This is the fault of the greed and corruption of the Regan-Bush McCain philosophy. If you love your children and cherish you home and want to keep your job, you must vote for Obama and rid the country of the republicans.
Polly_Tics
· 1 year ago
McCain is on TV right now talking about our Economic Crisis, talking about Greed & Corruption and how we need Immediate Change...and all Obama has is a failed philosophy. McCain just took Obama's entire stance on the economy and pulled it right out from under him.
Oh, this is not going well...
Steve_in_CNJ
· 1 year ago
wait and see if it works. the answer is that if mccain is a now a republican acting like a democrat, isn't it simpler to vote for the real thing.
it's a risk to start adopting your opponent's message. for one thing, you're bound to slip up and send opposite messages on the same day (as happened today). i don't think people like that.
lucky hussein
· 1 year ago
I disgree, it's a philosophy; a mindset, that we are fighting. Much more than so-and-so was incompetent. For example, incompetence is a phony argument as to why Iraq was a disaster. Compasion should be our driving force, not self-interest.
naschkatzehussein
· 1 year ago
I agree with you, but the author of the letter has a point. Obama has to bring it home in words which will cause a light to come on in the minds of voters. I am planning to e-mail the campaign that he needs to do this in Friday night's debate and not come across as too professorial, philosophical or even wonky. There are many of us on the blogs who definitely want a president more intelligent and competent than we feel ourselves to be, but we have to understand that he is not going to win just with the Internet vote.
Greensburg
· 1 year ago
Yep. McCain is all over this and our Obama is contemplating the cosmos. One hell of a canidate we Democrats have here.
sukabi1
· 1 year ago
OT ... just got this email, think it's worth passing along:
No Palin Friends, compatriots, fellow-lamenters,
We are writing to you because of the fury and dread we have felt since the announcement of Sarah Palin as the Vice-Presidential candidate for the Republican Party. We believe that this terrible decision has surpassed mere partisanship, and that it is a dangerous farce on the part of a pandering and rudderless Presidential candidate that has a real possibility of becoming fact.
Perhaps like us, as American women, you share the fear of what Ms. Palin and her professed beliefs and proven record could lead to for ourselves and for our present or future daughters. To date, she is against sex education, birth control, the pro-choice platform, environmental protection, alternative energy development, freedom of speech (as mayor she wanted to ban books and attempted to fire the librarian who stood against her), gun control, the separation of church and state, and polar bears. To say nothing of her complete lack of real preparation to become the second-most-powerful person on the planet.
We want to clarify that we are not against Sarah Palin as a woman, a mother, or, for that matter, a parent of a pregnant teenager, but solely as a rash, incompetent, and all together devastating choice for Vice President. Ms. Palin's political views are in every way a slap in the face to the accomplishments that our mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers so fiercely fought for, and that we've so demonstrably benefited from.
*First and foremost, Ms. Palin does not represent us. She does not demonstrate or uphold our interests as American women. It is presumed that the inclusion of a woman on the Republican ticket could win over women voters. We want to disagree, publicly.*
*Therefore, we invite you to reply here womensaynopalin@gmail.com with a short, succinct message about why you, as a woman living in this country, do not support this candidate as second-in-command for our nation.*
Please include your name (last initial is fine), age, and place of residence.
We will post your responses on a blog called "Women Against Sarah Palin," which we intend to publicize as widely as possible. Please send us your reply at your earliest convenience the greater the volume of responses we receive, the stronger our message will be.
Thank you for your time and action.
*VIVA!*
Sincerely,
Quinn Latimer and Lyra Kilston New York, NY womensaynopalin@gmail.com
ViaAlpina
· 1 year ago
Please also include that this woman is in favor of machine-gunning down wolves from the air. Killing animals for entertainment is not something civilized people do, and we as a civilized nation can't look away.
MarshSA
· 1 year ago
You HAVE to tie this to the Republican philosophy, so that McCain is NOT change but more of the same. If this it tied to individuals, it is much easier for McCain to claim that he is the new individual that will not allow this to happen again.
shanobama
· 1 year ago
They need to tie Phil Gramm to McCains neck like a dead chicken....
with a short note about the banking deregultion bill that Phil slipped into a bill in the middle of the night.
