Is Sen. John McCain a warmonger?…..his Republican colleagues seem to think so. View the video below.

Pat Buchanan Says McCain “Will Make Cheney Look Like GhandiExec Fired for Not Donating to Mitt Romney

John McCain says he needs more sleep

McCain Blogger Lies, Says Obama Received More Big Oil Money

Who’d give more to the middle class? Obama . . . Not McCain

McCain’s Newest “Celebrity” Attack Ad Proven False . . . AGAIN

Blogola: John McCain Bribing People to Comment on Blogs

McCain, Campaign Mgr Involved in Deal Costing 8000 Ohio Jobs

CIA Forged Iraq Intelligence

Do you know who you’re voting for?

Well, we did not report on this story here because it was originally sourced by the National Enquirer.  Now it has been confirmed by the former Senator of South Carolina himself.  There may even be some legal issues with respect to use of campaign funds.  What a continuued difficult time for Elizabeth Edwards and the Edwards family.  So sad.  This does beg the question of why he would run for president knowing this was in his background?  See story below.

John Edwards repeatedly lied during his Presidential campaign about an extramarital affair with a novice filmmaker, the former Senator admitted to ABC News today.

In an interview for broadcast tonight on Nightline, Edwards told ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff he did have an affair with 44-year old Rielle Hunter, but said that he did not love her.

Edwards also denied he was the father of Hunter’s baby girl, Frances Quinn, although the one-time Democratic Presidential candidate said he has not taken a paternity test.

Edwards said he knew he was not the father based on timing of the baby’s birth on February 27, 2008. He said his affair ended too soon for him to have been the father.

A former campaign aide, Andrew Young, has said he was the father of the child.  Read remainder of story

Edwards releases statement:

“In 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs. I recognized my mistake and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness. Although I was honest in every painful detail with my family, I did not tell the public. When a supermarket tabloid told a version of the story, I used the fact that the story contained many falsities to deny it. But being 99% honest is no longer enough.

“I was and am ashamed of my conduct and choices, and I had hoped that it would never become public. With my family, I took responsibility for my actions in 2006 and today I take full responsibility publicly. But that misconduct took place for a short period in 2006. It ended then. I am and have been willing to take any test necessary to establish the fact that I am not the father of any baby, and I am truly hopeful that a test will be done so this fact can be definitively established. I only know that the apparent father has said publicly that he is the father of the baby. I also have not been engaged in any activity of any description that requested, agreed to or supported payments of any kind to the woman or to the apparent father of the baby.

“It is inadequate to say to the people who believed in me that I am sorry, as it is inadequate to say to the people who love me that I am sorry. In the course of several campaigns, I started to believe that I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic. If you want to beat me up - feel free. You cannot beat me up more than I have already beaten up myself. I have been stripped bare and will now work with everything I have to help my family and others who need my help.

“I have given a complete interview on this matter and having done so, will have nothing more to say.”

The Obama and Clinton campaigns released a joint statement announcing that the former president, Bill Clinton, will be speaking on Wednesday night at the Democratic convention in Denver.  President Clinton will speak before the vice presidential pick on Wednesday.  The role of the former president would play at the convention has been a subject of speculation for a few weeks and in the last week its reached a fever pitch.  Up until yesterday, the Democratic party was deciding whether John Edwards would speak at all in light of some tabloid stories alleging a scandal involving infidelity.  As a matter of fact, the Party is reported to have told the former North Carolina senator that he would need to clear up the scandal before he would be invited to speak.  Now it appears that Bill Clinton has been given that open spot and Edwards is out.

