The Tory Party

I couldn’t help meself

This is how it looks to meeeee:

2008 Debate I – Extra thoughts

Most of the things to say have already been said, but here are some thoughty thoughts I haven’t seen elsewhere:

• 2008 McCain is a totally different animal than the 2000 McCain, and I don’t mean just his policies. There is some weird coachy/brainwashy thing happening. 2000 McCain was bulletproof and invisible, and I secretly hoped Bush would get the nomination because Bush seemed easier to beat (*laughs loud, ironic, painful laugh*). 2008 McCain acts like a melty scoop of ice cream, if you could make ice cream out of crabby.
• I would like Obama to say, just once, “If you want a balanced budget, elect a Democrat. We’re the only ones who’ve done it in thirty years.” I can’t be the only one with a warm and tender place for Bill Clinton, much less a warm and tender place for the Bill Clinton years.

  “American people — do you want four more Bill Clinton years — of peace and prosperity? Strength and dignity? Or do you want four more Bush years — of war and despair, of fear and anger? This November, vote Democrat. I’m the new man from Hope.”

  Then play “Don’t Stop Thinkin’ About Tomorrow,” segue into an MIA beat, and bring his daughters on stage holding a tuxedo cat.

  Man, I should get paid for this.

• I generally poo-poo telegenics as a qualification for president. But the split-screen of Obama looking at McCain and McCain squinting into space felt really damning. That’s the body language of their campaigns — Obama reaching across the aisle, and McCain hunkering in position.
• A-a-a-and the “what Obama doesn’t understand stuff” — if it was, as it seemed, a riff fed to McCain by his campaign, that’s not good, and a beastly trait to share with Bush. But consider if it’s not. It’s one thing to take a condescending tone with, say, a John Kerry, with his blue blood and millions of dollars. It’s another to take that tone with, say, someone of a single-parent family, biracial heritage who doesn’t have seven houses. I might even call that “elitist.”

Couric vs. Palin and debate back on

What can I say that Jon Stewart and Sarah Palin haven’t said perfectly? Naught. But fifty awesome points to Katie Couric for conducting the closest thing to a grilling I’ve seen in nine years.

Sarah Palin gets flustered, like I would in a Katie Couric interview, but like a vice-presidential candidate probably shouldn’t.

and delicious Daily Show excerpts, both worth watching, but I give the second a ten out of ten:

Bush’s scary speeches and the effects of a McCain

I’ll be watching the debate tonight and probably foaming with more semi-informed political commentary later. Eventually I’ll get back to what I do best — mocking Halloween costumes.

McCain wants to delay Friday night’s debate

Responds Obama: a president has “to deal with more than one thing at once.”

Okay, the whole quote, which is still pretty tasty:

“It’s my belief that this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who, in approximately 40 days, will be responsible for dealing with this mess. It’s going to be part of the president’s job to deal with more than one thing at once.”

HA HA HA HA AH HA.

MORE SOUNDBITES PLEASE, SENATOR OBAMA. I think you could be really good at them if you practice.

Just for the record, the current $700 billion bailout bill looks like it gives all that money to one dude — Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson — to distribute to banks, both failing and not failing, with accountability to no one. I think possibly a better bill could be written — f’rinstance by me, tonight, with a crayon. Hell, you expect accountability when you hand off $5 for a lunch run to Arby’s!

sidebar
As Bartcop sez, all that money isn’t missing — it was stolen. But we assume it’s too hard to get back from the people who stole it, so we aren’t trying. Make of this what you will, but it’s useful in this discussion to remember that some people profited enormously from this $700 billion theft and the current bill doesn’t even want to ask them questions.
/sidebar

When McCain says the options are either this bill or the Great Depression — fear-mongering is for cult leaders, not presidents, despite eight years of Bush & Co.’s new deal. Give me $700 billion! No? Give me $700 billion or the flying spaghetti monster WILL COME TAKE YOUR SOUL. Ah, that’s much better, thank you.

Yet McCain says he can’t come out and play at the debates because he has to show up in Congress for the first time in six months. Very well. I have no problem giving two hours of primetime to just Obama and a bottle of Dasani. It’d probably make better TV anyway.

The Democratic Response

Ah ha ha ha. Sad but true.

From bartcop, God love ‘em