Speaking of robo calls...

Speaking of robo calls, listen to this piece of garbage, courtesy of Joe Amato at Crooks and Liars. Among other things, it alleges that Barack Obama and Democrats would cut off funds for the military, that they've accused American troops of "war crimes," and that they pose a threat to national security.

The worst part about this is that the McCain camp has certainly not hit bottom, yet. With 9 days to go, there's little telling how low they'll go to try and turn the tide against Obama.

Oh, and this whole pseudo controversy about "Obama getting tested?" It's claptrap - all new presidents get tested early. Going all the way back to President Kennedy, to use modern examples, every one has been tested early on in their presidencies, and that includes President Bush. Everyone mentions 9-11, but Bush was tested before that. In the spring of 2001, the Chinese clipped a U.S. spy plane that had wondered too close to Chinese airspace, and it had to make an emergency landing in Chinese territory. Sure, in hindsight it pales in comparison to 9-11, but at the time, it was an international incident. It was resolved successfully and the pilots returned home safely, but it was a very early test of Bush.

And that Biden comment, where he mentioned that Obama "would be tested" early in his presidency? It's been manipulated and cut off by the media (surprise). His entire quote also included the phrase that he feels that Obama will respond accordingly and that he'll have a spine of steel.

Giuliani leads the GOP robo call attack

Listen to the ultra-annoying and stupid robo-calls that Rudy Giuliani, America's Profiteer, is doing on behalf of the McCain campaign. I have a hard time believing that robo-calls on either side of the campaign make much of, if not any, difference in the minds of voters. The only reason I can even think of why 9iu1ian1 would partake in such dumb activity is because he's looking for a plum assignment in a would-be McCain administration.

By the way, Rudy's voice makes me want to stick my head in an oven. I wish during one of his robo calls he would say "sufferin' succotash."

However, the stupidity isn't stopping there. On the Thom Hartmann Show last week, a caller from the Carolinas called in to tell a story about how he received a robo-call at 3 a.m. with some blatantly leading, GOP-leaning questions asked by a voice that lamely sounded like Barack Obama. After about 10 minutes, the call was finally identified as coming from the Republican Party. It's not a stretch to say that after 10 minutes that was mentioned just so the party could cover itself legally.

This is just another lame attempt to hoodwink voters. I firmly believe, as long as there isn't wholesale election fraud in selected states, that the American public truly isn't going to buy it on election day and that Barack Obama will be our next president.

Having said that, I sure hope that the Obama campaign, as well as Democratic voters, aren't even remotely getting complacent about his chances, because I still believe that this is going to be a remarkably close election.

Yo, Carville - to the Dean's office!

Would James Carville and Howard Dean just shut up already? There's nothing worse than sore winners, an that's exactly what these two sound like right now. I wonder how much they'd be whining if the Democrats had been unsuccessful?

To be fair, I don't know all of the facts, but I think Carville (Above) makes a number of good points. To leave that much money on the table is inexcusable, especially when there were some very close races. I was very disappointed that Lois Murphy didn't prevail in her race vs. Republican Jim Gerlach in Pennsylvania's 6th District, a district I used to reside in. The race was so razor thin, I wonder if a little more infusion of cash by the DNC would have helped. It sure wouldn't have hurt.

Murphy was the victim of lots of Republican dirty tricks, too, including Robo calling by the Republican National Committee.



But, Dean deserves his due, too. The man's got balls and a backbone, something Democrats were sorely lacking when Terry McAuliffe was chair of the DNC. McAuliffe is a very smart businessman, but he couldn't deliver for the Dems. A pick-up of six governorships and both houses of Congress looks mighty good on Dean's résumé, and those pick-ups will play a critical role in the '08 election, too.

Dean's also a good fundraiser, but as Carville rightfully states, you can't leave money under your mattress in an important election, either. Money will play a critical role in '08, but it will come down to the party nominees, too. More on that in a bit.