Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!

Liar, liar, pants on fire!! What a wonderful descriptive taunt.

I have a theory that all of human behavior and interaction was experienced and described on the school playground in elementary school. We saw it all. We knew what to call it. It was clear, cogent and unvarnished. As time passed that clarity was obfuscated with layers of nuance and social convention.

Sometimes kids would fib in class. Fibs happen when kids want to seem more important than they really are. Kids would fib about something they did or fib about how important their Dad was. The fib was for the purpose of gaining status. Fib is not as harsh as the word, lie. But, a fib is a lie just the same. Hillary wanted to be more important. She wanted people to think she was battle tested. She had dodged sniper fire and worn a flak jacket. By implication, she was then ready on Day One to lead the class into battle. But, it was a fib. It was a lie.

During recess, we would all chase Hillary around the school yard yelling "Liar, liar, pants on fire!" We would chase her until we all ran out of breath. We would chase her until she cowered at the side of teacher for protection or fell in a lump and pleaded for us to stop. We would chase her relentlessly, yelling and laughing, "Liar, liar, pants on fire!"

Dementia: McCain’s Most Difficult Medical Question

Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican candidate for the Presidency has been on a taxpayer funded fact finding trip to the Middle East, with photo-op side trips to London and Paris. Four times during this trip Senator McCain has confused the Shia and Sunni. He has claimed that Shia Iran was supporting, training and arming Sunni Al Qaeda operating in Iraq. Fortunately he was accompanied by Senator Joe Lieberman who quickly corrected him on the nuances of tribal politics in the Middle East.

In London, where McCain stopped for a fund raiser on his way home, Lieberman had to repeat a question from a reporter that McCain had forgotten.

In a March 8, 2008, article the New York Times reported that few mentions had been made during the primary season regarding McCain’s health. Continuing the Times said that his complete medical records had not been released nor had his physicians been made available for questioning. Concern surrounding McCain’s health has centered on his bout with melanoma. While it is believed he has received a clean bill of health, there has been, logically, interest and concern regarding the status of his cancer, which is presumed to be in remission.

That, however, should not be our greatest concern. While ailments which cause physical impairments are important for voters to know about and understand, they are not of a type that typically impairs an ability to fully function as President. Roosevelt’s paralysis and Kennedy’s Addison’s disease are two examples. In those two cases, the men where not fully disclosing, but there is no suggestion that their decision-making abilities were impaired by their physical infirmities.

When the ailment is one that can affect judgment the bar is raised much higher and our right as voters to know is profound. We now know that Reagan may have been suffering the early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease before he left the White House. Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are on the rise. The rate of incidence is increasing and there is much more awareness of their debilitating impact. Many of us, aging baby boomers, have recently lived through our parents’ demented decline. Consequently, we are alert to the early signs and symptoms.

When Senator John McCain made the same mistake four times, our intuitive antenna were alerted. I have mentioned the issue to four friends and they have all confirmed that they noticed the mistake and wondered whether Senator McCain had a larger problem than jet lag.

When will we see McCain's medical records? Does McCain suffer dementia? What confirmation can we have that John McCain is not suffering the early stages of dementia? Is it a fair concern? It is a fair question? Of course it is.

Unfortunately, it is similar to the classic question, “Are you still beating your wife?” Once you ask the dementia question, you have raised doubt. But, the public has an absolute right to know.

Bored

This happens during an interminable campaign. I go through moments of incredible boredom. I get to a point where I can't stand to hear one more pundit or bloviator (gawd do I like that term) make an idiotic statement about something that doesn't matter.

There have been so many events over the past few days that have been worthy of bloviating on. Yes, it is a word with many perambulations. I think bloviating is a little like spewing. Bloviators spew.

Perhaps the debacle occurring in the Democratic Party has just become numbing. Actually, the debacle is really the story of implosion of the Clintonistas and the relegation of Bill and Hillary Clinton to the dustbin of history.

There are now so many examples of Hillary prevaricating on the campaign trail that the Washington Post has awarded her "four Pinocchio's." If she was really so experienced and ready on Day One, why would she have to lie about her role in Northern Ireland and dodging bullets in Bosnia? With the publication of her calendar as First Lady, I guess we now know why. She did not have a security clearance that gave her permission to learn about National Security matters and she wouldn't have had the time, in any event, given her ribbon cutting responsibilities at senior centers.

