Quote of the Day

Very bizarre feeling to be on the winning side, still seems unreal.

"The Republican Party right now is like a midsize college team trying to play in the Superbowl."

-- Newt Gingrich, in an interview with Roger Simon.

Lawmaker switches party to spite Obama

By Paddy

Dick Singleton and Joe Lieberman swap McCain hero worship tips.
That's all this is- some self involved pol thinks people are going to be all "oooh, the DEMOCRAT is endorsing McCain". The wingnuts might give this a few pixels on Hot Air or Townhall (they still think Lieberman is a Dem), but the rest of the world just shakes it's head at this guys stupidity.

CUMBERLAND, R.I.—Rep. Richard Singleton has gone from Republican to independent to, now, Democrat.

The lawmaker switched his party affiliation to Democrat at Cumberland Town Hall last week so that he can lead a "Democrats for McCain" group in Rhode Island.

Singleton, who is not running for re-election, says he thinks there are a lot of Democrats in the state who support Republican Sen. John McCain's presidential bid. He says there are about a dozen other legislators who are part of his pro-McCain group, but he wouldn't identify them.

G.O.P. candidate for Congress dies

By GottaLaff

This just isn't the Republicans' year(s):

Francis H. Powers, a retired Wall Street executive who was recently selected by Republican leaders in Staten Island as their candidate for the Congressional seat being vacated by Representative Vito J. Fossella, died on Saturday at his home in Staten Island.

Mr. Powers, who was 67, died in his sleep of natural causes, family members said. His death came less than a month after he became the Republican candidate after other potential candidates decided not to run. [...]

[H]is fund-raising work played a major role in party leaders’ selecting him to run for Mr. Fossella’s seat.[...] Mr. Powers made it clear to party leaders that he would spend a significant amount of his own money in the race, his first bid for office.

It gets worse:

Mr. Powers’ death leaves Republicans in the Congressional district, which also includes part of Brooklyn, with a new set of political challenges. The decision to endorse Mr. Powers came after a long and dispiriting process for party leaders, who had initially hoped to get one of the island’s Republican elected officials to run for the seat. [...]

The Republicans consider the seat crucial, particularly since it has been in Republican hands for nearly three decades. The race is already receiving attention far beyond the district because it provides Democrats an opening to increase their majority in Congress. Party leaders believe they have the best chance in years to capture the seat.

McCain and Obama tied in Georgia

By Paddy


Amazing. Bob Barr rulez!!!

June 19, 2008 — A New InsiderAdvantage / PollPosition survey conducted June 18 of registered likely voters in the November presidential contest shows Sen. John McCain leading Sen. Barack Obama by a single point in Georgia, making the race in Georgia a statistical tie. Libertarian Bob Barr, a former Republican Congressman from Georgia, received 6 percent of the vote. The telephone survey of 408 registered likely voters is weighted for age, race, gender, and political affiliation. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 5%. It was conducted with InsiderAdvantage’s research partner Majority Opinion Research. PollPosition is InsiderAdvantage’s new branding name (look for additional information and expansion of PollPosition in the coming months).

The Results:

McCain: 44%

Obama: 43%

Barr: 6%

Undecided: 7%

Check here for crosstabs.

Hollywood Moment

By Paddy

I grew up with the "Hollywood". Now check out this vid- Kerry has too much makeup on and Graham.... holy crap. Back in the day it would have been said, "He put a pound of cheesecloth on and got nothing for it". Wow. (i.e. They put a gauze cloth over the lens to diminish Graham's er.... blemishes.) Oh, and he's an idiot.

Gallup Daily: Obama 46%, McCain 44%

By Paddy


If you want to suck into the traditional media meme... why is the "known quantity" doing so poorly against the "blank slate"? Hmmmm. (once again, the graph won't load- click on the link to see it)

PRINCETON, NJ -- Voter preferences in the presidential election remain closely split between Barack Obama, now favored by 46% of national registered voters, and John McCain, favored by 44%.

Today's results, based on Gallup Poll Daily tracking from June 3-7, represent the most positive position Obama has been in versus McCain since mid-May, when he led the presumptive Republican nominee by three percentage points. Since then, Obama either has tied or slightly trailed McCain, or at best been one percentage point ahead (although not a statistically significant lead). (To view the complete trend since March 7, 2008, click here.)

