McCain to Obama: Send troops to border if you don't like new immigration law

Hugest, dickiest, worst loser ever. He keeps on topping his own petulance.

President Barack Obama should dispatch National Guard troops to the border if he doesn’t like Arizona’s new immigration law, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Friday.

McCain, who endorsed the tough new Arizona law earlier this week, defended it as necessary because of the federal government’s inability to secure the border.

“If the president doesn’t like what the Arizona Legislature and governor may be doing, then I call on the president to immediately call for the dispatch of 3,000 National Guard troops to our border and mandate that 3,000 additional Border Patrol [officers] be sent to our border as well,” McCain said at a news conference Friday in downtown Phoenix, according to a report in the Arizona Republic.

“And that way, then the state of Arizona will not have to enact legislation which they have to do because of the federal government’s failure to carry out its responsibilities, which is to secure the borders.”

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed legislation Friday that allows police to stop and question anyone they believe may be in the country illegally.

JUST IN: John McCain voting NO on Sotomayor

By GottaLaff

CNN just reported that J Sid McCain is giving Judge Sotomayor a thumbs down. Be proud, J Sid. Way to encourage that Hispanic vote. Those would be the same people that nearly caused you to lose your own state, per Rick Sanchez just now.

And about that immigration reform... "Unless we reverse the trend of ... Hispanic registration" he just said in a video clip.

Hyp. O. Crite.

McCain: I'm 'saddened' by 'vicious attacks' on Sarah the Quitter

By GottaLaff

I think J Sid and S the Q have been pallin' around with the wrong people. They sound even battier than usual. Today it's J Sid's turn:

“I respect Sarah Palin,” McCain said in an interview that aired Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union [...]

McCain also told King he continues to “be saddened by the fact that there are still such vicious attacks on her and her family.”

“I've never seen anything quite like it,” added McCain.

Oh really? Then maybe he should click on the links I've provided below. He'll get a real eyeful.

I really get tired of hearing myself say this over and over, but I won't stop until J Sid McCain stops. You want vicious attacks? Here's your vicious attacks.

Reminder #1: Um, J Sid, who do you think you're fooling? Pot. Kettle. C-Word.

Reminder #2: Sarah the Quitter has a history of vicious attacks. Compared to the onslaught of racist hate speech she encouraged during the 2008 elections, the snark and/or criticism of Palin have been a bubble bath.

Pop! Sarah's bubble burst.

Hyp. O. Crites.

Jackson Browne, Republicans settle case

Bummer, they should have paid for the rights to the song since it seems even more appropriate as their party's theme song now.

LOS ANGELES — Sen. John McCain and the Republican Party are apologizing to Jackson Browne for using one of his songs during last year’s presidential campaign.

The GOP is also vowing to get artists’ permission before using musicians’ work in future political campaigns**.

The apology and pledge were released today along with an announcement of a settlement with Browne over a federal copyright infringement lawsuit filed last year in Los Angeles. Browne sued McCain and the national and Ohio Republican parties for using part of his song “Running on Empty” to mock Democrat Barack

Obama’s proposed energy policies in a Web ad.
Financial details of the settlement weren’t disclosed.

**I seriously doubt this part since they did it over and over again in the last election.

VIDEOS- Meet the Press: John McCain confirms why he is not president of the U.S.

By GottaLaff

There are more clips, but these two were the ones I grabbed first. J Sid discusses the torture probe and Sarah the Quitter:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Iranian Media Pounces On McCain Comments

By GottaLaff

Paddy linked to this earlier, but it deserves its own post:

Iranian state media pounced Friday on statements made by three U.S. senators claiming Iran's election was "rigged."

That J Sid, always so level-headed and diplomatic. Always doing his best to improve the status quo. See how well he plays in Iran?

Republican Senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, along with Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., came out in support of protesters of Iran's recent election.

Iran's state-controlled television outlet, PressTV, referred to McCain as having a "warmongering line on Iran."

