Obamabots in Extremis

The number one recommended diary at the Great Cheeto at this moment is:

Is dkos being played by Rove?

….Why is it that all we do is talk about McCain or Palin (look at the diary titles beneath mine)? Why do we put up so many diaries complaining about Obama that he should being doing this or that? What has happened to the positive diaries about speeches Obama makes from the trail (they exist and continue to come out each day), or of people’s positive experiences canvassing for Obama or registering voters for Obama? It is time for this community to get back to what it was doing just a couple of weeks ago — getting out and fighting to win this election, doing so with grit but also with a smile. Come on everyone Lets Get Fired Up and Ready to Go!

Remember when DK didn’t allow discussion of conspiracy theories? This hysterical diary was triggered by a letter to Andrew Sullivan from one of his readers. Here’s the letter Andrew Sullivan published:

I just wanted to say thank you so much for being the only blogger (aside from Al Giordano) who gets it. While the rest of the blogosphere (especially the liberal bloggers) lose their heads you are an island of common sense. Patience and Steel. Yes, yes. yes.

It also occurs to me that in a way McCain and Rove have actually simply taken over the liberal blogosphere in some way. They are being played.

Just a few examples—yesterday Obama gave a fantastic interview at the Service Forum. Did the liberal blogs even cover this? No.

He gave a great speech on the trail. Are his town halls even posted or excerpted? No.
The liberal bloggers have become McCain central. They make people click on his ads, make the world spin around him instead of focusing on our candidate and what he is trying to do. There is ZERO coverage of what Obama is actually doing every day talking tough on the issues. There is ZERO coverage of Biden (who is on the trail but the blogs don’t seem to care or cover him unless he is doing what they think he should be doing. Sadly AFP did cover him this week and people seemed to be too busy saying he was not doing anything to include the link with his forceful comments against McCain. The one time the blogs linked to Biden—when the MSM tried to make a big deal out his answer to a question that made Hillary look bad and he defended her. That was it).

McCain and crew realized early this cycle that they did not have a visible internet presence. So what did they do? They took over the liberal presence, they are manipulating the leading liberal blogs , just as they manipulate the MSM. All to their own advantage. And the blogs have all fallen for this hook, line and sinker. Does no one realize this?

They are all being played.

And Obama, god bless him, he gets it. As does his team. while everyone whines he keeps at it every day with much much class and like a laser focused on the issues. The problem is not Obama, is that no one wants to follow his lead. Instead they are following McCain-Rove and they don’t even know it.

Sorry bots, but Rove doesn’t need to play you. Obama already played you. Now you’re bringing your own candidate down by spewing your vile rage and hatred at Sarah Palin. It’s different this time, isn’t it? When you did it to Clinton, nobody (except a bunch of old, menopausal, “low-information” Democratic women) called you on it. Republicans are different from Democrats. They stand up for other Republicans. They play to their base instead of trying to drive it out of the party.

Congratulations. You used slimy smear tactics to win the primary for your candidate. Now you’ll have to figure out how to get him elected without all the people you and he disrespected all through the primaries and during the convention. It couldn’t happen to a better bunch of people.

This is an open thread.

Unelectable?

Our friend Charles Lemos on his blog, By The Fault, does a wonderful job keeping us posted on polls – both state and national – as they come out. And WOW have they been coming out — what a come-down for Obama! To give you an idea of how wildly things have shifted since the first of September, I made a copy of Real Clear Politics rolling average chart of national polls:

Real Clear Politics Chart of Polls from Sept. 1st through Sept. 12

Those national polls reflect Obama’s weakness in state after state. From By the Fault:

Rasmussen Reports Washington State Poll — Obama’s Lead Down to Two Points
Insider Advantage Ohio Poll — McCain By One
Rasmussen Reports Michigan Poll — Obama Motoring By Five
Rasmussen Reports Idaho Poll — A Gem for McCain
Rasmussen Reports Wyoming Poll — Red As Ever
West Virginia Poll — A Five Point Edge for McCain
Georgia Looks Peachy for McCain
Quinnipiac Poll on Three Swing States — McCain Widens Lead in Florida, Obama’s Lead Widens in Ohio but Narrows in Pennsylvania

[UPDATE] Two more polls!