Greensburg
· 1 year ago
Yep. MaCain is all over this and Obama is contemplating the cosmos. Makes me so want to run to the polls and vote for my Democratic canidate (not) but I will anyway.
jcgraham77
· 1 year ago
I have to go with the article I read about Obama not being able to be too angry on the issues or too defensive. He can't come across as talking down or overpreaching/blaming others. He will be painted as an angry black man real quick. I think they probably know what they are doing. It is the surrogate's job to attach this to McCrazy and the IceWitch MooseHunter.
jebauer
· 1 year ago
Umm, yeah, I think I'm just about ready to see an angry black man. Are we done being polite yet? THIS IS RIDICULOUS!! Obama needs to start swinging HARD. I've seen people more upset by the score of a baseball game... there needs to be some serious ass kickin. Not only is the economy tanking with McCain sitting on his lazy ass for decades, FEMA is STILL a disaster... what is wrong??!!! Someone get mad!!! I sure as hell am!!! And I'm bitter too!!
DAB
· 1 year ago
I think it has to be both about "Failed Philosophy" and "Incompetence." One is arguing against the strategy, the other is arguing against the tactics. Incompetence alone won't cut it, because that just implies that you need a new guy -- hey, maybe a maverick -- who can deliver better on the strategy. But the Republican strategy on the economy and regulation is wrong itself. So you need to hit both: strategy and tactics. And you can season both with "dishonesty" -- morally and intellectually -- liberally, so to speak.
mikeyDe
· 1 year ago
Incompetence, yes, and also philosophy. The whole 'government is the problem unless you're Republican' meme is still alive and well in McCain's campaign. But there's another philosophy on my mind. The unsustainable idea that everyone should own bigger and more extravagant houses, second houses is behind the real estate mess. And it's fueled by the mortgage deduction entitlement. I wish politicians had the courage to eliminate that deduction except for first-time house buyers.
Greensburg
· 1 year ago
I'm so tired of hearing the angry black man argument. He damn well should be angry if he has any honesty in him. What does he have to lose? They paint him anyway they want and no one (not even the man himself or his so called surrogates...who are they by the way?) does anythin about it.
jcgraham77
· 1 year ago
Well, his way of doing things worked wonders against Hillary. I have to wonder though.
DAB
· 1 year ago
Oh, and McCain is obviously trying to get out in front of this issue because he knows it has far greater potential to bite him than Obama. That's smart of him, but just because he's trying to make the case doesn't mean people will believe it, particularly if Obama & Co. cut his economic credentials down to size.
Bush_Bites
· 1 year ago
I dare McCain to defend Crony Capitalism.
bobbyjoe
· 1 year ago
Here's a column I wish everybody would read before going down the let's-constantly-second-guess-every-single-thing-our-own-candidate-says-or-does path once again:
Read the column and I have to say that I agree with Halperin. I don't see any fire on our side. Maybe from Biden, but when today's official statement explicitly absolves McCain for this financial mess and fails to state that the Republicans are responsible for this mess, we are going nowhere. Do you think that Rove would have issued anything like this if it was happening under Clinton's watch?
Gridlock
· 1 year ago
*sighs and rubs his temples*
Obama is going John Kerry. He's unwilling to fight. When he does, it's weak and ineffective.
He lets, LETS Mccain steal his positions as if they were his all along.
He lets McCain steal his campaign message
He lets McCain call him unpatriotic
He lets McCain and Palin lie repeatedly without calling them on in in any forceful manner
I'm sorry, but this is getting pathetic. This is why McCain is up in the polls. Obama is practically invisible and is doing his damndest to stay that way.
Biden has apparently walked off the face of the earth or is in hiding.
Hillary is nowhere to be found.
The Dems in congress and distancing themselves from Obama at a record pace, there's panic all around, and yet all Obama's campaign can manage is that they're "aware" of all this.
Yeah, sorry. This is not a winning ticket guys. Obama and his surrogates refuse to fight for this presidency.
If he won't fight for that, he won't fight for you. That's the message being broadcast loud and clear. Even when the base speaks up and screams 'FIGHT!' they still won't.
Forget it.. they're not worth my effort anymore. They've already lost. Maybe they're 'aware' of that too.
red_dwarf
· 1 year ago
Hillary is nowhere to be found. {nor is Bill for that matter}
Gridlock - astute observation. She has her eyes set on 2012. I'd bet $500 she is praying for the theft of the upcoming election.
whomod
· 1 year ago
Sometimes, and especially given the past 2 elections and the stellar way the Democratic Congress has gone after the BIG issues of the day, I'm almost starting to think that the Democrats play a scripted role in our politics. They are the "opposition Party" which will offer a lot of talk but ultimately go along with whatever the Republicans do against our country. We'll score a few meager victories every now and then just to keep up the charade and the spirits of the electorate but ultimately, we're there to provide a semblance of actual Democracy.
