Circle The Wagons, McBush

… and so the electoral rout began …

Man I love MSNBC so much these days. Hey Bob, any idea why HuffPo has such a hate boner for the Olbermann network?

Well if Morning Jackass and Buchanan aren’t on board then I think McCain has made a huge mistake.

I can’t help but remember the horrible Geena Davis vehicle “Commander in Chief” on ABC a few years back…

Who are you, and what have you done with the real Pat Buchanan? The last two days he has gushed over Obama’s speech and bashed McCain’s VP choice. What is going on here?

Buchanan wants to be able to say “see, ya morons, I TOLE ya!!”

I am seriously floored! The more I read, the more I just shake my head.

Does anyone remember the scene in The Birdcage, when Diane Wiest tries to explain to a stunned Gene Hackman that the “woman” he’s been calling “Mother Coleman” all night is actually Nathan Lane in drag? And Hackman — in a moment of sheer comic brilliance — recoils, and clutches his forehead, and after saying “What??” a few times says, “I feel like I’m insane?”That’s how these fucking PUMAs and CHUDs are making me feel right now. Literally like I’m insane. There’s one of these creatures on Hardball right now whose name is Darragh Murphy, and even though she can’t be bothered to sit up straight and not sound like she’s just hit off a joint the size of a World War II torpedo, she can still roll with the crazytalk:

Chris, I think it was a brilliant move on John McCain’s part, I think that today we saw John McCain showed Howard Dean and Barack Obama out to be amateurs. I think it was bold and brave and I absolutely think that it will win over many, many Hillary Clinton supporters.

So Matthews hits back with “Is it okay that [Palin] is very, very against abortion rights?” and instead of answering like an actual female that would vote for Hillary Clinton — you know, ones with reproductive systems and “feelings” and whatnot — she gives the PUMA/CHUD line that makes me feel like Gene Hackman in The Birdcage:

You know, she’s still a Republican, but I think what the Republicans have done today is they’ve taken the excitement of the race and they’ve moved it clearly over to their side, and it’s theirs to lose, they’ve stolen the thunder from Barack’s speech last night, they’ve uh, made a bold move, uh, a brave move, I would say, and a historic move. And for those millions of Democrats who’ve been ready to pull the lever for John McCain, now it has made it so much easier for them to do that, and I think that is a big warning sign for the Democratic party.”

I’m sorry, I can’t digest this. I feel like I’m insane. What the fuck millions of Democrats is she talking about? This PUMA/CHUD took a legitimate question about women’s issues and turned it into a Republican talking point. I simply don’t understand.If Women Scorned is the reason we end up with John McCain for four years, I’m going to have a very difficult time giving them the deep, deep satisfaction they’re accustomed to receiving from me.Deep!

I’ll just keep reposting this, because I want everyone to take it seriously:I know the unorthodoxy of this choice makes Obama supporters want to celebrate – but in fact this is a very solid choice. Newness doesn’t last long – it fades almost instantly – and while people may be hesitant about such a newbie for president – she’s not running for president. YES-it makes me uncomfortable to imagine her as next in line – but next is still not NOW. More importantly – Palin shores up McCain’s base – and is attractive from a “woman in the white house” point of view. She’s pro-life, pro-guns, pro-drilling. That’s a conservative trifecta. More importantly – the ONLY real effective argument agaist Palin is Clinton. Biden will have to be really careful in his debate against her because on the one hand he can wipe the floor with her, but on the other hand, optically – he could wind up looking like a bully. So – this choice ties one hand behind Biden’s back. I think he can win anyway – but he’s got a LOT of prep to do for tone – he’s got to go against Michelle, Hillary, Pelosi, and a couple of other women in private (focus group watched) debates to guage tone against a variety of female personas. And the pro-life argument has to come from a woman – there will be no woman in any of the debates. WORSE – Obama came across to some women as smug when up against Hillary, s he’s got to tread very carefully.No – this is a very smart choice for McCain, and while it is a beatable ticket – it’s not an easily beatable one.

I disagree, QT. The vast majority of people in this country are pro-choice. The major problems facing this country, as told by the GOP, are security and the economy. On all three of those issues, Palin falls short.

Then clearly, QT, our job in the next 67 days is quite simply to remind women that you can’t heal generations of gender wars — in which women feel used by more powerful men — by cynically using a woman to put a man in power. That’s what this is: Scorned women thinking they can make history through McCain when its the McCains of the world that have always kept those same women down. It’s absolutely insane.Her vagina is the ONLY reason McCain chose her. He didn’t need help with The Base, he needed independents, he needed to lean a little Left via his Veep choice. Instead he chose the most conservative woman in politics and experience be damned. Total insanity.

All I ask of the Obama camp the next couple of months is that they incessantly hammer home the fact that if McBush gets “elected” (like the last two times?) and then croaks in office (highly likely, given his staggeringly high score on the Croak-o-Meter), Miss Moosejaw will be Leader of the Free Frickin’ World. Holy crap! Suddenly, Queen of the Permafrost isn’t quite so funny anymore. That is a truly terrifying thought.

