Senator McCain is giving a Straight Talk speech today in Cali, where he is likely to say someting like the following:

"The net result is the crisis we face," McCain will tell the group. "What started as a problem in subprime loans has now convulsed the entire financial system."

And this is news to him? It's not to the rest of us.

Contrast this with the following statement he made on Monday:

"We're succeeding. I don't care what anybody says. I've seen the facts on the ground"

Wow. Anybody else a little scared? I mean first he tell us that we're doing fine in Iraq in spite of the rising body count and then he tells us we're in a "crisis" (I think the word he's searching for is recession). Boy this man has his finger on the pulse of... some alien somwhere.

Dick Cavett has some advice for Clinton and McCain (Obama already has it down, apparently).

I tried to reach the Clinton campaign to suggest that she could get a big, heartwarming laugh if she came onstage wearing a flak jacket.

I’m not sure the sight gag would have guaranteed her the nomination, but a laugh never hurts and is worth a thousand straight lines. And it’s certainly funnier than the leaden, anti-Obama Xerox line someone saddled her with a while back. If that gag came from a staff member, he or she should have been busted to the rank of gofer. Or gofeuse, I suppose.

If I were running a campaign, I’d urge taking the mountain of money reportedly squandered on pizza, coffee and bagels and spending it more wisely — on a talented young comedy writer. Remember Twain’s “Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand”? All candidates should post this on their shaving mirrors. Or make-up mirrors. (This clumsy gender thing has to stop.)

It’s a pleasure to watch Obama’s mastery of the technique. And Clinton — and I didn’t say “even Clinton” — uses it much better than McCain does. And just about everybody does it better than the capering loon who does soft-shoe in the White House while young Americans are dismembered and splattered in Iraq. Sometimes when he speaks I can forget who he is momentarily and find myself actually pulling for him; probably from misplaced performer empathy. His speechifying has a strong odor of remedial reading about it, combined with an apparent fear that there might be some hard words ahead.

If I were McCain’s adviser I would shock everyone by having him come out carrying his script, and saying — not “ladies and gentlemen,” as we just learned, but launch right into, “You know, I don’t use these teleprompters very well. I guess I’m just not one of those people who can fool you into thinking I’m making it up as I go along . . . which these things are supposed to do. I don’t even fool myself. I cringe when I watch myself trying to bring off that ‘electronic deception,’ you might call it . . . Anyway, here’s my speech [shows it] and I’m going to read the damn thing to you. Surely I can’t make even that look phony. [slight pause] Can I?” [laughter]

Despite its positive tone (Honestly, who could disagree with it?), I can't get past the glaring typo...

Oops.

I've been waiting for the shoe to drop for this mf'er since everyone started panning Obama for his pastor (we even posted about it once). The idea that Jeremiah Wright is the only religious radical* associated with a presidential candidate is ridiculous. Since before his anointment as the lunatic fringe's presumptive nominee, John McCain has aligned himself with some of the most extreme and radical cultists in the business.

How radical? Here are a few of just Hagee's direct quotes.

• “Most readers will be shocked by the clear record of history linking Adolf Hitler and the Roman Catholic Church in a conspiracy to exterminate the Jews.” - Jerusalem Countdown (revised edition, 2007, p. 114)
• "All hurricanes are acts of God because God controls the heavens. I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God and they were recipients of the judgment of God for that." - NPR, September 18, 2006
• "It was the disobedience and rebellion of the Jews, God's chosen people, to their covenantal responsibility to serve only the one true God, Jehovah, that gave rise to the opposition and persecution that they experienced beginning in Canaan and continuing to this very day... Their own rebellion had birthed the seed of antisemitism that would arise and bring destruction to them for centuries to come.... it rises from the judgment of God upon his rebellious chosen people." - Jerusalem Countdown, pp. 92-93

Finally this, from the NYT:

The McCain campaign sought Mr. Hagee’s support, Mr. Hagee said in a recent interview. But after the two announced the endorsement at an event on Feb. 27 in San Antonio, Mr. Hagee’s hometown, the campaign has stopped talking about it.

A spokeswoman answers questions by referring to a statement Mr. McCain made the day after the endorsement, when it was greeted with a barrage of criticism: “In no way did I intend for his endorsement to suggest that I in turn agree with all of Pastor Hagee’s views, which I obviously do not.”
...
Mr. McCain began seeking Mr. Hagee’s endorsement more than a year ago, trying to bolster the campaign’s support among evangelical voters.
...
Mr. McCain, who does not talk about religion publicly, has a rocky history with conservative Christians. Eight years ago, he called the Rev. Jerry Falwell and the Rev. Pat Robertson “agents of intolerance.”

But as he prepared to run for president again, Mr. McCain was the graduation speaker at Mr. Falwell’s Liberty University in 2006, met with Mr. Hagee in Texas and spoke at his Night for Israel in Washington in 2007.

As recently as last week, however, James C. Dobson of Focus on the Family criticized Mr. McCain in an opinion article in The Wall Street Journal for his unwillingness to support a federal amendment against same-sex marriage and to oppose federal financing for stem cell research.