I think Obama was finally handed the script. The same one handed to Kerry and to Gore. I wonder what they offer you VS what they vow to take from you if you actually dare to challenge them seriously.
Aanya
· 1 year ago
Your reader is so right! Obama should be beating the bank failures to death. He needs to stress the connection with the deregulation and his own campaign workers and supporters. Phil Gramm, Hello! It scares the shit out of me thinking about McCain putting all his cronies in positions that will pulverize whatever is left of the economy we used to have!
Milli
· 1 year ago
He needs to make this election more PERSONAL to people, and yes, he absolutely NEEDS to instill FEAR into his message. We are a lazy society with a short attention span and we need things spelled out to us. Obama needs to tell us exactly why and exactly how much we should fear McCain. He won't be lying. In fact, he's lying now by NOT telling us how bad its gonna get if McCain wins.
naschkatzehussein
· 1 year ago
I think Obama has McCain where he wants him now. Enough members of the media have cooperated in showing that McCain/Palin were running their campaign on lies and distractions, and Obama has finally come out with a really hard hitting ad on the dishonor in the McCain campaign and has now forced him onto the turf where Obama shines, the issues. Let's not be constant concern trolls every time McCain tries to pull a fast one. This is just day one of his running on the economy, and Obama will demolish him. McCain has a record of the eight years of being a member of the Plantation, giving Bush whatever he wanted. He cannot run away from that with a few deceptive last minute ads. In fact, he can't run away from the past 26 years. And he will not be able to come up with specifics like Obama, only empty and contradictory rhetoric in which on one hand "the fundamentals of the economy are strong" and on the other that we are in an unprecedented crisis.
BooHoo
· 1 year ago
Sorry, but I cannot disagree more. Obama & Biden are getting the headlines all over the news today on this one, and attacking the core is dead on. Getting tired of all of this armchair quarterbacking around here.
LasloPratt
· 1 year ago
I'm with you. I think they need to build on the idea, and I hope over the coming weeks that they will do so. But there is a core set of ideas that has gotten us to this dismal point. Bush didn't do it alone. This, I hope, is a first step in trying to get our fellow citizens to understand just how thoroughly they've been hoodwinked.
More than anything the point has to be made that this core philosophy involved a repudiation and dismantling of the regulations and safeguards that were supposed to keep the system from melting down. What we're seeing is not the failure of this philosophy -- what we are seeing is its success. That's not gonna fit into a 30-second commercial. But maybe some of the campaign's surrogates can bring that up on the Sunday morning talk shows.
Steve_in_CNJ
· 1 year ago
i think i agree. if you talk about incompetence you miss the target and hit bush. the only way that works is if you go after the supremely incompetent Phil Gramm (mccain's economic advisor) and mccain's voting record in the senate. but you also have to go after trickle-down advocates and their insensitivity to economic suffering. that hits the target square on. the only way i would modify the message is to make it sound a bit more passionate. i'd love to see some emotion from barack obama one day.
Gridlock
· 1 year ago
If you want people marching in lockstep, the freeper boards might welcome you.
BooHoo
· 1 year ago
That is an extreme response to my comment, and it undermines your point.
tbhull
· 1 year ago
Obama, like McCain, can never blame the same money that supports him.
DAB
· 1 year ago
I agree with BooHoo, and disagree profoundly with Gridlock. Obama was out on this earlier today with a pretty strong statement that said it's Republicans' whole approach to the economy that led us to this point. Joe Biden had a hard-hitting speech this morning. They're not going to be able to keep John McCain from making speeches and putting up ads, but they're not wasting any time to link this mess with McCain's party and his lack of understanding of economic policies.
Gridlock
· 1 year ago
Obama said he didn't fault McCain for the mess.
There's a winning statement. Let's not accuse our opponent of any misdeeds, despite him being in hand over fist. Let's say it's not his fault, but that's it's a philosophy.
I hate to break it to you, but a good chunk of Americans don't even know what a 'philosophy' IS. They had to change a Harry Potter movie title because of it.
That's what you're dealing with.
nicho
· 1 year ago
But it is the philosophy that matters. The basis of the philosophy -- the "starve the beast" philosophy of Grover Norquist is to bring about just the result we're seeing now.
