones hanging on Sarah's wall with the Grizzly.

[centralcal]

Well, MikeS, better bring your binoculars so you don't miss everything on her trophy wall.

[capitano]

I decry this Sissy-ism.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

By the way, folks, the Palin Rumors page got picked up by Ben Smith at Politico and by Hot Air, and now my webserver is not keeping up.

In fact, I think it melted.

I'm trying to get it fixed.....

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Actually the grizzly is on her love seat in the office.

[kim]

Hah, one on one in B-Ball and Palin would freeze Obama, as she has at election politics. "Won't be bullied"? Hah, do you mean, anymore?
==============================

[kim]

centralcal, I suspect an electron microscope would be inadequate, but the trophies are grossly apparent on Michelle.
=====================================

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Oh, Tom, btw, the link to the Times isn't working: you have two "http://"'s in it.

This one should work.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Dammit, wrong post.

[centralcal]

Yeah, Kim. I bet The One has told Bulldoggy many times how tired he is of being bullied.

[kim]

Jeff, Hillary campaigning for Congressional candidates fits right in with her long term plan. Also, remember how enthusiastic Bill was in campaigning for Kerry, before his heart attack? I think he made one appearance. Hillary will be clever and circumspect, but she doesn't want Obama to win. She does want him to destroy Sarah Palin for her, though.
================================

[matt]

Obama seems, when caught away from the staged interview, to be perpetually oissed off. Fox showed footage of him leaving the O'Reilly interview and he looked as if he had just swallowed a lemon.This is not the first time he's come across this way.

This is not helping him spread a message of hope and change....

[centralcal]

Uh, Chaco - you are on Memeorandum too, dear. Hope your server survives!

[DebinNC]

Someone here yesterday posted a Bill">http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MzM3ZWNhZmVhMDY2MDcxOGYzMWFmNWFkNGE2YTI4MGI=">Bill Whittle essay that is must reading. Among the many perceptive points he makes is something that may explain why Palin "gets Obama's goat" as we say down here:

"Sarah Palin has stolen Barack Obama’s glamour. She’s stolen his excitement, robbed his electricity, burgled his charisma, purloined his star power, and taken his Hope and Change mantra, woven it into a cold-weather fashion accessory, and wrapped it around her neck."

Obama has been "the golden child" most of his life. He's never had an opponent "out-wow" him or present a challenge to his "specialness". The battle going on inside his swollen head must be a sight to behold.

[Captain Hate]

Hillary will be clever and circumspect, but she doesn't want Obama to win. She does want him to destroy Sarah Palin for her, though.

Fat chance of that happening. For some of you with more curiosity than I regarding the depths of depravity to which a human can descend, have you visited Kos/DU and the rest of those chez vermin lately? If McCain's campaign were going the way of Obonic's last week's fiasco I'd be pretty damn depressed. Those microbes are far less stable than normal people so I fear for their family pets and other small animals that are targets for the deranged. I'm not kidding when I say that because that carp makes me ill.

[Jane]

I just love watching "the people" skewer the press.

Don't mess with middle America!

[Neo]

I think the magic of Sarah Palin speaks to a belief that so many of us share: the sense that we personally know five people in our immediate circle who would make a better president than the menagerie of candidates the major parties routinely offer.

[Barney Frank]

"We won't be bullied" is a weak line that would only be uttered by someone who has been bullied in the past.

It would also by uttered by a person doing a little projecting; ie, one making high falutin public denouncements of bullying by the nutroots while clingingly bitterly to it in private.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Yeah, that was me, Deb. Killer essay, isn't it? Buy Bill's book, it's full of that stuff.

Centralcal, it didn't. The server crashed, now it's refusing connections. I've got a support call in.

I visualize something ike an old Voyage to the bottom of the Sea episode --- you know, blinking lights, roman candles shooting from the racks....

[DebinNC]

The rumors page is linked on Betsy's Page.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Holy crap. I am. Front page of Memeorandum.

[Elliott]

Very nice, boris.

[MikeS]

I think Geraldine Ferraro was right when she said Obama's race was an asset for him. Obama would like to keep the public's attention on his best qualities.

Barack claims that he has been fighting for the poor and middle class since he was a community organizer. Well how has that been working out for the poor and middle class?

Now Sarah comes along with her long list of accomplishments (this is another case where size matters,) and Obama has no response, so he naturally feels emasculated. It is as if she is saying, "Let's see what you have, Mr. Bigtalk!"

[MayBee]

Here's http://www.mcclatchydc.com/election2008/story/51821.html>McClatchy on the book banning thing.

Charlie, the thing I love about the Ben Smith piece where he links you, is that he has several paragraphs about the divorce records unsealed. What he leaves out is that the Palins were not part of the divorce.

[clarice]

Charlie, make it pay per view..LOL

[MayBee]

I agree with TM that Obama wasn't playing the race card.
I do think it's funny that he's using the "funny name" card, when people like Andrew Sullivan have been making fun of the Palin kids' names all week.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Yeah, curious, isn't it?