Her surrogates are unbelieveable. Carville, the "ragin Cajun," has gone completely off the reservation with his Judas comment on Richardson. Carville looks like Yoda. He has to be the most butt ugly commentator on television. Again, as previously posted, just look at his seven page spread in Architectural Digest. These are people who, like their candidate, have a sense of entitlement. For a exposition of that, read David Brooks in the New York Times today (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/opinion/25brooks.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin)

As everyone who passed 3rd grade arithmetic knows, there is no way that Hillary can win the nomination if the rules are adhered to. She cannot win the nomination by counting delegates either regular delegates, committed delegates or super delegates. (It has been interesting to watch the Clintonistas play with the delegate language in an effort to find a winning strategy. Nice Orwellian work, Clintonistas!) Florida and Michigan are off the table. She is behind in delegates. She is behind in total popular vote (now 700,00 behind).

So the Clintonistas hope is that Obama commits a major gaff and somehow goes down in flames and she wins the day. Whoopee! At least Romney had the grace to withdraw in the face of the inevitable. With The Clintonistas there is utter denial. They have been stuck in the denial mode for some time now. Unfortunately, I fear they will stay stuck there for awhile longer.

By the way, I am going to post a longer, more thoughtful bit on McCain's dementia. When Brit Hume of Fox News claims it was just a "senior moment," then we truly have something to worry about. At some point, the mainstream media will begin to talk about this big elephant in the living room.

Her Thighness

Hillary Clinton, her Royal Thighness, lied to the voters of Ohio! She claimed that she had always been opposed to NAFTA. What lying bullshit!

The recently released 11,000 pages of records of her White House schedule contain evidence of her presence in and active participation in activities focused on the passage of NAFTA. While those of us who know the history of the passage of NAFTA knew she was lying, there was little direct evidence of what went on behind closed doors. Now we have the evidence and it completely undermines Her Thighness.

It will be wonderful great fun these next few days to watch her and her staff spin the facts and attempt to convince us that, taking a page from the John Kerry playbook, she was against NAFTA before she was for it but she was always against it.

Dementia

Four times in the past few days McCain, while on a taxpayer funded fact finding trip to the Middle East, has confused the Shia and Sunni. He has claimed that Shia Iraq was supporting Sunni Al Qaeda. Fortunately he was accompanied by his toady Joe Lieberman who quickly corrected him on and the nuances of tribal politics in the Middle East.

In London, where McCain stopped for a fund raiser on his way home, Lieberman had to repeat a question from a reporter that McCain had forgotten.

When will we see McCain's medical records? [They will probably be forthcoming a day or two after Hillary's tax returns.] We now know that Reagan was suffering from Alzheimer's before he left the White House. What confirmation can we have that McCain is not suffering the early stages of dementia before he enters the White House?

Does McCain suffer dementia? Is it a fair concern? It is a fair question?

Praise the Lord

Barack Obama is President! Barack Obama is my President!

His speech in Philadelphia is so authentic and from the heart. I have been in transit and while awaiting a flight have just had the opportunity to read the entirety of the speech. I finished reading the speech with tears in my eyes.

If you haven't seen or read the speech. Please do. Here is the link:
http://my.barackobama.com/hisownwords

I will soon return to irreverence, sarcasm and irony, but for the moment, I want to bathe in the majesty of this historic speech.

Socialism for the Rich

I travel in a circle that includes a couple of people who worship at the altar of comedian Rush Limbaugh. They read the gospel according to Reagan and ascribe to a right of center orthodox view of the role of government.

They have voiced grave concerns about the health care plans of Clinton and Obama. They call them socialist. We will be just like Europe and Canada they proclaim. We will be a socialist country. There is little opportunity for a give and take dialog which delves into the nuances of the broken health care system in America. When I try to describe the travesty of the Medicare Drug plan passed by the Republican Congress and signed by President Bush, their eyes glaze over. Don't confuse them with the details. Regardless of the importance of a health care safety net for the most vulnerable in our society, they reflexively fall back to their socialist rant.