Hey Wet Undies, can I get a look at that Croak-O-Meter?

Whatever the cure is, or whatever the strategy – I just want to drive home, over and over again, this isn’t going to be a cakewalk.And you know what? A woman who has herself made a conscious choice to bear 5 kids, including one with downs syndrome, because of her pro-choice opinions, is a woman who gives credence to the idea that it’s doable, and maybe abortion restrictions aren’t “that bad.”Clarifying a little more – I tend to be more conservative than not, and am myself mostly pro-life. And I PERSONALLY admire this woman for going right on with her work, while toting about a 4 month old baby. If she does the whole breastfeeding thing – she may win a lot of female votes.SO – yeah – this is one to be careful about. VERY careful. And yeah – it would have been nice to have a woman to go toe to toe with her.I hope the Obama camp is thinking this through very carefully, because they don’t have a lot of time to figure it all out.QT

Admittedly, this decision could be a temporary boost for the McCain campaign, but in doing so he surrendered his 2 best talking points. One is the experience issue that has been fully discussed. The other is “Senator Obama would rather lose a war to win an election.” What this choice says is “Senator McCain would rather win an election than govern a country responsibly.”

Everyone made the same assumption about the Gore verses Bush debate. Like a giant swatting a fly. Remember the way the debates are set up. For 30 second sound bites. This will not be the Gettysburg Address or the Lincoln Douglas Debates. Bush stood in there with his cocky arrogant persona and Gore rolled his eyes at the moron’s superficial answers, and lost.

But here’s what pisses me off. A headlining ABC News article by Rick Klein compares Palin to Obama, essentially saying she could kick Obama’s ass. Apparently, you’re not a real man if you’re super smart and you don’t (literally) carry a gun:’Republicans greeted the selection with glee, anticipating the contrasts between a gun-toting self-described “hockey mom” and an effete, Harvard-educated ticket-topper on the Democratic side.’

I’ve gotta say this choice strikes me as the rawest kind of political pandering. Would McCain have ever selected such a thoroughly unqualified man for VP? Of course not. This was a blatant attempt at garnering votes from (some) women. I have to believe that most women will be outraged at this insult.

A woman who has herself made a conscious choice to bear 5 kids, including one with downs syndrome, because of her pro-choice opinions…But that’s the point. She CHOSE to bear that child. But she wants to take that choice AWAY from other women – women who aren’t as high profile, who don’t have the financial, emotional, familial or medical means to cope with such a child – even women who are pregnant via rape or incest, no exceptions. She believes that they should have NO choice.

From Charles Krauthammer of all people:”The Palin selection completely undercuts the argument about Obama’s inexperience and readiness to lead — on the theory that because Palin is a maverick and a corruption fighter, she bolsters McCain’s claim to be the reformer in this campaign. In her rollout today, Palin spoke a lot about change. McCain is now trying to steal “change” from Obama, a contest McCain will lose in an overwhelmingly Democratic year with an overwhelmingly unpopular incumbent Republican administration. At the same time, he’s weakening his strong suit — readiness vs. unreadiness.The McCain campaign is reveling in the fact that Palin is a game changer. But why a game changer when you’ve been gaining? To gratuitously undercut the remarkably successful “Is he ready to lead” line of attack seems near suicidal.”the whole post is here: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2008/08/the_palin_puzzle.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

If ever there was a face that was meant for Republican Douchebaggery of the stuffiest, most up-its-own-ass variety, it is Krauthammer’s. He is a living caricature of “Oh do go fuck yourself” elitist snob asshatishness and I can’t take a thing that comes out of that priggish, beak-like mouth seriously. He is a man more deeply in need of a blow job than any other on televised news.

Ahh, The Birdcage.Such a funny commentary on where we are right now.Everyone trying to play so politically correctly . . . and yet failing so misearbly.We are all quite a caste, but do so best when we are simply ourselves . . . our flawed loveable selves.All the world’s a stage . . . how long before Palin comes out as gay.Not that she will . . . not that there’s anything wrong with that . . . but for a change, it wouldn’t be a Republican man. . . Ya know?

Never mind. Please do not post my comment. Nice to have a voice, but perhaps a bit inappropriate.

Palin has zero credibility.McCain went all the way to Alaska to find someone as out of touch as he is.This choice may fly for a couple of days, but as New Orleans drowns, America will wake up.Our cities are foundering, our banks are foundering, government is foundering, and no place more than in Alaska.Palin may be a beauty, but that beauty is only as deep as her skin. She wants to make Alaska open game . . . Alaska is an American jewell.Oil is so yesterday. McCain is so last century. Let’s elect a president who is of this century and looking forward with laser eyes, not bifocals and who would never ever call his wife a cunt. So yesterday . . . POW POS.