[BobS]

Are we also witnessing the fall of Oprah? I'd forgotte, that she blocked Clarnce Thomas, too. Its time to see her as a fraud and a racist.

[BumperStickerist]

"Weak Tea" is the phrase Obama and his staff should be using.

"The Republicans keep serving up this weak tea that they're reformers."

Admittedly, there's a risk of a Joe Wilson (who?) connection, but it's a risk they should be willing to take.

0-

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Charlie, make it pay per view..LOL

Cripes, you're not kidding. I just changed my google ads to something like Tom uses; maybe I'll actually bring in some money.

If the server comes back.

[clarice]

As for Hillary, I think her time has come and gone and if she doesn't know it now she soon will be. Her stridency and political tin ear turn too many younger women and too many men of all ages off.

All she can do now is either wait for O to lose so she can say I told you so to those who abandoned her or watch Palin rise onward as she wfalls back/
The New Order has arrived.

[clarice]

Don't you think Oprah was fully exposed when we learned she, too, had been Rev wright parishioner for many many years?

[Sue]

Charles,

Don't look now but NRO has also linked you.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Holy crap.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

maybee, thanks for the McClatchy link. If I ever find a way to get to my server again, I'll add that.

[sbw]

Charlie, if you want us to spread the load, some of us could throw up your page on our own blogs.

THen, I suspect, someone like Glenn Reynolds would kindly list alternative sites -- or, for that matter, a heavy horsepower site like PJM could host the page for you.

[MayBee]

Yay, Charlie!

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gV5jvU52RD3WBflzbmSu5l6zwOqAD92V3VQG0>The AP on Palin on creationism and sex ed in schools.

Palin's children attend public schools and Palin has made no push to have creationism taught in them.

Neither have Palin's socially conservative personal views on issues like abortion and gay marriage been translated into policies during her 20 months as Alaska's chief executive. It reflects a hands-off attitude toward mixing government and religion by most Alaskans.

"She has basically ignored social issues, period," said Gregg Erickson, an economist and columnist for the Alaska Budget Report.

I've decided I hate Roger Simon of Poltico, with his lame "oh, so we shouldn't ask questions" piece as a way to cover for their printing rumors as fact.

[M. Simon]

Charlie,

Blogspot is better. You should have a blogspot alternative.

[hit and run]

Rasmussen:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows Barack Obama attracting 46% of the vote while McCain earns 45%. When "leaners" are included, it’s Obama 49%, McCain 46%
...
As McCain has begun to chip away as Obama’s convention bounce, most of his gains have come among women voters. Obama still leads 51% to 44% among women, but that seven-point edge is just half the fourteen point lead he enjoyed last Tuesday.
...
Among unaffiliated voters, McCain’s favorable ratings are at 64%, Obama’s at 54%.

etc. more at the link

[hit and run]

I am very glad I got to read your post, Charlie, before it crashed. It was an awesome example of what one might call actual journalism, though I hate to taint you with that word (yeah, that's a riff off of one of your Palin rumor points, if the site hadn't crashed I would refer to it by #, was it in the 30s?).

Now, here's hoping the site is back up as soon as possible.

[PeterUK]

"If Hillary gave Obama one of her cojones, then they'd both have two.
--James Carville"

No just the pair.

[MayBee]

My nemesis, Joe Klein, is still going with "not properly vetted".

[BobS]

Clarice:

I didn't remember that...must have come out during a football season or non-blogging period of time.

Liberal icons are being revealed in way weion never thought possible in this election cycle. I've always thought that middle america knew that MSM leaned Dem/Left, but its so evident now that they are becoming offended.

Along those lines, I hope James Lewis in your AT is right this morning.

LUN for everyone. A very thoughtful read.

[Captain Hate]

"If Hillary gave Obama one of her cojones, then they'd both have two.
--James Carville"

LSU must be so proud of this math savant.

[centralcal]

I love the smell of PUMA's in the morning!

From Newsbusters:

"From what I hear from the PUMAs, they’re going to fight to the death to elect McCain, in gratitude for him choosing such a formidable, accomplished, skilled predator with a record of leaving sexist men huddled on the floor in tears. Nobody’s ever seen anything like Palin. She makes Hillary and Boxer and all the other Beltway insiders look like bizarre life-sized wind-up toys that say and do the same thing over and over for years, without actually accomplishing anything."

LUN

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Good idea. I've set up sarahpalinrumors.blogspot.com. I'll have the rumors themselves there as soon as I can capture them.

[Porchlight]

Charlie, thank you - this will be invaluable for linking in response to anti-Palin emails from well-meaning (ha) liberal friends.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Damned WordPress keeps the text in a MySQL database.

[BobS]

Capatin Hate:

I love that one about Carville

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Okay, it looks like the regular site is back up, at least temporarily, and the Blogspot backup is also up.