It is ironic, that people can be opposed to health care for children and the poorest members of our society, when at the same time we provide egregious support for the rich. Today, the government, in the form of Federal guarantees behind the JP Morgan bailout of Bear Stearns, has provided a safety net to the fifth largest bank in America. There is no safety net for the poorest of the poor, but there is a safety net for Bear Stearns which will allow its employees and management to continue to employed and continue to earn salaries that well exceed the national average.

Why is it okay or appropriate for us to bail out the big guys, but not the little guys. Socialism for the rich is okay, but health care of the poor is a red flag for the red meat right wing.

Lets call it what it is. This country works very well for the wealthiest. Remember the old line, "You never want to owe the bank a little bit of money. If you do, you're screwed. You want to owe the bank a lot of money. It not your problem then, it's the banks."

Bear Stearns has always been a high risk operation. It took big risks. It lost. Too bad. To bail them out is disgusting. But, in America, it is okay, because we support socialism for the rich.

Stop The Looting

"It's the economy stupid." That tag line from the 1992 campaign resonates today. Ironically, the author of that line, the Ragin' Cajun James Carville, is now immune from the vagaries of the economy. He and his wife, Mary Matalin, as architects of Presidential triumph, have ascended to the land of economic milk and honey.

Now, we have the Fed backstopping J. P. Morgan's bailout of Bear Stearns. Who gives a shit about Bear Stearns? Why can't we let the big banks fail? Why does the treasury have to be looted to bailout the idiotic business decisions of a small class of elite bankers?

I just heard last night that the plumbing subcontractor who does work for a developer friend of mine has laid off everyone except for his son in law, parked his trucks, canceled the auto insurance and is trying to survive. Work has dried up. Perhaps this afternoon the Fed will bring a truck load of money to Mitchell and Sons Plumbing. Nah...don't think so.

I am willing to wager that the CEO of Bear Stearns, who stepped on his dick with his inept management and big bets on CDO's will make many millions of dollars in compensation this year.

So, lets loot the Federal Treasury to support Bear Stearns and lets send $600 to hapless out of work plumbers.

Racist Wop!

Ferraro is a racist Wop! Always has been, always will be. Part of Ferraro's racism is due to her ethnic background and part of it is due to jealousy.

Historically, the word Wop is a term of derision and associated with an Italian with overbearing and cocky attitude. A Wop was a thug. A Dago is different. A Dago is an Italian who is a little rough around the edges and not fully assimilated in the "new" country. A Dago is okay. A Wop is trouble.

Clearly, Ferraro is a Wop. She is married to a Wop, John Zaccaro, who at the time of her Vice-Presidential race had borrowed $175K from a widow's trust fund to shore up his real estate business. The visibility of the campaign forced the return of the funds.

Ferraro served three terms in the House of Representatives. Her career has been essentially stalled out since she left the House to be Mondale's Vice-Presidential running mate in 1984. She made a couple of attempts to return to Washington but was defeated each time.

Her racist tendencies appeared twenty years ago, in 1988, when she said that Jesse Jackson was a radical and was "running for President only because he was Black."

I thing she possesses some jealousy because time passed her by. She was a "first" in 1984, but never really accomplished much before or after. Interestingly, in 1984, it is clear that she was only chosen because she was a woman.

Train Wreck

With each day, there is yet another example of the ineptitude, backstabbing, prevarication, and a generally half-assed approach to campaigning by Hillary and the Clintonistas. We sort of shake our heads and wonder, why is this happening. These are smart people. Why do they seem to lurch from reaction to reaction. Why do they seem so ham handed.

The culture of an organization comes from the top. The tone of an organization is set by the CEO and other members of senior management. Hillary sets the tone. The campaign is a reflection of her. It is a reflection of who she is.

Early in this blog I wrote about Hillary's lack of authenticity. There are many examples of of that. If you spend a lifetime, as she has, playing to whatever audience you are before, you tend to lose your authentic self. Then, when a crisis occurs, you are never able to react in an honest, straight forward authentic way. You have become divorced from your gut, intuitive response. And, if you have a gut response, you have, over time, lost trust in it. Hillary and Bill compulsively poll to test the waters.