Though Sen. Clinton has been given a prime time speaking role at the Democratic Convention, she still does not seem to be satisfied.  The senator from New York may seek to put her name in nomination/roll call vote.  This is regardless of the fact that such an act will result in more division within the democratic party.  Instead of unifying the party at the democratic convention, this will result in division by stirring up old wounds from the primaries.  Why??  And again, Clinton and her former supporters are being recognized on the second night of the Democratic Convention where she has a prime-time speaking role.  Placing Clinton’s name in the nomination will result in a floor fight on the Convention floor.  Why is this necessary??  Even though the Republican party would take great delight in the democrats fighting amongst themselves, this would be a disastrous for the democratic party.  The fact that Clinton would even put this out there as an option make me question her motives.  Is she interested in recognition of her supporters or is there a more sinister motive at play?  At what cost should the democratic party do such a thing.  Is it worth……increasing the risk of division within the party thereby subjecting Obama to at least a month of valuable campaign time after the Convention to re-unite the party?  Is it worth……increasing a possibility of lost in November?  Sen. Clinton says that placing her name in nomination will increase the likelihood of unity after the Convention because her delegates will be recognized.  First, that is already happening on Tuesday.  Second, look at the polls Sen. Clinton, all the groups that you say need to be united are already united behind Obama.  What is the point of creating unnecessary division where none exist?  This is needless drama and for what?  Pundits continually put the onus on Obama to use his diplomatic skills to bring in the Clintons.  How about putting the onus on the Clintons to grow up and accept the fact that they lost fair and square and start putting the Democratic party first?

See Clinton’s full quote below.

“Because I know from just what I’m hearing, that there’s incredible pent-up desire. And I think that people want to feel like, ‘OK, it’s a catharsis, we’re here, we did it, and then everybody get behind Sen. Obama.’ That is what most people believe is the best way to go,” she said.

“No decisions have been made. And so we are trying to work all this through with the DNC and with the Obama campaign.”

It’s OOOOOOOOVVVVVEEERRR.  Please let it go! 

Last week, we reported that CBS distorted Sen. McCain’s answer in an interview that aired a couple of weeks ago.  Well, it appears that the third place network is still at it.   Many of the news outlets have been reporting on former President Bill Clinton’s lukewarm response to a reporter’s question about whether Sen. Obama “is ready to be president.”  It has been discovered by Media Matters that CBS edited out a significant portion of Clinton’s answer so that it gave a different impression than that of the unedited tape.  This is the entire exchange unedited:

SNOW: Is he ready to be president?

CLINTON: Well, in the — you could argue that no one is ever ready to be president.  I mean, I certainly learned a lot about the job in my first year. He’s shown a keen strategic sense and his ability to run an effective campaign. He clearly can inspire people and motivate people and energize them, which is a very important part of being president, and he’s smart as a whip so there’s nothing he can’t learn.

This is what ABC reported:

begin video clip]

SNOW: Is he ready to be president?

BILL CLINTON: Well, in the — you could argue that no one’s ever ready to be president.

[end video clip]

One wonders what else was left out of that interview?

We implore voters to quiet all the distracting noise and start listening to what the candidate will do to improve your life.  You have a candidate paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to put out ads for his self-described own “amusement.”  Meanwhile, the American people are hurting.  We have soaring gas prices, a sinking economy, Americans losing jobs and being foreclosed on in their homes, yet one $110 million dollar candidate decides that the best way to deal with these issues is to put out ads featuring Britney Spears and Paris Hilton for his own amusement.   Way to empathize with the plight of struggling American families.   Rather than stand in the shoes of the average working man, McCain prefers to stand in his $600 a pair Ferragamo loafers thank you very much! 

In one of McCain’s latest ads where he features Charlton Heston playing Moses. many interpret the ad as trivializing a prominent biblical figure.  Many of us consider Moses a sacrosanct figure not to be used in vain.  One wonders what hard-working Catholic and Jewish Americans think of this latest ad featuring the biblical figure.  It is a blasphemous demonstration that many find offensive. 