[Sue]

Why do women screech? Tracy somebody on Cashin' In is making my teeth itch, even though she is saying mostly what I like.

[Captain Hate]

BobS,

Can you believe that a few weeks ago tv comics were complaining they couldn't find anything funny about Obonic to write? Umm, ok but if the people in Whoreyweird are looking to do yet another remake of a successful movie (since their idea pool has been drained for years), I think I see a possibility for an updated "The Miracle Worker" only about an industry that was deaf/dumb/blind to the obvious.

[Porchlight]

Jay Cost liked McCain's speech and thought it was Jacksonian:

Thoughts on McCain's Speech

[clarice]

HEH, Capt. I was thinking of a remake of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington..

[Sue]

The crowds are so long in Colorado Springs to see McCain/Palin, Campaign Carl got stuck in traffic. Can you see Palinmania?

[Sue]

Democrats trashed bags of American flags after their convention.

[Sue]

25k people went to McCain/Palin campaign rallies yesterday. Obama numbers, Campaign Carl says.

[Sue]

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/09/06/the-recycled-flags-of-the-dncc/>Hot Air has the flag story.

[Sue]

Before McCain speaks today, veterans will haul these garbage bags filled with flags out onto the stage — with dramatic effect, no doubt — and tell the story.

Heh.

[BobS]

No they didn't.......OMG

[BobS]

Captain Hate:

Someone will need to write a Great Gatsby parody with a touch of Manchurian Candidate.

[sbw]

Colorado Springs -- I guess Palindemonium has already been added to the political lexicon.

[Porchlight]

Wow. That flag story is going to be huge. Thanks for the link, Sue.

[Soylent Red]

Next Obama Meme Watch: Episode #568

Obamessiah doesn't put that much stock in his hcommunity organizing experience, so I don't know why the Rethuglicans are.

Community organizing - under the bus.

[Sue]

I just hope McCain knows where the flags from the Republican convention are.

[BobS]

Add the Saul Alinsky Playbook somwhere in the mix and SHAZAM, we got us a real script!

[GMax]

I have to hand it Chaco, he has been busy and will likely have to keep it up, I see no sign of the idiots taking the very good advice to back off, but since it just drives her favorables up, let them.

But I found this one comment stuck in the middle to be less rumor and more political commentary by Chaco:

yes, she has a college degree in Journalism, but I won't hold that against her, as she seems to have found honest work as well

When you cut them that clean Charlie, how long does it take a normal journalist to bleed? Think any of them get it that the jokes is most definitely on them?

[DebinNC]

I hope to goodness the flag story is iron-clad verifiable, because this could backfire bigtime if it's not.

[Barney Frank]

If Hillary gave Obama one of her cojones, then they'd both have two.

This new info gives me a little more sympathy for Bill's dalliances.

Also makes the "Hillary is a lesbian" rumors considerably more suspect. Three cojones is quite a man in anyone's book.

[BobS]

Soylent:

I love that expression - "thrown under the bus"

I dare say we've never had to use it so much in the history of American politics. It demonstrates the depths of fraud that is today's Democrat Party that it has to hide its vitaes from voters.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

When you cut them that clean Charlie, how long does it take a normal journalist to bleed? Think any of them get it that the jokes is most definitely on them?

Read the comments on the Ben Smith post. Some of them clearly aren't getting that it's making fun of them in more than one place.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

And remember that I am, arguably, a jurnalist myself. Not to mention that I did attend more than one school as an undergrad myself.

[BobS]

GMAX:

I remember the Clinton years when Bubba had such high approvals even as all those stories about his affairs were coming out, one smart commentor emailed Don Imus the following:

"One more bimbo eruption and he'll have them over 90."

[BobS]

crap..daresays one word.

[Neo]

Howard Gutman was the lawyer for Susan Rosenberg, a member of the Weather Underground convicted in the Brink’s robbery and slayings. Bill Clinton pardoned Rosenberg at the end of his Presidency.

Yet another connection between the Democrats and the Weather Underground terrorists.

[glasater]

Carl Cameron--Fox--is just reporting that flags being distributed at a McCain rally going on right now were rescued by the Boy Scouts.

The flags were found in dumpsters by Invesco Field in Denver.

Ha! The D's are so screwed!!

[hit and run]

FWIW, Charlie:

35. yes, she’s an Assembly of God Holy Roller.

Consider that she now mainly attends Wasilla Bible Church, which is not Assemblies of God, but non-denom, pretty mainstream evangelical.

Mike Poterma at the Corner has been listening to sermons from Wasilla Bible. And I have flipped through their statement of faith and core committments and it is indeed mainstream evangelical.

And this from a Fox report:

Maria Comella, a spokeswoman for the McCain-Palin campaign, has said Palin attends different churches and does not consider herself Pentecostal.

[Barbara]

Have any of you seen this story by Kenneth Timmerman? It concerns the early support given to Obama prior to his entry into Harvard Law School.

[Barbara]

LUN