What a sorry state of affairs that is. A crisis looms. Lets poll the voters and see what I should do or say. How ridiculous! The voters ache for authenticity. They want to elect people that they first of all trust as human beings. Policy positions, I am convinced, are secondary.

Voters make decisions with their reptilian brains. These sense bullshit and the absence of authenticity. Hillary and the Clintonistas provide the voters daily confirmation of their inability to be authentic.

The lastest conflagration around Geraldine Ferraro is a classic example of that. Hillary was slow to condemn the racist remarks of Ferraro because, I am convinced, those remarks play well in Pennsylvania, outside of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Rather than respect what I hope was her initial reaction, she tested the waters before distancing herself from Ferraro and then, it was only mildly stated.

Hillary and her campaign are a train wreck.

Breaking News!!

Eliot Spitzer has just announced this afternoon in New York that he is withdrawing his candidacy for President of the United States in the 2016 election.

Citing his desire to spend more time with his family, Spitzer's announcement was a bombshell in political salons across the country.

Accompanied by his wife, Spitzer said that her increasing interest in the culinary arts made home life an even bigger draw. According to reports from those close to the family, she has recently starting making Eggs Benedict at home.

[Apologies to the several who inquired, "What is the deal with Eggs Benedict?" Among certain members of the male species, a common barnyard question to ask the about to be betrothed young man is, "Do you know the two things you don't get at home after marriage?" Inevitably, the young man says, "No." To which you reply, "Blow jobs and Eggs Benedict."]

Orwellian

Bill Clinton goes on at length with the notion that Obama would be a great Vice Presidential candidate with his wife running point as President. Apparently Bill hasn't talked with Hillary.
She claims Obama is not qualified to be President, at least not on Day One. If he is VP then she better hope she doesn't die on inauguration day.

The Clinton's keep saying things that are ridiculous. I wonder if they ascribe to the Rovian point of view that the public are stupid and if you keep repeating an untruth frequently enough it will ultimately pass as gospel?

Obama has finally hit back on this point. Reading his autobiography, I have no doubt that that he can hit back. I also have a compelling sense that he truly does represent something new on the American political landscape. In fact, he embodies all that comprises what makes this country great.

Meanwhile, the Clinton camp stoops to new lows every day. Now, we hear that they are beginning subtle messaging that "committed" delegates aren't really committed but can change their vote. Although I find Christopher Hitchens a lout, he was pungent in this recent remarks, reported in last Saturday's Noonan column in the Wall Street Journal. He believes Hillary will win the nomination because her maniacal pursuit of power and money will allow nothing to stand in her way.

It is Orwellian. Obama is not qualified for President. Obama is qualified for Vice President. Clinton wins the big states. Clinton is the come-back kid.

Just do the math. Obama is ahead by 100 delegates. She can't win.

POSTSCRIPT: During the day on Monday, Howard Wolfson, hapless Clinton mouthpiece, indicated that Obama could be ready for the Vice-Presidency in August, at the time of the convention. It must have been a slight slip of the tongue. I wonder how they will spin it today. If he is ready at convention time for the VP slot, one presumes he is ready to be President. Good work Howie!

Monster

The elephant in the living room! No one wants to talk about the elephant in the living room. Those of us who are friends of Bill’s (not that Bill) learned first hand the power of the elephant in the living room.

Typically, the first person to call out the elephant, in other than a private setting, is attacked and ostracized. Denial is so strong, all the elephant co-dependents rally to the cause. There will be private, off-line, encouragement, but public opprobrium. As we say, “Denial is not a river in Egypt.”

Over time, if lucky, there gathers a storm and the elephant can longer hide in plain sight, in the middle of the living room. Unfortunately, however, the first to point out the elephant is often permanently sacrificed in Denial River.

Samantha Power, whose declaration, however unwitting, that Hillary Clinton was a monster, pointed out the elephant in the living room. She is now the victim of the co-dependent hyenas whose very existence requires ignoring the elephant.

Power said, “She is a monster, too -- that is off the record -- she is stooping to anything," Power told political correspondent Gerri Peev. She added of Clinton: "The amount of deceit she has put forward is really unattractive."