Marist New Jersey Poll — Obama By Seven Among Registered Voters But Only By Three Among Likely Voters

Rasmussen Reports Missouri Poll — McCain Holds A Six Point Lead

Unelectable — It’s too soon to relax but I think we’ll be reading more stories like this:

Obama’s Altitude Sickness
By Charles Krauthammer

WASHINGTON — The Democrats are in a panic. In a presidential race that is impossible to lose, they are behind. Obama devotees are frantically giving advice. Tom Friedman tells him to “start slamming down some phones.” Camille Paglia suggests, “be boring!”

Meanwhile, a posse of Democratic lawyers, mainstream reporters, lefty bloggers and various other Obamaphiles are scouring the vast tundra of Alaska for something, anything, to bring down Sarah Palin: her daughter’s pregnancy, her ex-brother-in-law problem, her $60 per diem, and now her religion. (CNN reports — news flash! — that she apparently has never spoken in tongues.) Not since Henry II asked if no one would rid him of his turbulent priest, have so many so urgently volunteered for duty.

The DemFather: A Play in One Powerful Act

Not a Pretty Sight

THE SCENE: A small Italian restaurant in the Village. BARACK OBAMA and BILL CLINTON have just finished their lunch and are smoking cigars and drinking espresso. It is September 11, 2008, and their first one-to-one contact since the primaries ended. Phoniness is oozing from every pore of both politicians. The theme from “The Godfather” is heard playing in the background.

BILL: Well, how’d you like the food?

OBAMA (puffing on his cigar): Not bad, Bill, not bad. Chicago has great pizza, but the Italian food is much better in New York. Maybe Michelle and I will get a place here once I’m President, just like you and Hillary did!

BILL (smoothly): Why sure, Barack, that would be great! I’m sure Michelle and the kids would love New York. (some of Bill’s insincerity drops away) And maybe the people of New York can finally get that damn memorial built. The lights are fine, but every time I see them I just think of how that Saudi Arabian bastard got away with it, and I get so mad…

OBAMA (still totally insincere): Yeah, Bill, uh, me too. Anywho, I was hoping we could get down to business.

BILL (the mask back in place): Excellent idea, Barack! I’ve got some great ideas on how we can help each other. Here’s what I think –

OBAMA (interrupting): Really, Bill? Cause I was thinking you could campaign for me in Ohio, Pennsylvania and –

BILL (the mask dropping away completely): Shut up, Barack. I’m talking now, and I’m the goddamn President of the United States. Show a little goddamn respect, you little pissant!

BARACK (pulling up his chin and looking down his nose): Fine. I’ll take that from you – for now. Go ahead, (with sarcastic emphasis) Mister President.

Friday: Democrat’s Dilemma

Occam's Democrat

So, I heard that Palin gave an interview yesterday and the Tweeties are already shredding it.  The NYTimes has an article about how Palin’s pipeline is still vaporware.

Know what?  I don’t care.

Like we don’t know that there are forces out there trying as hard as they can to turn us off our food when it comes to Palin.  The Teaparty Ten are hitting the talking head circuit shaking their fingers at us lest we abandon women to the Republican forced pregnancy squad.  They must think we’re stupid.  We’ve looked at the prospective Congresscritters’ web pages and a vast majority of them never mention reproductive rights.  So, Barbara, Claire and Gloria, if you don’t go back to your older and wiser men who are in charge and tell them to put their money where their mouths are with respect to abortion, you might as well be picking table setting colors for the next Senate Ladies’ Auxiliary Garden Party.

Here’s the thing, oh mighty powers that be:  all primary season long, you have been telling us to get in line, corraling us like the women of some puritanical middle eastern country.  You haven’t offered us anything in return.  Our votes were seized, our candidate humiliated, our choices eliminated.  Some of you have even written letters telling us how tiresome and irritating we are for asking for something for our votes.  You’ve given us Barack Obama who has never met a principle he cherishes so much that he wouldn’t give it up in the name of post-partisanship or political expediency.

