Pinch me, because I must be dreamin'...

(And I'll probably type the above an infinite number of times between now and the middle of 2009, at the earliest)

Sorry for all of the recent inactivity on here - I've had one of the busiest and exhausting weeks in recent memory. Anyway, back to politics...

It seems that there's at least one journalist over at Fersatz News who has a shred of credibility, and his name is Sheppard Smith. Check out the exchange in the video above between Smith and Nick DiPaolo:

DiPaolo:...the MSM being so in the tank for Obama...

Smith: Oh, please. That's preposterous. The MSM reflected what was happening in this nation. It did not drive it. The blogs didn't drive this movement, the media didn't drive this movement. Barack Obama did not lose this election. It was his to lose. It was not John McCain's to win. The Republicans had no shot unless the Democrats gave it to them and they didn't and to blame the media is a cop out and ridiculous....

DiPaolo The MSM has been liberal since its inception. It's years and years of pounding...

Smith: How did George Bush win twice?

DiPaolo: I don't know. Karl Rove is a genius.

DiPaolo misses two key points: 1. Both elections were stolen, and 2. If Karl Rove is such a genius, then why didn't McCain's Swiftboating of Obama prove feckless? The answer is simple - America wasn't falling for it this time.

Maybe, just maybe, the GOP meme of blaming the media for all bad news and events that are unfavorable to Repubes will die with Obama's victory. Okay, now I am dreaming, but this strategy has been in play since the days of President Nixon, who so hated and despised the media.

And I guess that DiPaolo must have been asleep while the media raked Obama over the coals about these topics:

1. The bogus madrassa story (endlessly pimped by Fersatz News until debunked by CNN and some other networks)
2. William Ayers
3. ACORN (porn for Republicans)
4. His alleged ties to anti-Israel radicals
5. Insinuations that he isn't a US-born citizen
6. "Lipstick on a Pig" and the associated accoutrements shouted about by McCain and his enablers
7. Jeremiah Wright (for eight straight days on Fox, MSNBC, CNN and just about every other major news network when the story first went "national" after weeks and weeks of pimping by Fox, Limbaugh and Hannity)
8. The smear about Obama's aunt the weekend before the election
9. Then there's Rashid Khalidi - another phony guilt by association story that failed to stick just days before the election
10. One of my favorites (these are in no particular order) - McCain huffed that Obama hadn't been to Iraq and that he hadn't been to Afghanistan in years; once Obama went, then McCain and conservatives whined about Obama's press coverage, saying lamely that Obama was taking a "victory lap"
11. And who in the hell can forget Joe the Plumber, the Kato Kaelin of the 2008 campaign. I'll have much more on Joe a bit later.

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What's more, up until a few years ago, McCain used to joke that the media was "his base." I guess I'd feel that way, too if the press ran up the flagpole whatever I decided to call myself without questioning it, i.e. - Maverick, Straight Talker, etc.

I have to agree with Sheppard here - the media wasn't necessarily rooting for Obama - it was merely reporting just how inept the McCain campaign was. When Sarah Palin wasn't even able to answer basic foreign policy questions, while asserting that being able "to see Russia from Alaska" gave her foreign policy expertise, then McCain and Palin merely got the coverage they deserved.

What's more, there was plenty that the media failed to explore - Sarah Palin's known links to the independent Alaska movement, McCain's many flip flops on a variety of issues, etc.

But, hey, whatever - who's whining? Not me - McCain got whupped. But, that's not going to stop the right from whimpering like babies for weeks (months? years?) on end. I'm getting a particular kick out of listening to Hannity, O'Lielly, Rush, Drudge and the rest all scrambling to discredit Obama, because for the next four years (and hopefully eight), they will have nothing better to do. They don't have ideas of their own - they merely want to tear Obama down. I hope the president-elect and his team will be prepared for it.

I know I am and will be.

As I've told countless friends and acquaintances since election night - our work is not over - it's just beginning.