When the economy is in shambles and every level of government is bankrupt, they can do away with all social programs, all public benefits, affordable health care, public education, etc. Then, the corporatists can take over and the rest of us will be wage slaves -- fighting each other for subsistence-level jobs.
The people running this show are all too competent. Their plan is working. Every time a state or city goes belly up, every time a social program is cut or cancelled, Grover Norquist and his gang open another bottle of Dom Perignon.
This always has been about a philosophy.
To focus on "incompetent people in charge" is to argue that what they're trying to do is right, but they just fell short. The bottom line is that what they're trying to do is bad for the country.
deanarms
· 1 year ago
Why isn't the campaign tying this to the Republicans? I just don't understand this. That's the obvious tie that binds McCain to Bush - and it would even help Dems down the ticket too. The AP did it for them on a headline I just saw from a Florida paper, but the Obama campaign haas to be all over this. Call them what they are: REPUBLICANS.
KarenMrsLloydRichards
· 1 year ago
Obama needs to start throwing punches. STOP the Senate politesse and START nailing this disgusting old man to the wall for his complicity, active complicity since the mid-80s, in the hijacking of the economy by big-moneyed special interests and letting them call the shots!
shanobama
· 1 year ago
God damn right on. And McCain son is also involved in a bank failure in Nevada right now.
WTF? Just leave out the 'its not McCains fault', because that is going too far! Just stop all statements about McCain unless he is trying to show a difference in policy. No more of this good-guy-its-not-his-fault McCain. This makes my head explode!
Just stop. McCain never had any ethics and he is never going to have them. Too much.
ZennButtKicker (tlhwraith)
· 1 year ago
Obama isn't coming out swinging for the fences, but at least it looks like he's gotten the message that it's alright to step in the batters box. At this point all I can hope is that they are "testing the waters" with a harder edge and will be watching the numbers to see how the public responds. Remember, the Obama people going hard and I daresay negative, represents a major change in theme to them from hope and change, and they do have to manage that to a degree or they risk alienated large swathes of people who are not as far left and militant about hitting the GOP. Like it or not, the Democratic party really is a coalition of multiple interests. Unlike the GOP that has the advantage of a party that will fall in line regardless of what is put in front of them, Dem candidates have to be very careful.
My prediction is that if the polling numbers start to swing back in Obamas favor, we'll see a progressively more attack oriented strategy. McCain has nothing to lose by going negative and throwing whatever he feels like out there, the GOP has shown themselves more than willing to swallow whatever crap McCain/Palin feed them.
Steve_in_CNJ
· 1 year ago
that analysis sounds right to me.
ErnestTee
· 1 year ago
who's side are you on? Quit picking apart everything Obama says. Leave that to Little Green Boogers. spend your time picking apart what grampa says.
ydthin
· 1 year ago
I agree, that is a bit of a John Kerry-esque response.
davidkc
· 1 year ago
Obama and McCain are hitting McCain hard today, and I like it. I think Obama's comments. I really liked his comment about "minding the store":
"The challenges facing our financial system today are more evidence that too many folks in Washington and on Wall Street weren't minding the store," Obama said in a statement. "Eight years of policies that have shredded consumer protections, loosened oversight and regulation, and encouraged outsized bonuses to CEOs while ignoring middle-class Americans have brought us to the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression."
And I loved Biden's blasting of McCain's "low blow a day" and calling McCain "Bush 44."
Andrew
· 1 year ago
What ever the philosophy, it failed a long time ago. Decades ago in fact when the Federal Reserve was created and both candidates know it. While it was never mentioned publicly with regard to McCain, Obama as a candidate for the presidency made his trip to get the seal of approval from both the members of the Trilateral Commission of David Rockefellers creation as well as those members belonging to The Council On Foreign Relations. These two groups are in fact our shadow government. It has been know for many years that some day the dollar would fail and a replacement would be required. But in order to make such a change the financial system would have to be brought down. consider this the transition period in which the Federal Reserve will play less and less of a role and the US Treasury will play a greater one. The process should take about three to four years to complete. Make no mistake about it, Obama knows where this is ultimately leading us as he has been told by the above mentioned groups that this was their desire. The crash the dollar and return in time to a precious metlas backed economy as we had prior to 1933. This transition is going to be very painful for many, but it is the long over due treatment that the US as a financial addict required to break us from using our homes as ATM machines and start saving again. That is why Paulson said no to a Lehman bailout. It would just never end and it is bad enough that the US tax payer is going to have to pick up the tab for Bear Sterns as well as Fannie and Freddie. Unless Warren Buffet come to the rescue of AIG, it to will fail and go bankrupt as well as WaMu and a few other major banks once the dust has settled.
