I really don’t have this feeling about her as being presidential

Tom Tancredo (R-Colo)

That would be Tom Tancredo (R-Colo) the "Tea Party prominent" [ed- the NRC's term] talking about Ms. Sarah Palin in an NRC interview.

After her speech at the Nashville convention, Palin said she is considering a run for the presidency in 2012. Tancredo however, does not believe she is fit for the presidency.

"I really don’t have this feeling about her as being presidential," he Tancredo said. "I don’t know what it is exactly. I don’t know if the issues really are that difficult for her or not.”

He questions if she has what it takes, and whether she really wants it. “As governor of the state of Alaska, she doesn’t have all that kind of experience. She can get better. But I don’t know if she is really looking to do it.’’

And what does he think about McCain? You may already know this.

His loathing for McCain has a long history. “I don’t like him,” Tancredo said. “He is not a very pleasant person. He is nasty, mean; the skin of an onion would look deep compared to his. He has a short fuse, he is almost peculiarly unstable.”

It's a very good interview.


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Note: Headline links to source. Clicking on image will enlarge it (usually).

Top U.S. commander braces for delay in leaving Iraq

US embassy in Iraq (world's largest embassy)

I've not been in the military so am only vaguely aware of 'chain of command', but didn't the commanders in Iraq, like all of them, get the message from their commander in chief to get the troops' asses out of Iraq in a timely manner beginning in August 2010? [ed- all troops by August 2011] Well, excluding the vestigial 35,000 to 50,000 troops to be left in place because ya can't have decent imperialism without a bit of occupation. And there still is all that God damn oil don't ya know.

Did Obama include a stipulation about withdrawing unless? After a half assed search of Obama's speeches (because I'm lazy) I found no mention of mitigating circumstances beyond McCain's saying the President would 'revisit' the decision based on what's happening on the ground.

This was not something the President specifically stated, but McCain's assertion. And thus far there is no evidence in the news Obama has done such a 'revisit.'

The top U.S. commander in Iraq said Monday that the planned withdrawal of all U.S. combat forces by the end of August [ed- of what year?] could be delayed if conditions worsen in the coming months as Iraqis choose a new government.

Army Gen. Ray Odierno said his staff had drawn up contingency plans for a delayed withdrawal that he has shared with Pentagon leaders and other U.S. officials during a visit to Washington over the past week. He said he was prepared to make the changes "if we run into problems" but added he was optimistic that would not be necessary.

Don't kid yourself. If I'm not mistaken its most likely the US will remain in Iraq indefinitely. The world's largest embassy and the huge military bases established there pretty much guarantee that.

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Note: Headline links to source.

McCain event canceled over fundraiser's rape 'joke'

Insensitive beyond belief
Sometimes its beyond bizarre who politicians will embrace if they have money.

And do you really believe the campaign was "unaware" of this idiot's remarks or more likely just hoped no one would catch it.

The first thing any candidate should do is hire a bank of internet savvy people to vet their choices online before they become monumental embarrassments.

John McCain has called off a fundraiser at the home of a Texas oilman who joked about rape during a 1990 gubernatorial run in the state.

The Texan, Republican Clayton Williams, made the joke during his failed campaign against Democrat Ann Richards. Williams compared rape to the weather, saying, "As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it."

He also compared Richards to the cattle on his ranch, saying he would "head her and hoof her and drag her through the dirt."

Williams' comments made national news at the time and remain easy to find on the Internet. Even so, McCain's campaign said it hadn't known about the remarks.

Note: Headline links to source.

Top McCain Adviser Traded with Iran [?]

World's only 7 star hotel - Dubai
I've included a question mark above because this really is connecting dots which may or may not have a connection. It is highly suspicious because there are far less costly cities from which the nations surrounding Dubai could be supplied.