You see? Hypocrisy at its purest. He tries to distance himself from them, but in the same breath, he begs for their endorsement so he can pander to the evangelical right.

* From all evidence, Jeremiah Wright is not even close to as radical as Hagee, Parsley or Robertson. All of whom have endorsed McCain for President. Falwell would have, but he's too busy enjoying a little campfire in Hell right now.

From the Plank:

John McCain's interview this morning on ABC's This Week was an all-around joke. Much of the show consisted of McCain getting angry or peeved, presumably because the questions he was forced to "answer" revealed his lack of even the barest domestic policy expertise. This exchange, however, was particularly egregious:

STEPHANOPOULOS: What’s wrong with government — what’s wrong
with government-run health care?

MCCAIN: And we continue to have these debates — what’s wrong
with it? Go to Canada. Go to England and you can find out what’s
wrong with it. Governments don’t make the right decisions. Families
make the right decisions.

STEPHANOPOULOS: One of the points Mrs. Edwards made in the Wall
Street Journal, she said that your whole life, you had government
health care. You were the son of a Naval officer, a Naval officer,
now a member of Congress. And her point is, why shouldn’t every
American be able to get the kind of health care that members of
Congress get or members of the military get?

MCCAIN: It’s a cheap shot, but I did have a period of time where
I didn’t have very good government health care. I had it from another
government.

What do these things have in common?

• Alaska
• Chocolate chip cookies
• LSD
• AARP
• Superman
• The Hindenburg Disaster

The answer after the jump, along with many more.

The Washington Post put this up this morning.

Cindy McCain, the wife of John McCain, sold $2 million in mutual funds yesterday after inquiries from a news organization about the funds' holdings in Sudan.

The presumptive Republican nominee has called for international sanctions against the Sudanese government for mass killings in the Darfur region. The Associated Press reported that his wife sold her interest in American Funds' EuroPacific Growth Fund and Capital World Growth and Income Fund. Both funds have holdings in companies that operate in Sudan.

Cindy McCain's decision to sell the investments comes after several other presidential candidates, including Democrat Barack Obama, last year chose to divest Sudan-related stocks and mutual funds. Her investments in the mutual funds are listed on disclosure forms McCain is required to file as a senator and candidate.

It's truly a sad thing that any of the candidates were making money off of what's going on in Sudan. Sure it's good that Obama and the rest got out last year. It's interesting that Mrs. McCain didn't get out until this week and only apparently after the pressure was on. That combined with the fact that she says she won't release her tax records makes me go hmmmmm.

But here's the real question worthy of discussion. Should we care? If liberals say that we shouldn't care what Michelle Obama says because she's not the one running for President, then wouldn't conservatives be right in saying that we shouldn't care about Cindy's financials? What the two women are doing isn't apples to apples certainly, but should any focus be on the potential first ladies?

Considering that among the current crop of nominees is a former first lady and thus may set a precedent it could be important. Could be, but is it?

I for one think too much is made of it on both sides. This should be about the policies first. What say you?

McCain: "The Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian Nation." Wrong. This nation was not "founded primarily on Christian principles." It was founded primarily on enlightenment ideals. Even a very basic study will show that our founding fathers were not a monolith of Christianity, but instead, held a very diverse set of beliefs. For instance, Jefferson was probably a deist.

The Constitution grants us religious freedom, which is a beautiful thing, but it is intellectually, academically, and morally dishonest to say that the nation was founded on Judeo-Christian values.

Shame on you, John McCain.

YouTube video after the jump.

Olbermann really puts McCain's comment into context. Good stuff.

An interesting independently-made anti-McCain commercial:

I think it would be a very effective ad, if professionally produced and it's not like it's untrue, but should Obama put some money into this type of advertising? Has he already?

No, seriously. Here it is:

Without commenting on the substance of the current Palin scandals, isn't this a bad way for her to start off a campaign? In her first weekend as the GOP VP nominee, the only thing that anyone is talking about is Troopergate and her daughter's pregnancy. To be clear, I agree with Obama about her daughter. It's off-limits.

But all of this does seem to hint that she wasn't fully vetted before the announcement. Word also has it that she is now being further vetted by GOP lawyers.

Depending on how the campaign handles this, I wouldn't be surprised to see her leave the campaign before the general election. (The later, the better, from a Democrat's point of view, methinks.)

This shouldn't be what we're talking about. We should be talking about her ignorant statement about the Pledge, or her position on creationism, or her bad record on the environment. But once there is a scandal, it's hard to ignore.

While we all get a warm, fuzzy feeling when looking at the national poll numbers lately, we have even more reason to be more optimistic when looking at the state polls and the electoral college map. Depending on what source you look at, Obama is showing a commanding lead and threatening at least seven states Bush took in 2004. McCain has a chance (albeit a small one) at maybe two Kerry states.

The website, FiveThirtyEight.com, is projecting an electoral victory for Obama by a margin of 333.2 to 204.8 and gives him an 84.4% chance to win. And 270toWin.com gives Obama a less-nuanced 99% chance to win.