Savage8862
· 1 year ago
I agree 100 percent. The Obama camp better get off their asses and start fighting. He needs to start looking like he wants to win this election.
stefanzo
· 1 year ago
It drives me crazy. This is just like the "failed policies of the past" tag they've been using for so long.
What's with this ultra-vague language? Trying to get the point across without offending anybody? Yikes! This is an emergency, and they SHOULD offend people!
They need to drill the differences home. Stop using passive verbs and abstract nouns, and be personal, precise, literal. Even mean.
Consider the reverse - am I supporting Obama because of his "hopeful policies of the future"? That doesn't mean squat to me; I didn't even get his "hope" meme until I saw the nomination speech - and I'm already on his side! He's got to throw some punches with a bare fist, instead of mutter them under his breath from across the room.
jescot
· 1 year ago
AMEN!!!!
Iraq - Incompetent! Katrina - Incompetent! The Economy - Incompetent!
Change doesn't mean tinkering around the edges - Change doesn't mean fo after a small issue like "earmarks" . Change doesnt mean reverting to a different "philosophy". THINK BIG ! BIG is EASY -
CHANGE IS BEING COMPETENT- REFECTIVE and TRANSPARENT. PERIOD.
mcd410x
· 1 year ago
It's the failed Bush/McCain economy.
Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Always repeat.
kenga
· 1 year ago
Ugh. This: We’re not in this mess because of a high-level theoretical argument of regulation vs. deregulation. We’re here because the people in charge of overseeing and guiding the economy are grossly incompetent at their jobs. ... makes me want to scream. It's bullmanure - YES, there are incompetents in regulatory positions. BUT, those regulations have been watered down or eliminated AND even if the staff was supremely competent, they are limited by the regulations they have available to enforce. "Failed Philosophy" is pretty damned good. It compares Reaganomics to communism, as philosophies that have been tried and have failed egregiously. MORE IMPORTANTLY - it points a finger at the problem. The Reagan Revolution was a hideous screw-up - environmentally, socially, economically - and we're going to be trying to recover from it for another> 30 years - if we're lucky enough that it only takes that long. IDEAS MATTER! We, as a nation, are not going to make any real progress until we demonstrate that we know that electing Reagan was a short-term morale boost and a long-term catastrophe, and categorically reject the philosophy that motivated the Reagan Revolution and its ideological heirs.
via
· 1 year ago
Another weak part of Obama's comment today was that after McCain said the economy was fundamentally strong was the "John McCain is out of touch" response. Out of touch? Out of touch is all he can say? John McCain's top economic advisor helped engineer the deregulation and lack of oversight that led to this disaster! Jesus Christ, man, you need to get to the heart of this thing! The Bush administration with John McCain's 90% support has raped, pillaged and is now burning this country to the ground and Obama says "John McCain is out of touch".
Kcunac
· 1 year ago
I don't get a sense of any energy or passion. Where is Obama? Where is Michelle? Where are the surrogates? I don't feel like there's any Democrats campaigning! I agree with anybody who says Obama has to start talking plain and with some passion. The angry black man is a stereotype. I don't see it sticking to him. He needs to can the platitudes and say something he means. Unless 'failed philosophy' is what he means. Somebody help me, I am teetering on thinking Hillary might have been the better choice after all.
vwcat
· 1 year ago
you must not have been watching any of the clips on the news or cspan. Obama sounds not just passionate but, pissed off this morning.
NMRon
· 1 year ago
Sorry, I strongly disagree with characterizing republicans as inept failures. The events of the past seven years are EXACTLY what the neocons set out to do. The fact that those events were and are extremely desctructive of the nation's economy and polity is not a failure in the eyes of Rethugs, but rather resounding success. Calling repugs inept excuses truly atrocious ethics and 'philosophy.'
"Sorry, you'll have to excuse George and his friends. They're stupid, you see and didn't really mean to destroy the middle class while enriching themselves beyond any looting in recorded history. And they really didn't mean to destroy 800 years of legal and democratic tradition or to make torture an American value, but you know they're just like the Three Stooges those scamps."
Fuck that. These are evil, self-centered, hateful, greedy people implementing evil, self-centered, hateful, greedy policies based on an evil, self-centered, hateful, and greedy philosophy of life.