Senator John McCain’s Chief Economic Adviser, Carly Fiorina, was CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HP) when the company surreptitiously avoided the trade boycott of Iran. McCain, who recently urged further divestment from Iran, picked Fiorina to be his top adviser on the economy while she is also serving as head of the Republican National Committee Victory Fund. It was under Fiorina’s leadership as CEO that, according to an April 19, 2004, Forbes article titled “Trading With The Enemy,” HP traded with the Iranians.

If you want to get around export controls, just sell the product to a front company in Dubai. The middlemen will take it from there… Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Microsoft, among many other U.S. companies, keep Dubai offices and are favorites these days among Iranian traders in Dubai. (Forbes, 4/19/04)

“The National Jewish Council (NJDC) has been arguing that we should judge candidates based on their voting records and public statements,” said Ira N. Forman, Executive Director of NJDC. “However, McCain and his allies insist on using guilt by association when looking at Democratic candidates. If this is their standard, then we call on them to explain why McCain’s Chief Economic Adviser oversaw the evasion of the American laws prohibiting Iranian trade in her tenure as CEO of HP.”

Note: Headline links to source.

McBush

A picture's worth a thousand words and this ingeniously says it all. If you like the idiot, you'll love McCain.

Some people must devote most of their waking hours to Photoshop®. I couldn't reproduce this image if threatened with a non-anesthetized penile implant.

ZOMG! I can't stand even thinking about that.

Aren't you glad I posted only that image and not the penile implant thingie?

Note: Headline links to source.

McCain's $5,000 Promise

Do you think this is just a matter of fudging on the issue or is it a matter of deliberate deception? If the latter, does the US really need someone who is willing to deceive the American public? Just asking.

According to FactCheck.org, his new ad only tells half the story of what his health proposal could mean for U.S. workers.

McCain says in a new TV ad: "Let's give every American family a $5,000 refundable tax credit" to buy health insurance.

Sounds good. But McCain failed to mention how existing employer-sponsored health benefits would be affected.

* Employers could no longer deduct the cost of health plans for their workers, which several experts say is likely to cause companies to reduce or eliminate health benefits for their employees.

* Workers would be taxed on the value of any employer-paid health benefits, partially offsetting the $5,000 credit for those now covered by such plans.

The aim of the McCain plan is to reduce health care costs through increased competition, by encouraging individuals to shop around for health insurance and medical care. There are many who favor such an approach, and we take no position on it one way or the other. But McCain's simplistic ad misleads viewers by promising to give "every American family" a $5,000 benefit while failing to mention what he would also take away.

Note: Headline links to source.

McCain picks failing Ohio factory to laud free trade

Who the hell in McCain's camp is giving him advice on choosing this fucking location? And then he touts free trade? He's lucky he got out of there alive.

I smell a DNC mole in their camp. Maybe two. One who chose the site and one who wrote the speech.

Standing before a nearly shuttered factory pocked with broken windows in a city devastated by the erosion of its industrial base, John McCain on Tuesday urged Americans to reject the "siren song of protectionism" and embrace free trade.

Via McClatchy.

The post-Bush era

I'm not usually much of a pessimist. Yeah, I don't think I'll win the lottery, know I'll never win Olympic gold and hold out no hope of becoming an alpha blogger, but I am pessimistic there may be no post-Bush era.

The city of Washington was blanketed in snow Wednesday and its inhabitants draped and hooded against the below-zero cold, but in politics and diplomacy there is more than a hint of spring in the air. Suddenly the words "post-Bush era" are being heard in the think-tanks and the media as attention shifts from the lame duck who now inhabits the White House to the extraordinarily early battle for the succession as Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards prepare for next year's primaries.

An attack on Iran, which would be cataclysmic could well make the future moot.

BTW, that little snippet of the article does indeed show a definite liberal bias. I don't often see such, but it's undeniable. Except for Bush and McCain (mandatory inclusion), no Republicans are mentioned anywhere in the story. Its United Press International if you're curious.

Please do read the article. It is nowhere nearly as negative as I am.

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