When it comes to the two nominees we have to choose from right now, both options leave us cold.  In the one case, the Democrat turns his back on his party when it is convenient while the other asks us to turn our back on our party to embrace the one that gave us 8 years of Bush.  The Democrat has short coattails while with the Republican, we may end up with one party rule.

But there is a potential tie breaker.  It’s Sarah Palin.  Despite the fact that her view of government is vastly  different than ours, her candidacy offers us something.  After she is elected to office, women who come after her will have an easier time getting to that top spot.  And if that is true, then she may be doing more for women’s issues than any one of the Teaparty Ten who are appealing to the ladies.  The next female candidate who runs for president may actually make it.  It may take four years before we see a pay off but the long term goal is extremely attractive.  Maybe we can get universal healthcare, full day kindergarten, equal pay in our lifetimes.

It’s tasty.

So, all you guys out there furiously spinning the double standard that a first term governor of a state with two international borders is somehow less qualified to learn on the job to be VP than the first term Senator of a landlocked state is to learn on the job to be president, save your breath.  When you took Hillary Clinton out, the game became much bigger than your petty interparty politics.

We’ll take it from here.

Conflucians Say: The Scratching Post

I’m in the mood for a Cocktail Party.  This cocktail party is dedicated to downticket Dems.  It looks like Obama’s coattails are much shorter than expected.  Take a look at this page on RealClearPolitics for a good scare.  Democrats are not going to pick up nearly enough new members to offset the Republicans and Blue Dogs.  Even my favorite, Linda Stender, who should have walked away with NJ-07 this year, is in a tighter than expected race with Republican nobody Leonard Lance.  We can’t afford to be complacent.

So, join us tonight for a little fundraising and TLC for out downticket Dems, those stalwart progressives who have an uphill battle now that Palin has re-energized the Republican base.  Grab a cocktail from Rico and tell us about your favorite downticket Dems.  You can buy a Causmo for $10 and contribute that money to our ActBlue page.  We’re still putting this page together so if you know of a deserving downticket Dem, talk him/her up.

Murphy’s running a fundraiser at PUMAPac for Sheila Jackson Lee, a Clinton loyalist who could use a little mojo.  While you’re there, check out the State by State Slate of Democrats to avoid when the next primary comes around.  Remember, there is still an opportunity to send a message to the DNC by getting Ed O’Reilly elected in Massachusetts against John Kerry.

And tune your cat channels to Conflucians Say tonight at 10PM EST on PUMA United Radio- PURrrrrr

And don’t forget that you can catch Matt on My Two Cents at 11:00PM EST on NQR and Our View with Patsy and Sugar every Thursday starting at 9:00 PM

In the Dust of the World Trade Center

We can’t help remembering:

On September 9, 2001 I made reservations for an October trip to New York City. If I’d waited a couple of days I would have undoubtedly cancelled my trip. As it was my stepson and I spent the first 2 weeks of October 2001 in NYC.

While my other visits sort of blend together my memories of that visit stand alone. For one thing cars and other vehicles didn’t casually honk. When people saw me taking pictures, they talked to me. Asked me where I was from, “Did the rest of the country care.” And often (as when we took the Staten Island Ferry) cried with us as many of us saw the city’s new skyline for the first time:

The Day That Froze America In Time

Stuck

Prior to the attacks of September 11, 2001, newly-selected President George W. Bush was enjoying a fairly decent approval rating of between 50-60%. Then, as he so heartlessly stated, he won the “trifecta.” And America was frozen in time, much as Bush was frozen for several minutes in that Florida classroom after the second of the two World Trade Center towers was hit.

After those attacks, George Bush had the full support of nearly every American – and, of our allies across the world, including Iran, which was led by a much more moderate faction at the time. And what did he do with this political capital? He spent it – and made sure that we would be mired in the 20th Century for the entire length of his Reign of Error.

Bush used Bin Laden’s attacks as an excuse to push America into a bizarre “war on terror.” This was, he warned, going to be a war that would take many years and be unconventional in its approach. What he did not tell us is that the “war on terror” would be used as an excuse to seize an unprecedented amount of executive power, invade a country that did not attack us first, and would actually INCREASE the strength of Al Qaeda and the number of terrorist attacks around the world.