That said, I have to agree that 'Failed Philosphy' is a pretty lame retort. Maybe from my musing above you get an idea of how I think these depraved criminals should be labled.
vwcat
· 1 year ago
Peter, but the failed incompetents hewed to the failed idea of trickle down and de regulation. It's the same philosophy that gave us the Great Depression. It was revived by Reagan and shut down during clinton. But, Bush brought it back with a bang. It was total chaos and the greed that overtook these incompetents was so overwhelming that all common sense left their little heads.
SuzanneNYC
· 1 year ago
Definitely! This is 20+ years of de-regulation chickens coming home to roost. Policies that were put in place by Reagan, Bush1 and the Republican congress have finally conspired to create this total banking disaster. Oh sure, the market knows best and will take care of itself. Bush2 didn't see the writing on the wall (he's such a fool). I suppose he looked into Greenspan's soul and liked what he saw.
cmccbald
· 1 year ago
Tax cuts have led to massive deficits.
De-regulation has led to massive financial collapse.
Our health care system is an ever-growing mess -- and, to add insult to injury, vastly more expensive than that of any other nation.
Oil is peaking, the climate is warming -- and the only answer of the Republicans is "drill, baby, drill."
We do have a great military that is, oh wait, it's bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Conservatism has failed.
But no one here wants to say so. Interesting.
jimfromthefoothills
· 1 year ago
why can't our candidate just repeat those line???????
RevDrBillyBob
· 1 year ago
That letter on this website pretty much captures it: When you're a Sensitive Nineties Guy (or Gal, since Hilary-as-nominee would have been no different) and being advised by Bushistas like Carville . . . the term "failed philosophy" really IS as "tough" as you can get. Too bad that so many people contributed so much money to this "I'm Obama and I Want to Be a Loser" Campaign. He and Biden have NO desire to win. This is how the Wimpocrat Party works, folks. Reid and Pelosi will be ecstatic when McCain-Palin wins. . . . Face it: You've been snookered.
BooHoo
· 1 year ago
Are you watching the news today? If so, you wouldn't be throwing out all these odd Rightwing memes.
keep it simple: Bill Clinton gave us one of our the most prosperous economies ever, then John McCain and his party came along and destroyed it and now he wants you to reward him with your vote? ENOUGH. McCain and the republican policies have had their chance and they failed, failed you and failed the country. We need REAL change. We need a change in philosophy and a change in policies. We need to start working for our future instead of gambling it away.
RonNYC
· 1 year ago
I'm looking at Obama's and McCain's web sites. Now, granted they are not news sites, but McCain has a statement on the financial markets; Obama, silence. Are we looking at Rocky, where he gets pummeled until the final round? Unfortunately, this is not a movie. Is the Obama campaign aware of the frustration, and the degree of frustration?
RevDrBillyBob - not at all. I've given money to Obama and intend to give more. I sure have some thoughts about how it can be better, but even if he spent all his days watching TV and drinking beer (he's obviously not) I'd still do it. This is too important and McCain/Palin are just too awful.
tlsintx
· 1 year ago
Obama would have to be stupid to pull the same shit as McSame... the truth is working out just fine.
RonNYC
· 1 year ago
If the truth is working out so well, why isn't Obama's approval in the mid-50s? How can he be even with McCain and (I can't even say her name).
tlsintx
· 1 year ago
1) i think some of the polls are not well done and are being manipulated to influence public opinion...and 2)it's a big deal for a lot of people to vote for a black man...
OriGuy
· 1 year ago
"Failed Philosophy" sounds weak, maybe "Wrong-headed Ideas" would be better. However, saying that the problem is that they are incompetent is equivalent to saying that the invasion of Iraq would have been ok if the people running it had done something different. You don't want to give McCain the oppotunity to say that Bush screwed up, but he won't.
prochoicelib
· 1 year ago
I disagree with the letter writer. These people are NOT incompetent. They knew exactly what they were doing. This is what conservatism looks like.
prochoicelib
· 1 year ago
I also would not let Clinton with his NAFTA and China favored trade status, off the hook either.
bluestockton
· 1 year ago
Somebody please play for Obama the old Joanie Sommers song, "Johnny get angry," only change the name to "Barry." As someone has said, there's a big difference between being an angry black man and radiating the righteous indignation of a Mandela or King.
FauxReal
· 1 year ago
I agree with the email. He needs to package this in 10 words that people will remember. Economics ia hard enough to understand but "failed philosophy" will have eyes glazing over.