All well and good, but check this out: McCain just pulled out of Michigan, which was pretty much his last possible Kerry state. He might still have a shot at New Hampshire and Minnesota, but an average of polls there shows Obama ahead in both states by 4.1 points and 6.8 points, respectively. Obama is threatening Nevada, Colorado (Woo! Happy to help here!), Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio and Indiana.

All are close, but think of it this way, assuming Obama holds onto NH and MN, he only has to win one of those 2004 Bush states and he wins the election. 270toWin has enlightening pages on each party's winning combination.

Look at these statistics, mayhaps this race isn't quite as close as the media is making it out to be. To be sure, not a point for us to rest on our laurels. If this election has shown us anything, it's that something could happen tomorrow that will completely change the map.

The Obama campaign is putting out a 13-minute documentary about McCain's involvement in the Keating 5. Obviously, this was made to be a preemption to the forthcoming attack ads to be put out by the McCain campaign after the debate tomorrow night. Is this kind of thing appropriate, especially since the McCain campaign has already announced its upcoming attack ads? Thoughts?

[Trailer after the break.]

From The Bellingham Herald:

Bush votes early for McCain

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush, who has been rarely seen on the campaign trail, cast his ballot for GOP presidential nominee John McCain.

In past elections, the president and first lady Laura Bush have traveled to Texas to vote, but the White House said Friday they cast their ballots in the early voting process. Their votes are being sent back to Texas.

The White House also said the president and Laura Bush plan to be at the White House on election night.

After that devastatingly sharp SNL performance on Thursday night, this could actually be pretty damaging to the already troubled McCain/Palin campaign.

As many of you know from my other ventures in the Internets, I am a space nerd. Extraplanetary exploration and on-orbit technology has been close to my heart since childhood. The only real hesitation I've had lingering in the back of my mind about the candidates has been the total lack of policy discussion on the issue. That is, until now.
Thanks to my friends on Twitter, I've found the answers to my questions, and they all verify my left-ward leanings this year.

Here's a decent Google slideshow comparing the two.

Barack Obama's Space Policy (in .pdf)

Some excerpts:

Since 1981, the Space Shuttle has been NASA’s workhorse. Its retirement will leave NASA without human spaceflight capability until the first elements of the Constellation program are operational, some five years later. This gap between the retirement of the Space Shuttle and the entry into service of its replacement is a serious
concern. Barack Obama is committed to making the necessary investments to ensure we close this gap as much as is technically feasible and to minimize reliance on foreign space capabilities. He also will work with the space industry to ensure retention of workforce and technical capabilities during the transition from the shuttle to its successor.
...
Obama will expedite the development of the Shuttle’s successor systems for carrying Americans to space so we can minimize the gap. This will be difficult; underfunding by the Bush administration has left NASA with limited flexibility to accelerate the development of the new systems.
...
Barack Obama would ensure that NASA and other federal agencies are fully utilizing the ISS to conduct research that can help address global challenges such as public health and energy independence and can develop technologies that can provide economic benefits to Earth. Obama also will enable research on the ISS to support long-term human exploration and planetary research needs.
...
Barack Obama will support renewed human exploration beyond low earth orbit. He endorses the goal of sending human missions to the Moon by 2020, as a precursor in an orderly progression to missions to more distant destinations, including Mars.
...
The United States needs to fully involve international partners in future exploration plans to help reduce costs and to continue close ties with our ISS partners. NASA has been working with 13 other space agencies to develop a globally coordinated approach to space exploration; Barack Obama will not only continue but intensify this effort. Human exploration beyond low-earth orbit should be a long-term goal and investment for all space faring countries, with America in the lead.

Excerpts from John McCain's Space Program Policies:

Current U.S. space operations policy commits the U.S. to completing the International Space Station (ISS) by 2010 and then terminating the Space Shuttle flights, with the completion of the ISS. The NASA vision for space exploration calls for sending a robotic lunar lander to the Moon in 2008/2009 time period to begin searching for potential base sites and for development and deployment of a new manned space craft for lunar missions.
...
As President, John McCain will --
* Ensure that space exploration is top priority and that the U.S. remains a leader;
* Commit to funding the NASA Constellation program to ensure it has the resources it needs to begin a new era of human space exploration.
* Review and explore all options to ensure U.S. access to space by minimizing the gap between the termination of the Space Shuttle and the availability of its replacement vehicle;
* Ensure the national space workforce is maintained and fully utilized; Complete construction of the ISS National Laboratory;
* Seek to maximize the research capability and commercialization possibilities of the ISS National Laboratory;
* Maintain infrastructure investments in Earth-monitoring satellites and support systems;
* Seek to maintain the nation's space infrastructure;
* Prevent wasteful earmarks from diverting precious resources from critical scientific research;
* and Ensure adequate investments in aeronautics research.

Although these statements are similar, Sen. McCain's is startlingly sparse and almost entirely without detail. Sen. Obama's is very specific, naming dollar amounts and exact plans for NASA and its missions. It is also about 5x longer than McCain's. Not surprisingly, Barack Obama has been endorsed by a number of NASA officials, employees, scientists and operations personnel (including most of the Astronaut Corps).

The future is very near.

This time, let's try to keep our heads IN the clouds.

Links provided by Obamanauts.org.