Worst. Speech. Ever.

By Paddy

Via Jed Report (ps- Don't worry, it's only a mashup, not the whole thing. I wouldn't do that to you.)

MORT KONDRACKE: Well, John McCain had better start working on his speechmaking and learn how to use a teleprompter. I mean, the gap, the rhetorical gap between this speech and…Oratorical gap between this speech and John McCain’s was vast. John McCain sounded old. This sounded fresh and new and exciting and visionary. And he was enlisting the country to join him in a great cause. This is our moment, all of that.

Doctor: Obama in ‘excellent health’

By Paddy


What struck me on this was the "one page statement" vs "1173 pages" of John McCain's medical records. (Btw, no excess body fat? Wow.)

Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) released a statement from his doctor on Thursday stating that the Democratic presidential front-runner has been “in excellent health” over the last 20 years.

The letter from Dr. David L. Scheiner says Obama had his last checkup in January of 2007. Its release comes less than a week after Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) gave reporters a chance to sift through his medical records.

(snip)

Scheiner noted that Obama, 46, has been an “intermittent” cigarette smoker who has failed in previous attempts to quit. He said Obama is currently having success in that regard by using Nicorette nicotine gum.

Obama pledged to quit smoking when he began his campaign for president.

“His build was lean and muscular with no excess body fat,” Scheiner wrote. “His physical examination was completely normal.

“In short, his examination showed him to be in excellent health. Sen. Barack Obama is in overall good physical and mental health needed to maintain the resiliency required in the Office of President.”

Scheiner, who said he has been Obama’s doctor for 21 years, also detailed various test scores for Obama, including his blood pressure, and determined all of them were either normal or very good.

Ex-White House spokesman says he had hoped Bush would change D.C.

by Paddy



Wow, not sure if Scotty was naive or stupid.

Obama Wins 'Rock The Vote' TouchTone Survey

By Paddy


Good lord, the Democrat is the one "you'd most like to have a beer with"? Will wonders never cease. But will these bar hoppers be sober enough to vote on November 6th? Go read the whole thing, it's interesting.

Among other constituencies, Barack Obama appears to have won over the nation's bar crowd--the majority of which said they'd rather toast a win with Obama as opposed to Hillary Clinton or John McCain, according to the latest Rock the Vote survey.

The interactive survey, which ran on TouchTunes jukeboxes in bars nationwide from April 28 through May 11, asked bar patrons about the presidential candidate and current social issues. It also allowed people to enter their email address to receive a voter registration form from Rock the Vote, which resulted in nearly 10,000 registrations.

(snip)

In response to the question, "Which candidate would you most like to have a beer with?", a full 29% chose Obama, while 22% picked Clinton and 20% named John McCain.

Midwesterners voted Obama as their guy to imbibe with--31.2%--while Clinton was most likely to be offered a barstool in the Southwest--24%. McCain, meanwhile, was the top choice in the Southeast--23%.

(snip)

The survey also found that across bars with different musical settings, patrons most want to "rock" with the Democratic Party.

Friday Links

Alot of rumblings about John McCain this morning, none of it sounding very good.

Bush asks Saudis to increase oil production

Iraqi refugee finds life in U.S. harder than foreseen

USA Today: In Final Contests, It's All About Momentum If leading pledged delegate counts and the seating of Michigan and Florida delegates are the determining events for the nomination, what are the last few contests for? Bragging rights, momentum and symbolism.

Bin Laden: Palestinian cause fuels war

Ex-Army Corps consultant indicted in Katrina bribery case

NY Times: In South, Black Turnout May Challenge the G.O.P. The sharp surge in black turnout that Senator Barack Obama has helped to generate in recent primaries and Congressional races could signal a threat this fall to the longtime Republican dominance of the South, according to politicians and voting experts.

18 'Awesome' Imaginary Worlds

Vitamin D deficiency linked to breast cancer in new study

AP: GOP Abandons Bush on Food, Energy Issues WASHINGTON — President Bush's calls for fiscal responsibility received scant notice this week on Capitol Hill. Fellow Republicans had something bigger on their minds — high prices for groceries and gasoline in an election year that is looking increasingly bleak for their party.