I also wanted to scream when I read his comment that started out giving McCain a pass,
Obama in a morning statement says, "I certainly don’t fault Senator McCain for these problems, but I do fault the economic philosophy he subscribes to. ... Instead of prosperity trickling down, the pain has trickled up."
WTH, blame McCain! He's called Phil Gramm his "economic guru" - Phil Gramm was the architect of McCain's economic plan (at least before the "nation of whiners" - another missed opportunity). And lots of people say that Gramm will be McCain's choice for Sec of the Treasury.
All Comments
Oh, this is not going well...
it's a risk to start adopting your opponent's message. for one thing, you're bound to slip up and send opposite messages on the same day (as happened today). i don't think people like that.
with a short note about the banking deregultion bill that Phil slipped into a bill in the middle of the night.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ari-melber/nervou...
Obama is going John Kerry. He's unwilling to fight. When he does, it's weak and ineffective.
He lets, LETS Mccain steal his positions as if they were his all along.
He lets McCain steal his campaign message
He lets McCain call him unpatriotic
He lets McCain and Palin lie repeatedly without calling them on in in any forceful manner
I'm sorry, but this is getting pathetic. This is why McCain is up in the polls. Obama is practically invisible and is doing his damndest to stay that way.
Biden has apparently walked off the face of the earth or is in hiding.
Hillary is nowhere to be found.
The Dems in congress and distancing themselves from Obama at a record pace, there's panic all around, and yet all Obama's campaign can manage is that they're "aware" of all this.
Yeah, sorry. This is not a winning ticket guys. Obama and his surrogates refuse to fight for this presidency.
If he won't fight for that, he won't fight for you. That's the message being broadcast loud and clear. Even when the base speaks up and screams 'FIGHT!' they still won't.
Forget it.. they're not worth my effort anymore. They've already lost. Maybe they're 'aware' of that too.
Gridlock - astute observation. She has her eyes set on 2012. I'd bet $500 she is praying for the theft of the upcoming election.
I think Obama was finally handed the script. The same one handed to Kerry and to Gore. I wonder what they offer you VS what they vow to take from you if you actually dare to challenge them seriously.
More than anything the point has to be made that this core philosophy involved a repudiation and dismantling of the regulations and safeguards that were supposed to keep the system from melting down. What we're seeing is not the failure of this philosophy -- what we are seeing is its success. That's not gonna fit into a 30-second commercial. But maybe some of the campaign's surrogates can bring that up on the Sunday morning talk shows.
There's a winning statement. Let's not accuse our opponent of any misdeeds, despite him being in hand over fist. Let's say it's not his fault, but that's it's a philosophy.
I hate to break it to you, but a good chunk of Americans don't even know what a 'philosophy' IS. They had to change a Harry Potter movie title because of it.
That's what you're dealing with.
When the economy is in shambles and every level of government is bankrupt, they can do away with all social programs, all public benefits, affordable health care, public education, etc. Then, the corporatists can take over and the rest of us will be wage slaves -- fighting each other for subsistence-level jobs.
The people running this show are all too competent. Their plan is working. Every time a state or city goes belly up, every time a social program is cut or cancelled, Grover Norquist and his gang open another bottle of Dom Perignon.
This always has been about a philosophy.
To focus on "incompetent people in charge" is to argue that what they're trying to do is right, but they just fell short. The bottom line is that what they're trying to do is bad for the country.
WTF? Just leave out the 'its not McCains fault', because that is going too far! Just stop all statements about McCain unless he is trying to show a difference in policy. No more of this good-guy-its-not-his-fault McCain. This makes my head explode!
Just stop. McCain never had any ethics and he is never going to have them. Too much.
My prediction is that if the polling numbers start to swing back in Obamas favor, we'll see a progressively more attack oriented strategy. McCain has nothing to lose by going negative and throwing whatever he feels like out there, the GOP has shown themselves more than willing to swallow whatever crap McCain/Palin feed them.
"The challenges facing our financial system today are more evidence that too many folks in Washington and on Wall Street weren't minding the store," Obama said in a statement. "Eight years of policies that have shredded consumer protections, loosened oversight and regulation, and encouraged outsized bonuses to CEOs while ignoring middle-class Americans have brought us to the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression."
And I loved Biden's blasting of McCain's "low blow a day" and calling McCain "Bush 44."
It has been know for many years that some day the dollar would fail and a replacement would be required. But in order to make such a change the financial system would have to be brought down. consider this the transition period in which the Federal Reserve will play less and less of a role and the US Treasury will play a greater one. The process should take about three to four years to complete.