Samantha Power, originally from Ireland, is undeniably erudite. Using the word, “monster” to describe Hillary Clinton was accurate. That is particularly the case in the UK or Ireland where the term is in more common usage. Someone who does extremely disgusting things can very easily be called monstrous, i.e., “That was a really monstrous thing to do.” “What a monster.”

The litany of the vile and disgusting actions of Hillary Clinton includes:

1) her statement that she and McCain had a life time of experience preparing them for the White House and Obama gave one speech in 2002. (That gave such succor and comfort to the RNC and the McCain campaign. It will rank, historically, as or the most vile acts by this monstrous woman)

2) the comparison by her spokesman Howard Wolfson of Obama to Ken Starr

3) the tentative, almost grudging acknowledgement by Hillary on 60 Minutes that Obama wasn’t a Muslin, “…as far as I know.”

4) the denigration of voters in caucus states and small states by everyone in the Clinton campaign

5) etc. etc.

In my view, Obama and his surrogates should have ridden out the Samantha Power matter and demanded the immediate firing of Wolfson. To this moment, I have not heard anyone ask for Wolfson’s head.

Obama needs to punch back. Samantha Power needs kudos for speaking truth to power and outing the elephant in the living room.

LOL

The New York Times reports this morning that the Republican National Committee has accumulated a long list of urls to use as a part of their attack campaign in the upcoming general election. This is dirty trickster high tech political cybersquatting. If the RNC owns the site, then Clinton or Obama can't use it. The RNC certainly won't sell. And they can point the sites to some repository of negative information.

Some are pretty funny. fauxbama.org is a real hoot. I thought the Republicans were disdainful of the French. norealexperience.com would be a good one for the Clinton campaign to buy to use against Obama during the remaining primaries. Maybe the RNC will loan it to them. The RNC owns hillaryiswrong.com. They also own obamanotready.com.

So, this morning, I couldn't resist going to Network Solutions to see what was available. I got lucky. I now own www.rncsucks.com, www.rnclies.com, and www.gayrepublicansinthecloset.com.

Then, to really cover my bases, I bought www.cindymccaindrugaddict.com and www.hottemperedmccain.com

SNL Bounce and more

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder! I am suffering post traumatic stress disorder. Or, maybe it is battle fatigue. I am so ready for this nomination process for the Democratic candidate for President to be over. I was ready yesterday. I wanted Obama to put the stake through Hillary's heart. But, it was not to be.

Wyoming is Saturday and a sure win for Obama. It is a caucus state and Obama has the ground game down pat. I heard yesterday that in Harris County, Texas, Obama had 9000 volunteers to Hillary's 39. Sounds ridiculous, but it does fit the pattern for her campaign. Phew! Enough of this stuff.

So, what is happening. Everyone, except for Hillary voters, have read Malcolm Gladwell's Tipping Point. I think there was a tipping point for Hillary and it came with the settlement of the writer's strike. It is unfortunate that the writer's strike didn't continue throughout the spring. If it had, then the lemmings in the media would have continued on their hapless way, and Hillary would not have enjoyed what I am calling the "SNL bounce."

Everyone knew that Obama was doing better with and was better liked by the media than Hillary. That was no secret and no surprise. The media folks like to be cool and hip. Fear and loathing on the campaign trail is all about hip. Obama is hip. Hillary can't even imagine hip.
With the settlement of the writer's strike the trend setting television shows got their groove back and could, once again, be players in setting the tone for the cognoscenti dialog.

So, with writer's unblocked, Saturday Night Live struck with a hilarious bit on the Democratic debate between Clinton and Obama with a slavish press hanging on every Obama word. In that one moment, the press was found out. And, in a phrase, Tina Fey gave cred to being a bitch.

There was only one response for the media. They had to now eagerly pick up and run with Hillary's ever negative campaign and go on the Obama attack to prove the SNL perception incorrect. The press never likes to be found out. They only report. They never like to be exposed as active participants.

In addition, the SNL bit gave Hillary a throw away line in the next debate when she wondered if they should ask Barack is he needed a pillow. And, for the first time, it provided a characterture of Obama. SNL transformed him from a elegant patrician striding across the stage to a big-eared dweeb.