We are very happy that the McCain campaign is getting their jollies at the expense of struggling families in Ohio, Georgia, Mississippi, Arizona, Colorado, and the list goes on.  I guess that it what is to be expected of a candidate whose wife professes that the only way to get around Arizona is by small private plane.  Anybody who would pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a giggle does not strike this writer as having the judgment to be the lead us out of a flailing economy.  Such giggle extravagances are reserved as luxuries for the mega rich. To be this frivolous with money donated to a campaign by hard-working citizens, who in many cases can only donate a couple of dollars, is beyond reproach.  Is this the type of fiscal responsibility that Americans can expect from a McCain administration?  Is this how a McCain administration will get us out of our three trillion dollar debt? In this writer’s opinion, this demonstrates how the $110 million dollar candidate is completely out of touch with the day-to-day struggles of the average American.  It also demonstrates the culture of the McCain campaign advisers.  Remember when McCain’s former Senior advisor referred to Americans as “whiners” because we acknowledge that we are struggling harder than ever before and we may be in a recession. 

The campaigns released the presidential and vice presidential debates schedule today and guess which network was noticeably absent….sucks for you ABC.  PBS will host the vice presidential and a single presidential debate.  NBC and CBS will moderate the last two presidential debates.

ABC’s absence may be a result of its democratic primary debate hosting gig that many perceived as a “gotcha” style debate  sans substantive issues.  That ABC primary debate was hosted by Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos.

Schedule:

Presidential Debates

Jim Lehrer, Sept. 26, at the University of Mississippi @9pm EST  (foreign policy debate)
Tom Brokaw, Oct. 7, in Nashville at Belmont University @9pm EST   (townhall meeting, questions from the audience)
Bob Schieffer, Oct. 15, at Hofstra University @9pm EST  (domestic policy debate)

Vice Presidential Debate
Gwen Ifill, Oct. 2, at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri @9pm  (domestic and foreign policy)

Don’t ask us how we know but ProgressPolitics has a strong suspicion that Sen. Obama will be announcing his Veep selection on Wednesday.  There are quite a few coinkydinks occuring that gives this site pause.   Now lets get to the who, drumroll please………..and the winner of the Veepstakes is……………..Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana.  There are too many coincidences with respect to this particular senator which we will not go into now.  But he is a great choice given his status as a non Washington insider and his close association with the now dismantled Clinton campaign.  This is merely a suspicion, but it’s based on facts that will be revealed if the announcement takes place tomorrow.  We could be completely off track but we may not be. If we are right….nice choice.

Update:  We may have been incorrect about the announcement date but stand by the veep choice.  Looks like the decison will not be announced until after Sen: Obama returns from vacation.

It looks as if the respectability and credibility of the Associated Press may be lost under its new leadership.  An example of its new bias is its headline last weekend announcing the newly scheduled presidential debates. This weekend the Obama campaign agreed to three debates and one vice presidential debate.  However, according to the Associated Press, Sen. Obama backed down from Sen. McCain’s debate challenge.  This is the exact AP headline:

“Obama Backs Away from McCain Debate Challenge”

The spin regarding the Obama-McCain debates is an egregious example of what we can now expect from the AP.  As a bit of background, in 2007, the Associated Press’ new Washington Bureau Chief, Ron Fournier, was asked by the McCain campaign to sign on as a senior campaign advisor. Yes folks, he was offered a job in the McCain campaign.  Many have noted that the the new Chief is in the tank for McCain.  If there was any doubt before, the above headline removes it.  Fournier has also been in communication with McCain unofficial advisor Karl Rove.  As a matter of fact, during the Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch expose, Fournier sent an email correspondence to Karl Rove telling him to “keep up the fight.”

This information is provided in an effort to disclose to voters that everyone has their own agenda even if they have previously appeared to balanced.  Because many people go to the Associated Press expecting unfiltered news,  it is important to know that it has changed and there is a new Chief in town.  Further, in the interest of full disclosure, Rupert Murdoch, owner of “fair and balanced” Fox News, is on the board of the Associated Press.

It is unfortunate that such a respectable institution has slid to the right, but also more of a reason to always consider the source whenever you read or hear anything from any source. 

Sen.  John McCain sent a message to Sen. Barack Obama to call Congress back to work to vote on a GOP energy proposal.  McCain:  “Congress get back to work.”  This is bloody rich coming from McCain given that he himself has not been to work  since April 2008.  So before McCain starts chastising Congress, perhaps he should take his own advice. 