Because 8 years of provocation and bloodshed simply wasn't enough, J Sid and his posse felt it necessary to salt a few more wounds liberally. Whatsamattah, J Sid, the Iraq fiasco winding down is getting under your skin? Itching for some more blood and guts?

Senator America First has no qualms about undermining the president. Way to show respect:

McCain called the current Iranian government "illegitimate."

Mr. Tact.

McCain: Obama has 'done well' as president so far

By GottaLaff

I'll post the video when I find it:

Sen. John McCain says his opponent in last year's presidential campaign, Barack Obama, has "done well" in his first five months in the White House.

The Arizona Republican says that using a legislative scorecard to judge the presidency so far, Obama has achieved all his legislative goals. [...]

McCain appeared Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation."

Of course, he had criticism, too. Goes without saying.

Statement from President Obama on Iran

By GottaLaff

Via White House.gov:

The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost. We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people. The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights.

As I said in Cairo, suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. The Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government. If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion.

Martin Luther King once said - "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." I believe that. The international community believes that. And right now, we are bearing witness to the Iranian peoples’ belief in that truth, and we will continue to bear witness.

John McCain: "Bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran."



Imagine if that fool had been elected President of the United States.

VIDEO FLASHBACK: Palin won’t call abortion clinic bombers ‘terrorists’

By GottaLaff

From DKTV, the pageant winner for Miss Hypocrisy is:



H/t: The Joshua Blog

Barack Obama may get support of rivals on Guantanamo

Funny, I'm not hearing alot of substance on the merits of the argument today, just more fearmongering and sturm and drang.

If President Barack Obama is going to turn the page on Guantanamo, he may need help from two of his old rivals: John McCain and his sidekick, Lindsey Graham.

While Senate Republicans have shown a united front on Guantanamo, the Arizonan and the South Carolinian are among a handful of GOP senators poised to break away from their party if the White House offers an appealing plan for dealing with the detainees and closing the prison.

McCain, who has always spoken out against torture, believes that keeping the facility open hurts America’s standing abroad, and Graham, a military justice expert, is also working with the White House on Guantanamo proposals.

So if Obama threads the needle on this issue — and keeps Democrats in line — he may grab the votes of these GOP senators and trump the Republican opposition in the end. Obama seems to sense the usefulness of his campaign rivals, too: He explicitly mentioned McCain and Graham in his Thursday speech on Guantanamo.

John McCain's mom takes swipe at Boss Limbaugh

By GottaLaff

Will Boss Limbaugh retaliate against a 90-something Rushpublic mom of a Rushpublic who once ran on the Rushpublic ticket as a Rushpublic?

"I belong to the Republican Party," McCain, 97, said during an appearance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. "What he represents of the Republican Party has nothing to do with my side of it. I don't know what the man means, I don't know what he's talking about."

That's where we have something in common, Roberta.

"I think [Michael Steele] was exactly right when he defined this man as an entertainer," she said. "To my horror, the Republican Party made him back up on it."

That's typical of your Rushpublics, Roberta. That's what they do. How's about switching parties? On second thought:

In her appearance on Leno Wednesday, the elder McCain also had some harsh words for liberal television host Keith Olbermann.

"I, myself, can't figure out that type of person who really more or less gets joy out of denigrating people. I'm just not that type of person, I don't have friends like that, and thank God I am not around people like him."

Excuse me for a minute. I'm picking myself up off the floor after passing out from laughing about the part about not being around people who get joy out of denigrating people.

Exhibit One: J Sid.

Exhibit Two: Sarah Louise Palin.

Ad nauseam.

Former McCainer to work with Gore, "dead" to colleague now

By GottaLaff

Dun-dun-dunnn! A defection! Sound the sirens! Release the dogs!

Earlier today, Ben Smith reported that McCain research director-cum-press secretary Brian Rogers will begin working as the research director for Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection.

Well now, isn't that extra crispy terrific! So admirable. So wise. So selfless. I bet the McCainers are proud as they can be of their former colleague!

