Perspective on John McCain

Bman wrote:Drudge ... hilarious

RT, those who are better off today than they were 4 or 8 years ago should seriously consider voting for Bush 44 if you agree socially with McCain. By all means, if you want abortion outlawed even in rape and incest, if you want lobbyists running the govt, and have done better these past 8 years than 99% of other Americans then definitely, McCain (Bush 44) is your guy and Sarah is your woman.

From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. -- In his first major speech since accepting the vice presidential nomination in August, Biden said that the McCain he once knew has been replaced by a new McCain, one who should really be called “Bush 44.”

Markwes wrote:Always ready to pounce on a non story aren't you? You left out the part about how he was talking up his vp by explaining how difficult it is to be mayor and be forced to deal with day to day challenges that can be seen firsthand. A U.S. senator on the other hand deals with the abstract. This isn't even news.

LTRT wrote:

From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. -- In his first major speech since accepting the vice presidential nomination in August, Biden said that the McCain he once knew has been replaced by a new McCain, one who should really be called “Bush 44.”

cardinal5150 wrote:

THE economy and YOUR economy are two different things, and that is why McCain is accurate. BO is simply praying on the people who don't understand what that means.

cardinal5150 wrote:

Fascinating.. just a couple months ago McCain was a dear friend who Biden would be honored to run with or against, and now he's Bush 44. Well.. that certainly didn't take very long.. what a joke.

And for the record.. the economy IS fundamentally strong.. the only thing stopping a rally right now is the banking systems that are starting to flush out all the crap. AIG and Lehman will be resolved by the end of the week, either bankruptcy completely or something else, and then we'll start rebuilding the market.

THE economy and YOUR economy are two different things, and that is why McCain is accurate. BO is simply praying on the people who don't understand what that means.

This banking/finance bubble pop is being called the worst crisis to hit the market since 1929, and has many people panicking, and yet it's fundamentally strong? What exactly does 'fundamentally' strong actually mean? I suppose that's relative to where one's perspective of the market? Then I'm not surprised a multi-millionaire married to a billionaire would not feel concern over the "fundamentals".

The non-housing economy, which is roughly 95% of total U.S. economic activity, has been remarkably stable. In fact, non-housing real GDP growth has accelerated, growing 3.2% at an annual rate in the past three years, versus a 2.7% annualized growth rate in the three years since March 2005.

The key thing to remember here is that the emphasis belongs on the word financial. The economy is not the problem; lousy lending standards and the excessive use of leverage are the problem. Gales of punitive destruction are knocking down one investment bank after another, while gales of creative destruction continue to move the economy forward. In fact, real gross domestic product (GDP) has grown 2.2% in the past year and accelerated to a 3.3% growth rate in the second quarter.

In this decade, by cutting interest rates to 1%, the Fed caused investment banks to overuse leverage-based strategies. Borrowing short and lending long turned so lucrative that many financial market players could not help themselves. Wall Street based its business model on leveraging up the most leveraged asset on Main Street--housing.

When the Fed pushes interest rates below their "natural" level, mal-investment always occurs. And in the current case, the mal-investment was a double whammy. Not only did Main Street gorge on real estate, but Wall Street ate it up too. This double set of leverage has blown up because the housing market became overbuilt and housing prices stopped rising.

LTRT wrote:

Jewish voters complain of anti-Obama poll

Jewish voters are complaining of a poll that, after confirming their religion, asks a series of questions that appear aimed at alarming Jewish voters, including linking Barack Obama to Palestinian terrorist groups.

Debbie Minden of Pittsburgh described receiving the call from "Research Strategies" late yesterday afternoon. And a Key West woman, Joelna Marcus, reportedly received a similar-sounding call from the same group, according reports from the Obama-backing organization JewsVote.org and from a liberal blog.

Minden, a psychologist who lives in the Jewish neighborhood of Squirrel Hill, said the poll -- which came from an identified number -- began with relatively inocuous questions about what organizations she belongs to, whether she prefers CNN or Fox News, and how Obama and McCain compare on a range of issues, from national security to hte economy to education.

The caller also asked whether she was Jewish.

"It sounded like a real poll," Minden, 56, asaid.

Then the caller asked, as she recalled: "Would it change your mind about Obama if you knew that his church was anti-Israel? Would it change you rmind if you knew that the leaders Hamas had endorsed Obama? Would it change your mind if you knew he had met with the leaders of Hamas?"

She also said one question asked whether it would change her mind if she learned he were a Muslim, though she didn't recall the precise wording.

The poll lasted about 15 minutes, she said.

Marcus gave a similar account to JewsVote's Mik Moore, who wrote in an email that Marcus was asked if her opinion of Barack Obama would change if she knew that he had given money to the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

Marcus couldn't immediately be reached. If you've gotten a similar poll, or know someone who has, please get in touch.

UPDATE: Jewish readers in New Jersey and Philadelphia report getting the call, as did The New Republic's Michigan-based Jonathan Cohn, who took notes, and lists the negative messages:

Obama has had a decade long relationship with pro-Palestinian leaders in Chicago

the leader of Hamas, Ahmed Yousef, expressed support for Obama and his hope for Obama's victory

the church Barack Obama has attended is known for its anti-Israel and anti-American remarks

Jimmy Carter's anti-Israel national security advisor is one of Barack Obama's foreign policy advisors

Barack Obama was the member of a board (sic) that funded a pro-Palestinian chartiable organization

Barack Obama called for holding a summit of Muslim nations exlcuding Israel if elected president

floridafun wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDceTz3UAgI

moondrop wrote:research and find the FACTS, very little that is said is true by the politicians. GMA did a fact finding segment this morning. Made both out to be liars. Educate yourself and then make your decisions. The lesser of 2 evils.

Markwes wrote:Riveting stuff here.

meta4 wrote:

floridafun wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDceTz3UAgI

FF, not sure what this was supposed to be, but it looks like a picture slideshow set to music.

I think I just wasted a few minutes watching it.