Make no mistake about it, Obama knows where this is ultimately leading us as he has been told by the above mentioned groups that this was their desire. The crash the dollar and return in time to a precious metlas backed economy as we had prior to 1933.
This transition is going to be very painful for many, but it is the long over due treatment that the US as a financial addict required to break us from using our homes as ATM machines and start saving again. That is why Paulson said no to a Lehman bailout. It would just never end and it is bad enough that the US tax payer is going to have to pick up the tab for Bear Sterns as well as Fannie and Freddie. Unless Warren Buffet come to the rescue of AIG, it to will fail and go bankrupt as well as WaMu and a few other major banks once the dust has settled.
What's with this ultra-vague language? Trying to get the point across without offending anybody? Yikes! This is an emergency, and they SHOULD offend people!
They need to drill the differences home. Stop using passive verbs and abstract nouns, and be personal, precise, literal. Even mean.
Consider the reverse - am I supporting Obama because of his "hopeful policies of the future"? That doesn't mean squat to me; I didn't even get his "hope" meme until I saw the nomination speech - and I'm already on his side! He's got to throw some punches with a bare fist, instead of mutter them under his breath from across the room.
Iraq - Incompetent!
Katrina - Incompetent!
The Economy - Incompetent!
Change doesn't mean tinkering around the edges - Change doesn't mean fo after a small issue like "earmarks" . Change doesnt mean reverting to a different "philosophy". THINK BIG ! BIG is EASY -
CHANGE IS BEING COMPETENT- REFECTIVE and TRANSPARENT. PERIOD.
Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Always repeat.
This: We’re not in this mess because of a high-level theoretical argument of regulation vs. deregulation. We’re here because the people in charge of overseeing and guiding the economy are grossly incompetent at their jobs.
... makes me want to scream.
It's bullmanure - YES, there are incompetents in regulatory positions.
BUT, those regulations have been watered down or eliminated AND even if the staff was supremely competent, they are limited by the regulations they have available to enforce.
"Failed Philosophy" is pretty damned good.
It compares Reaganomics to communism, as philosophies that have been tried and have failed egregiously.
MORE IMPORTANTLY - it points a finger at the problem.
The Reagan Revolution was a hideous screw-up - environmentally, socially, economically - and we're going to be trying to recover from it for another> 30 years - if we're lucky enough that it only takes that long.
IDEAS MATTER!
We, as a nation, are not going to make any real progress until we demonstrate that we know that electing Reagan was a short-term morale boost and a long-term catastrophe, and categorically reject the philosophy that motivated the Reagan Revolution and its ideological heirs.
"Sorry, you'll have to excuse George and his friends. They're stupid, you see and didn't really mean to destroy the middle class while enriching themselves beyond any looting in recorded history. And they really didn't mean to destroy 800 years of legal and democratic tradition or to make torture an American value, but you know they're just like the Three Stooges those scamps."
Fuck that. These are evil, self-centered, hateful, greedy people implementing evil, self-centered, hateful, greedy policies based on an evil, self-centered, hateful, and greedy philosophy of life.
That said, I have to agree that 'Failed Philosphy' is a pretty lame retort. Maybe from my musing above you get an idea of how I think these depraved criminals should be labled.
It's the same philosophy that gave us the Great Depression.
It was revived by Reagan and shut down during clinton. But, Bush brought it back with a bang. It was total chaos and the greed that overtook these incompetents was so overwhelming that all common sense left their little heads.
De-regulation has led to massive financial collapse.
Our health care system is an ever-growing mess -- and, to add insult to injury, vastly more expensive than that of any other nation.
Oil is peaking, the climate is warming -- and the only answer of the Republicans is "drill, baby, drill."
We do have a great military that is, oh wait, it's bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Conservatism has failed.
But no one here wants to say so. Interesting.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/09/15/joe-bi...
the truth is working out just fine.
I also wanted to scream when I read his comment that started out giving McCain a pass,
Obama in a morning statement says, "I certainly don’t fault Senator McCain for these problems, but I do fault the economic philosophy he subscribes to. ... Instead of prosperity trickling down, the pain has trickled up."
WTH, blame McCain! He's called Phil Gramm his "economic guru" - Phil Gramm was the architect of McCain's economic plan (at least before the "nation of whiners" - another missed opportunity). And lots of people say that Gramm will be McCain's choice for Sec of the Treasury.
BLAME McCain.
I am so frustrated.