Remarks of Senator Barack Obama

(as prepared for delivery)

New Energy for America

Michigan State University

Monday, August 4th, 2008

Lansing, Michigan

We meet at a moment when this country is facing a set of challenges greater than any we’ve seen in generations.  Right now, our brave men and women in uniform are fighting two different wars while terrorists plot their next attack.  Our changing climate is placing our planet in peril.  Our economy is in turmoil and our families are struggling with rising costs and falling incomes; with lost jobs and lost homes and lost faith in the American Dream.  And for too long, our leaders in Washington have been unwilling or unable to do anything about it.

That is why this election could be the most important of our lifetime.  When it comes to our economy, our security, and the very future of our planet, the choices we make in November and over the next few years will shape the next decade, if not the century.  And central to all of these major challenges is the question of what we will do about our addiction to foreign oil.  

Without a doubt, this addiction is one of the most dangerous and urgent threats this nation has ever faced - from the gas prices that are wiping out your paychecks and straining businesses to the jobs that are disappearing from this state; from the instability and terror bred in the Middle East to the rising oceans and record drought and spreading famine that could engulf our planet.

It’s also a threat that goes to the very heart of who we are as a nation, and who we will be.  Will we be the generation that leaves our children a planet in decline, or a world that is clean, and safe, and thriving?  Will we allow ourselves to be held hostage to the whims of tyrants and dictators who control the world’s oil wells?  Or will we control our own energy and our own destiny?  Will America watch as the clean energy jobs and industries of the future flourish in countries like Spain, Japan, or Germany?  Or will we create them here, in the greatest country on Earth, with the most talented, productive workers in the world?

As Americans, we know the answers to these questions.  We know that we cannot sustain a future powered by a fuel that is rapidly disappearing.  Not when we purchase $700 million worth of oil every single day from some the world’s most unstable and hostile nations - Middle Eastern regimes that will control nearly all of the world’s oil by 2030.  Not when the rapid growth of countries like China and India mean that we’re consuming more of this dwindling resource faster than we ever imagined.  We know that we can’t sustain this kind of future.

But we also know that we’ve been talking about this issue for decades.  We’ve heard promises about energy independence from every single President since Richard Nixon.  We’ve heard talk about curbing the use of fossil fuels in State of the Union addresses since the oil embargo of 1973.

Back then, we imported about a third of our oil.  Now, we import more than half.  Back then, global warming was the theory of a few scientists.  Now, it is a fact that is melting our glaciers and setting off dangerous weather patterns as we speak.  Then, the technology and innovation to create new sources of clean, affordable, renewable energy was a generation away.  Today, you can find it in the research labs of this university and in the design centers of this state’s legendary auto industry.  It’s in the chemistry labs that are laying the building blocks for cheaper, more efficient solar panels, and it’s in the re-born factories that are churning out more wind turbines every day all across this country.  

Despite all this, here we are, in another election, still talking about our oil addiction; still more dependent than ever.  Why?

You won’t hear me say this too often, but I couldn’t agree more with the explanation that Senator McCain offered a few weeks ago.  He said, “Our dangerous dependence on foreign oil has been thirty years in the making, and was caused by the failure of politicians in Washington to think long-term about the future of the country.”

What Senator McCain neglected to mention was that during those thirty years, he was in Washington for twenty-six of them.  And in all that time, he did little to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.  He voted against increased fuel efficiency standards and opposed legislation that included tax credits for more efficient cars.  He voted against renewable sources of energy.  Against clean biofuels.  Against solar power.  Against wind power.  Against an energy bill that - while far from perfect - represented the largest investment in renewable sources of energy in the history of this country.  So when Senator McCain talks about the failure of politicians in Washington to do anything about our energy crisis, it’s important to remember that he’s been a part of that failure.  Now, after years of inaction, and in the face of public frustration over rising gas prices, the only energy proposal he’s really promoting is more offshore drilling - a position he recently adopted that has become the centerpiece of his plan, and one that will not make a real dent in current gas prices or meet the long-term challenge of energy independence. Read the rest of this entry »