On the campaign trail, Rogers worked alongside deputy communications director Michael Goldfarb, who responded to today's announcement with poise and professional courtesy. "Everybody knew Rogers was a tree-hugger," Goldfarb noted by email, "but I didn't think he'd take it this far. He's dead to me."

Quickie-- Enter: The new face of the Republican party...

By GottaLaff

... and they're all making the Sunday talker rounds tomorrow:

David Petraeus, Dick Cheney, Newt Gingrich and John McCain.

The rebranding effort continues...

That was today's Quickie. Was it good for you?

Republicans To Launch "Rebranding" Effort, aka "Groundhog Day"

By GottaLaff

J-J-Jeb Bush... and J-J-J Sid? That's who they're using to launch a makeover?

CNN reports on a new effort to revive the image of the Republican Party and to counter President Obama's characterization of Republicans as "the party of no."

"It will involve an outreach by an interesting mix of GOP officials, ranging from 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain to Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and the younger brother of the man many Republicans blame for the party's battered brand: former President George W. Bush."

Also involved: Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Mitt Romney.

What, they haven't figured out yet that Ba-Ba-Bobby is a la-la-loser? And that Jeb is a ::shudder:: Bush?

And that J Sid--What's the word? Oh yeah-- lost??

The Rushpublic party: The equivalent of Tee Vee producers fooling themselves into thinking that Extreme Makeover reruns would attract a larger, newer, more competitive audience who are incapable of remembering, and therefore can't anticipate a different outcome.

Quotes-O'-the-Moment: Republican epic fail edition

By GottaLaff

So many quotes, so little time:

The Washington Post compiles some more interesting reflections from McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt.

On the Bush-Cheney drag: "The first night of our convention was President Bush and Vice President Cheney. I literally thought by the second night of our convention we could be down 25 points."

On Katie Couric's interview of Sarah Palin: "That is one of the two most consequential interviews that a candidate for national office has given, in a negative way, the other being Roger Mudd's interview of Ted Kennedy . . . when he couldn't answer the question of why he wanted to be president."

On McCain's acceptance of inevitable defeat: "I was waiting for his bus to crash into a CDC truck carrying bubonic plague to release over Cincinnati and Ohio. It was just one thing after another, you know, and never to our benefit."

On the Republican Party: "It is near-extinct in many ways in the Northeast, it is extinct in many ways on the West Coast, and it is endangered in the Mountain West, increasingly endangered in the Southwest... and if you look at the state of the party, it is a shrinking entity."

Yep. That pretty much sums it up. Thanks, Steve!

Todd Palin "couldn't give a rat's ass about clothes."

By GottaLaff

Isn't Not-So-Hot Toddy Palin the genteelest First Dude ever? That must be why he said that he and Sarah are hardly political neophytes. Because only political neophytes would pop off with coarse little phrases like "couldn't give a rat's ass," and he'd never do that. Especially not in a well-publicized magazine interview.

What's that? ... ... Oh.

My bad:

He'd rather spend his time snowmobiling than politicking, according to a profile of the so-called 'First Dude' in the upcoming issue of Men's Journal.

But in an interview with the magazine conducted a few weeks before the 2009 Tesoro Iron Dog race — in which he ended up finishing in sixth — Palin did manage to offer up a few reflections on his wife's vice presidential bid. [...]

"I'm not going to get wrapped around the axles on a few people's comments — 'She's a diva,' or whatever," Palin said. "There was no name attached to that, so who knows if it's really true. I mean, all the little negative stuff out there that's been exploited? To me? I have nothing but respect for the McCains, because they're a class act."

Yeah, Toddry, it's real classy to smear your opponent as a snobby lightweight who pals around with terrorists, and whose only interest is going on the Tonight Show when he's not over at Paris Hilton's mansion conspiring with Jeremiah Wright and William Ayers, devising ways to turn the U.S. into a communist dictatorship.