So, there you have it. A press back on its heels providing ink to Hillary's increasing negativity and giving voice to her campaign's come back kid charade; a female candidate secure in her bitchdom; and an classy gentleman made into a feckless dweeb. A tipping point.

I don't know if any of it matters, but my Obamaniacs are sure stirred up. And we are suffering battle fatigue. It is a little bit like the hangover from too much alcohol and too many drugs after a big rock concert weekend. Any of you remember those?

Hillary Abandons Democratic Party

What is she thinking? I just watched her on YouTube. Here is her quote:

"I think that I have a lifetime of experience that I will bring to the White House. Senator John McCain has a lifetime of experience that he will bring to the White House. And Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002."

Hillary, I swear to God, that if you keep this up, and if you somehow win the nomination, I and many of my Democratic friends will vote for McCain or maybe Ralph Nader.

Hillary, this approach of yours really sucks!! You should be ashamed of yourself. In the last week you have run a fear based, Rovian/Atwater style negative Republican campaign.

What is your end game? You cannot conceivably obtain enough delegates, under any plausible scenario, to "democratically" win the nomination. So, Hillary, what is the strategy? What is the end game?

From the War Room

I am hunkered down in the war room today. I am switching screens between various blogs and have MSNBC on in the background. As we used to say on ranch, "I'm as jumpy as a fart in a frying pan."

I haven't seen any exit polls yet. Turnout if very high. Hillary is piling it on, and in the process, providing grist for the RNC and McCain for their attacks on Obama during the general election.

Governor Bill Richardson was interviewed yesterday and took issue with Hillary's red telephone ad. He also praised Obama's judgment and his internationalist background. That appears to be a tell to me. I guess Richardson eating nachos with Bill Clinton during the Super Bowl didn't swing the deal for Hillary.

By the way, what is the deal with Hillary's cheeks? If you saw her on The Daily Show last night, wearing that perpetual grin, anyone had to wonder if she was stashing nuts.

Texas and Ohio

I wish Texas and Ohio (and Rhode Island and Vermont) had voted a few days ago. I am nervous. As a fervent Obama supporter I am nervous about tomorrow’s primaries. Part of my nervousness is because, as a left coaster, I don’t really understand Ohio or Texas. I understand Vermont and Rhode Island but they don't get much attention tomorrow.

I hope for a decisive victory for Obama. I fear that Hillary Clinton will hang on to fight another day. Even though she has no mathematical chance of achieving enough delegate votes to secure the nomination, she will stick in the race awhile longer – at least through Pennsylvania – that is my fear.

She will stick in the race, because there is always the chance of a major gaff which provides the miracle to give her the nomination. Romney holds the same hope regarding McCain. (Romney, while out of the race, has not released his delegates. He would have a better shot than Huck-a-Buck, if McCain were to implode). She will stick in the race because there are those who hope that Michigan and Florida can count.

Obama has momentum. Momentum, in politics and in life is a fragile thing. Clinton is hitting Obama hard. Is she hitting him hard enough to make a difference – I hope not. Obama is so very cool, and he is a complete gentleman. He is so at ease in his skin.

Hillary is bashing away at his coolness – not directly, but indirectly. She suggests that the country does not need cool under fire, but rather the intense heat of her experience.

Her 3AM ad, for example, is making the point that she is tough and ready for the dangerous call. I found it interesting that, in the ad, the phone rings 6 times before she answers. And then, she is dressed and wearing makeup and jewelry and those Clark Kent reading glasses for the 3am call. Maybe she was up at 3AM checking on Bill. Trying to find out where he is.

And, now the late breaking news, that the comedian Rush Limburger is urging his listeners to vote for Hillary in Texas. His motive: Hillary will beat up Obama and McCain and the RNC won’t. He wants the Republicans to win in November and hopes that Hillary can soften Obama up a bit before the Republicans have to take him on directly.

Wouldn’t it just be the ultimate expression of the Clintonista hubris: Hillary loses the nomination and in the primary process, so damages Obama and the Democratic cause that the Republicans win in November?