Joe the no show Plumber embarrasses Mac

This is some pretty funny footage - evidently, McCain's advance team didn't do a very good job of making sure Joe the Plumber was actually in attendance before McDrilly called on him to be recognized at a campaign rally yesterday.

What's more, it's an indication of just how far McCain's political fortunes have fallen and how clueless his campaign is that McCain is even still referring to him in the first place; after all, it's been widely reported that Joe isn't actually a licensed plumber, he doesn't even earn enough money to buy the business (he was looking for a loan), and that he was all over the right-wing blogosphere spewing right-wing talking points before McCain mentioned him during the third debate.

But, you keep pimping Joe, Senator - I'm sure it's resonating with undecided voters. I love it that McCain tried to recover by saying, "You're all Joe the Plumber!" I don't think you want to be telling your political audiences that they are dumb demagogues, Senator.

It gets even better - reportedly, the McCain campaign had to bus in thousands of school children just to fill the audience:

A local school district official confirmed after the event that of the 6,000 people estimated by the fire marshal to be in attendance this morning, more than 4,000 were bused in from schools in the area. The entire 2,500-student Defiance School District was in attendance, the official said, in addition to at least three other schools from neighboring districts, one of which sent 14 buses.

Wow, the wheels continue to fall off the McCain campaign. It just keeps getting better and better. But, I still think this will be a close election, but for reasons that should scare all of us. More on that in a bit - I'm just finishing up a very long piece about election fraud, and what you can do about it, that I will post a bit later in the day today.

As post-script, take a listen and read to a Joe the Plumber interview on Fox News from a few days ago with Sheppard Smith, when "the Plumber" gets so thoroughly embarrassed, you would think he was on Keith Olbermann's show. Note to the McCain camp: this happened on Fox News!

The audience doesn't get much friendlier than this. Joe sounds so bad in this interview, it's entirely appropriate to call him Sarah Palin... With a Stem.

A rough transcript:

Sheppard: Why specifically is a vote for Obama a vote for the death of Israel?

Joe: Well specifically, look at his record. Obama's agreed to meet with Israel's enemies with no uncertain terms.. In fact he's letting them dictate terms to him and then look at his past associations, people he talks to...

Sheppard: Like who?

Joe: Quite honestly, you know, the gentleman that approached me with that question I agreed to with what I know...

Sheppard: What I can't figure our is why, let's listen to this clip from earlier.

Q: A vote for Obama is a vote for the death to Israel. I'll guarantee you that.

Joe: Well, you know what? I'll actually agree with you on that one. I agree with you. I really think that would be a problem.

Sheppard: Joe, do you know Barack Obama's positions on Israel?

Joe: Ahhh, listen, I know you want to really get some answers on this one, I'm just not going to help you out here Sheppard. Let people go out and find out why I would say something like that. Let people go out and find out the issues....

Sheppard: Do you think John McCain agrees with you?

Joe: No, it's just my personal opinion that I've come up with looking at different facts. Listen, you don't want my opinion on foreign policy. I know just enough to probably be dangerous.

Sheppard: Well that's what I was kind of wondering. I wonder if you think it's dangerous at all for people to say a vote for Barack Obama is the same as a vote for Israel. If you think that's something dangerous for people to start believing because what happens if the polls are right and he becomes the President of the US and people start thinking this means the death of Israel. Are you worried what people might do if they actually believed something like that?

Joe: Well again, that goes back again to what I've been saying.

Sheppard: I just want to make this 100% perfectly clear. Barack Obama has said repeatedly and demonstrated repeatedly that Israel will always be a friend to the United States no matter what happens once he becomes President, his words.

It can now be safely said - Joe the Plumber has become Joe the Dumber for the McCain campaign, and he'll go down as one of the biggest missteps in an otherwise badly run campaign by McCain's people. That's saying something.

Major hat tip to Crooks & Liars for the video and transcript