Come to think of it, how classy can the McCains be if one of them chose Toddry's wife as his running mate? Case closed.

As for Sarah Palin's detractors in Alaska, Todd said "they get bent out of shape."

"They're so full of anger, you know?," he said. "I mean, why wouldn't anybody be proud of one of their citizens being nominated to the VP? Unless you're just a real hater?"

Oh, Toddry, you don't want to go there. You don't want to start me on who the real hater is, now do you?

The magazine said Palin became slightly defensive when asked about the RNC-financed $150,000 wardrobe provided to his wife during the campaign, a PR fiasco that undermined her image as an "average hockey mom."

"That was out of our control," he said. "She never went to Saks, or any of that stuff. You come into a campaign late, you put all your trust into the team, you got people who are working on VP ops for a long time, and we're just focused on debate prep."

Shooty McMouthOff didn't have to go to Saks. A flunky did that for her... remember?

Palin said he "couldn't give a rat's ass about clothes."

There it is. The quote of the year.

"Please. I mean these are my Sunday go-to-meeting jeans! We're just the opposite of all that, more like, 'Man, you better clean up.' Me, anyway."

You said it, I didn't.

[H]e stressed that he and his wife are hardly political neophytes.

"You got to remember, it’s not like they just plucked us off the fishing boat with scales still under our nails, you know?," he said. "My wife’s been in politics a long time. We’ve been through some tough campaigns.”

You ain't seen nothin' yet.

It's time for our first Crazy-Off of the year! Sanford v. McCain

By GottaLaff

Lately it seems as if the Rushpublican party has lost its collective mind. To commemorate this newsworthy event, TPC has decided to host a competition. Today's the very first one, and boyoboy are we excited! Our first Crazy-Off of the year pits Mark Sanford against John McCain.

Ready contestants? Remember, buzz in when you have something absolutely bonkers to say to the entire world via the news media.

::BUZZ!:: Governor Sanford! You buzzed first! What have you got?

The United States faces a Zimbabwe-style economic collapse if it keeps "spending a bunch of money we don't have," South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford said Wednesday.

Sanford, a Republican [...] said he'll turn down about a quarter of his state's $2.8 billion share [of the stimulus money] unless Washington lets him use that money to pay down debt.

"What you're doing is buying into the notion that if we just print some more money that we don't have and send it to different states, we'll create jobs," he said. "If that's the case, why isn't Zimbabwe a rich place?"

Zimbabwe has been in the throes of an economic meltdown ever since the southern African nation embarked on a chaotic land reform program. Its official inflation rate topped 11 million percent in 2008, with its treasury printing banknotes in the trillion-dollar range to keep up with the plummeting value of its currency.

Wow! That was crazy, Governor! Senator McCain?

At a nomination hearing for David Hayes for deputy secretary of Interior, the former Republican presidential candidate read aloud from an article that Hayes wrote in April 2006 which drew unfavorable comparisons between former President George W. Bush and Reagan.

In the article, Hayes wrote that “the conservative political agenda in the West is grounded in hoary stereotypes about the region and its people” and that “out of this conservative world view emerges the stereotypical Western man (and it is unquestionably a ‘he’)—a rugged, gun-toting individualist who fiercely guards every man’s right to drill, mine, log, or do whatever he damn well pleases on the land” and that “Like Ronald Reagan before him, President Bush has embraced the Western stereotype to the point of adopting some of its affectations—the boots, brush-clearing, and get-the-government-off-our-backs bravado.”

Mr. McCain, Mr. Hayes said he regretted his "overly florid" language. What's that? You're offended? Oh, sorry, you're highly offended. My bad. Buzzing in again, are you?

“So you had to throw Reagan in there?” McCain continued.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” Hayes said.

“I wouldn’t have said something like that about Bruce Babbitt,” McCain continued, referring to the Arizona Democrat who was Interior secretary during the Clinton administration.

“I will be considering seriously whether I can support your nomination or not,” McCain added.