Sen. John McCain accused the Obama campaign of playing the race card.  McCain alleged shock last week at the Obama campaign for accusing him of using nefarious tactics in its effort to portray Obama as a “risky” candidate.  The Arizona senator went so far as to say that he” has fought for equal rights his entire life.”  Well, a reporter called him on his claim by asking him to elaborate on what specifically he has done that focused on the improvement of the lives of African-Americans?  Deer in headlights folks.  See below

David Gergen broke down the code for “uppity” to his colleagues on This Week. The analyst also discusses the obvious racial undertones of the McCain campaign.

Today, Sen. Barack Obama offered a real life solution to Americans in response to the sky-rocketing gas prices.  Yesterday, Exxon Mobil posted record profits.  The oil company actually made history when it reported the highest profits earned by a corporation……EVER!!!!   $12 BILLION to be exact!!!  That is obscene considering the state of our economy and the prices consumers are paying at the pump.  Therefore, instead of waiting twenty years to receive a benefit  from off-shore drilling which Obama now supports in a limited way, Sen. Obama also proposes giving the American people a $1,000 emergency energy rebate check, and we pay for it………..with a windfall profit tax to be applied to the oil companies.  Impressive.  The fact that he has a real people solution, and a way to pay for it will go a long way towards putting gas money back in the pockets of consumers.  To be clear, it is in the spirit of compromise that Obama supports a limited amount of off-shore drilling. if the republicans will also comprimise and approve his oil company windfall profit tax proposal that will give Americans real, immediate, relief.   No gimmick, but a practical, plausible, immediate solution that offers real-time relief from the high price of gas and has the added benefit of being fiscally responsible.  Judgment and Leadership.  

DISTRACTION ALERT:  The McCain campaign is up in arms about a comment made by Sen. Barack Obama yesterday regarding the “scare” campaign tactics of the other side. The exact quote from Sen. Obama: 

Nobody thinks that Bush and McCain have a real answer to the challenges we face. So what they’re going to try to do is make you scared of me,” Obama said. “You know, ‘he’s not patriotic enough, he’s got a funny name,’ you know, ‘he doesn’t look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills.” 

This is completely ridiculous! Obama was preempting what is to come. Something McCain is very aware of since he has done the same thing many times over with respect to his age.  How many times have John McCain referred to the fact that he is “old” in an attempt to take it off the table.  The gander certainly cannot accuse the goose for something that it has been doing in the hen house for months prior.  How many times has John McCain alluded to Obama’s alleged “inexperience” or “arrogance” for doing things that he himself has done except that Obama is perceived as having done them better.  The trip to the Middle East for example.  McCain made the exact same trip but perceived not to have been as successful.  What Obama completed brilliantly yesterday was a preemptive strike against the “race card.”  No one can deny, not even the main stream pundits, that there has been several right-wing pundits, whisper campaigns, talk radio shock jocks, right-wing bloggers,  527 groups etc., who have used race left, right, sideways, and center in ”their” attempt to punt the Illinois senator.  So with this knowledge, why is the McCain campaign so up in arms about Obama comment?  With all the right-wing lunatic fringe groups focusing at every opportunity on the fact that Obama is different because he is black, how else do you combat such distracting noise but mention the fact that you have been very upfront about the fact that Obama is different because he is black. So it’s dumbfounding how the campaign can conclude that Obama is playing the race card.  It seems that the double standard in the McCain campaign is in full force. This is a stretch beyond elasticity and the main stream media is jumping all over it.  Remember folks, CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, all have a very big horse in this race….RATINGS.  The greater the perception of a horse race, the more advertising dollars.  And by the way, Obama has made the same comment many times prior to yesterday. This is an extreme and disproportionate reaction from the McCain campaign.  It’s called the politics of destraction and deflection….deflect from the positive press from Obama’s overseas trip and distract from the weaknesses of McCain, economy, gas prices, EXXON Mobil record profits (11.68 billion), mortgage crisis, etc.  Karl Rove tactics on full blast.