Thursday: Hillary keeps moving things along!

Mass transit:  F$%^!  Can we have Hillary back now??

The first time I saw Hillary Clinton in person, I was at YearlyKos07.  I signed up for her breakout session and waited patiently until it was almost over before she called on me to ask a question.  It was about mass transit.  Believe it or not, the answer she gave me was even more detailed than the one she broadly outlined in the clip above.  It was what sealed the deal for me.  She truly is the gold standard.

Her focus on mass transit and infrastructure is pretty important to me. Beside the fact that my grandfather was a bus driver, I had experienced the French mass transit system while on business trips and compared to the system we have in NY and NJ, we are so far behind it’s not funny.  Let’s put it this way:  I live about 36 miles from Manhattan, but if I want to go to an event there by mass transit, it takes me several trains.  My BFF, living in Nyack, NY only has to take one.  What takes him 30 minutes takes me an hour and a half.  One of the reasons for this is that the most direct commuter train lines from Central NJ were shut down and rerouted back in the late 60’s and early 70’s.  The train tracks are still there although some of the stations are in disrepair.  I often wonder how much money it would take to get the CRR-NJ up and running again and wouldn’t it be worth the investment, now that we have come to realize that oil is a finite resource?  If France can do it, why not us?

Hillary is already thinking ahead and not just in mass transit.  She mentions how important it is to make sure that Congress, and by that she means a Congress with more Progressive Democrats, continues to look forward and work towards the future, shoring up our infrastructure and reducing our dependence on foreign oil.  Let’s give her all of the help we can.  Put your effort this fall into electing more progressive Dems to Congress.  You can consult our ActBlue recommendations in the Blogroll or tell us about your favorite so we can add him or her to our slate.  Then, make a committment to phone bank or canvass for your candidate this fall.  This is especially important now because McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin has energized the social conservative base. Unfortunately, the Obama campaign isn’t satisfied with trying to destroy Hillary’s career.  Heidi Li has word that they are retaliating against Sheila Jackson Lee for sticking with Hillary to the end.  If you have a few yuppy foodstamps, why not sent them to her?  With the Palin effect and the Obama zealots out for blood, we could end up with fewer progressive pick ups than we expected this fall.

It’s the best way to help Hillary for those of us who cannot in good conscience vote for Obama.

Let’s roll!

A few more things:

• Ed O’Reilly’s campaign is gearing up for next week’s primary in Massachusetts to defeat John Kerry. This weekend’s GOTV activities are crucial. If defeating John Kerry sounds intriguing to you, and I know it does, contact Ed’s campaign office and sign up to volunteer to phone bank or canvass for him.   The more people covering MA, the better his chances are.  Seriously.  There is no better way to get votes than person to person contact.  Canvassing is easy.  If you go with a partner, you’ll get plenty of exercise and have a great time.  And here’s a perfect opportunity to send a message to the DNC that we will hold it accountable in November. Opportunities like this, the chance to change the Democrat’s game plan in a significant way, don’t come along that often.  This one is a biggy, guys.  If Ed wins the primary and tosses Kerry on his ass or at least gets the numbers close enough, the DNC will freak.  Plus Ed’s a good guy.  Fun for all!
• Anglachel has another fascinating post about what drives the old uneducated working class sino-peruvian lesbians to vote like they do and why the Dean Democrats look down their noses at them.
• Finally, tonight is the annual Tribute in Light to memorialize those who perished on September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center in Manhattan.  Those of us who live in these nether regions have an opportunity to see the lights shine.  One of the best places to view them is at Liberty State Park in Jersey City where you can look across the harbor.  It is touchingly beautiful.  Go at dusk to get the full effect.

September 11, 2001- Never Forget

Up All Night: An open thread

PUMA Roar of Approval

For your (official) P.U.M.A. pleasure

The Lions Share on PUMA United Radio- PURrrrrr

Join Sheri, Darragh and me tonight on the Lions Share where we’ll talk about lipstick in pigs, Jesus as Community Organizer vs Pontius Pilate as governor and a whole lot more.  Tonight at 8:00PM EST.