::BUZZ!:: Alright, alright, I heard you the first two times, JSid. You're highly offended, I get it.

::BUZZ!:: Stop that. ::BUZZ! BUZZ!:: Okay, okay! You win!

John Sidney McCain wins TPC's first Crazy-Off, because if anyone is bats*** crazy, he is!

::BUZZ!:: Can it, JSid, or I take back your prize-- a walk-on in Twitter the Movie!

::silence::

I knew that would shut him up.

Reaching out:: Obama to host dinners honoring Powell, Biden and McCain

By GottaLaff

I'm not sure I could be this generous:

President-elect Obama will host a series of dinners the night before his inauguration honoring Ret. Gen. Colin Powell, Vice President-elect Joe Biden, and his former presidential rival, Republican Sen. John McCain, the Presidential Inaugural Committee announced Saturday.

"In these times of great challenge and great change, leadership requires rising above the same old narrow partisanship," the president-elect said in a statement released by the committee.

"Each of these distinguished Americans has spent his life in service to his country, at each and every moment placing the interests of America before issues of political party. That is precisely the spirit of common purpose we need as we begin the work ahead."

Have you ever seen a (soon-to-be) president go so out of his way to be inclusive? Or to put it another way, Obama's the anti-Bush.

Oh, and by the way: Powell is not looking for an administration job.

Obama birth challenge headed to Supreme Court

By GottaLaff

From the Department of Enough Already:

When the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court meet on Dec. 5th, in their regular private conference to decide which cases to hear, two lawsuits that have captivated a segment of the blogosphere will be up for discussion.

Both urge the court to consider claims that President-elect Obama is not qualified to be president, because he is not a natural-born American citizen.

Persistent concerns about the qualifications of both major party candidates rank among the oddest aspects of 2008's historic campaign.

Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution provides that "No person except a natural born citizen" is eligible to be president. John McCain's status was questioned because he was born in the Panama Canal Zone and various theories have been advanced to cast doubt on Obama's.

I thought we'd put this idiocy to rest. Apparently not.

But two challengers have pursued their cases to the Supreme Court.

Pennsylvania lawyer Philip Berg claims that the circumstances of Obama's birth are vague and that he may have been born in Kenya. Obama's mother, Berg asserts, later flew to Hawaii to register the birth. [...]

Obama may have been born in the United States [...] but "natural born" status depends on both parents being American citizens. Obama's father was Kenyan.

The justices are unlikely to take up these cases for a host of reasons, not the least of which is the invitation to overturn the results of an election in which more than 66 million Americans voted for Obama. An equally high hurdle is the issue of whether Berg or Donofrio have the legal right to sue claiming a violation of the Constitution. [...]

Federal courts typically reject claims of legal standing based simply on a litigant's status as a voter or taxpayer.

[O]n Oct. 31st, the director of Hawaii's Department of Health issued a statement, proclaiming that he had personally seen and verified that the state has "Sen. Obama's original birth certificate on record," which shows that he was born there.

We have a Muslim, furr'ner, fist-jabbin', boogey man, alien terrorist about to be sworn in as president. And I'm proud to say I voted for him.

McCain and Obama Camps Coordinated Staff Rosters for Next Government

By GottaLaff

Steve Clemons has a scoop:

A senior Obama campaign official shared with The Washington Note and Huffington Post that in July 2008, the McCain and Obama camps began to work secretly behind the scenes to assemble large rosters of potential personnel for the administration that only one of the candidates would lead.

Lists comprised of Democrats and Republicans were assembled, sorted into areas of policy expertise, so that the roster could be called on after the election by either the Obama or McCain transition teams.

So, either they wanted the appearance of cooperation (or at least a leak indicating as much), or they were actually planning to reach out to the other side, per Clemons. Either way, that was some tightly held info.

I guess as of last summer, Gramm-pa forced himself to look "That One" in the eye at least once, and address him directly. Now that's cooperation.