Back about a week or so, I ran across an interesting item in my feed that was shared by ***Dave. It was a funny little detail Stephen Colbert lampooned: McCain’s weirdly reptilian tongue flicking gesture that was picked up by someone as a classic “poker tell.” FiveThirtyEight.com: Electoral Projections Done Right: The Tongue Jut Tongue-jutting behavior is a gesture used by people who think they have gotten away with something or are “caught†doing something. I have seen this behavior in flea markets both in the United States and in Russia, among street vendors in Lower Manhattan, at poker tables…
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The Republican National Committee plans to file a fundraising complaint against Democrat Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, alleging amongst other things that it’s impossible to say just who has donated, and attempting to hint that there must be something wrong with people being so, like, secretive about giving Obama money. As if they have something to hide, or aren’t real Americans… Cairncross said little is known about many of Obama’s donors because the campaign is not required to disclose detailed information about people who give less than $200. The Obama campaign, which is not accepting public funds, has raised more than…
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I decided to not Twitter the debate so much. UPDATE: Now with fresh, clean, FactCheck! We’re watching via www.cnnpolitics.com with laptops and all, but really we’re just watching on our normal TV on the CNN channel. Biden: “the ultimate bridge to nowhere” regarding the McCain tax credit plan versus the Obama tax cut for those making less than $250,000. Wow, the little live “love or hate” lines show that the ladies love Biden. The women’s line went to the top of the screen over the tax cuts. And as soon as Palin came on screen talking about how she’s taken…
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The TV Watch – A Question Reprised, but the Words Come None Too Easily for Palin – NYTimes.com I couldn’t bear to watch the video, but ran across this summary of the Katie Couric interview with Sarah Palin. It’s painfully obvious that without a teleprompter, she fails miserably. No wonder they’ve kept her away from the press… and by the way, she eventually earned a college degree. In journalism, no less. Read it, and weep.
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Read the whole thing. Tomorrow is going to be a very ugly day in the markets and in the press. Talks Implode During Day of Chaos; Fate of Bailout Plan Remains Unresolved – NYTimes.com When Congressional leaders and Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, the two major party presidential candidates, trooped to the White House on Thursday afternoon, most signs pointed toward a bipartisan agreement on a grand compromise that could be accepted by all sides and signed into law by the weekend. It was intended to pump billions of dollars into the financial system, restoring liquidity and keeping credit…
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Yesterday, it was my birthday. The story of Margriet Oostveen, the Dutch writer who volunteered for both US Presidential campaigns to gather insight and material for her column broke, and what keen prezzie! She claims she was taught how to write “letters to the editor” that would be signed by real McCain supporters in battleground states. The story was originally published in a Dutch paper, but she also had it picked up in English on Salon.com. It’s possible to read it on the AP/Yahoo version (I’m kind of down on AP and their policies and stupid re-design right now so…
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Earlier today, I jokingly speculated that the reason McCain was trying to delay or postpone or cancel the debate was really because his polling sucked, and he was stalling for time. It appears that I’m not the only one that thinks this. And now, it looks like Palin’s debate will either be postponed or cancelled – the events are being held hostage, in a way, as bargaining chips in the deal McCain thinks he must make with Senate Democrats in order to look all leaderly ‘n shit. If they don’t wise up and fall into line on the bailout debate,…
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State GOP pols react harshly to Biden’s coal remarks A former Colorado congressman and a state senator lashed out today at Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden’s comments against increasing the use of coal in the United States. Biden “doesn’t give a dilly about a coal miner’s family or a coal miner’s job,†said Scott McInnis, a Republican who represented Colorado’s 3rd District, which includes several coal mines, such as those in Delta and Mesa counties. “No coal plants here in America,†Biden said on a campaign swing in Ohio. “Build them, if they’re going to build them, over there†in…
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Still More Questions About Sarah Palin and that Combed-Over Guy with the Creepy Smile Who Hangs on to Her Skirt for Dear Life – 236.com – The Room I won the poll, what’s my prize?? Huh?
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It’s amazing how much I didn’t know about the separation of church and state. I’ve always been a big proponent of the concept (hmm, something to do with being bullied as a redheaded stranger-child in a near-theocracy). But I didn’t know where the limitations lay, and I came up short in a discussion of politics at, of all places, Holy Moly. I had been incensed over the last week or so about how the LDS Church was throwing a lot of money at Proposition 8 (the gay marriage ban) in California, and today I was dismayed to find that the…