Month: September 2008

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Economics Election 2008 McCain Politics

Fun Facts About John McCain #9: Phil Gramm

One of McCain’s closest friends and advisers, Phil Gramm, who wrote McCain’s economic plan and who McCain said he relies on to understand the economy, didn’t believe the current crisis was possible.

Actually True. Gramm said that “This is [only] a mental recession…We sort of become a nation of whiners,” just a few months ago. But though McCain distanced himself from the comments, but he kept Gramm’s plans in place. Gramm was, in fact, one of the authors of the bill that deregulated the banking industry, which many economists say led to this crisis.

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Election 2008 McCain Politics

Fun Fact About John McCain #8: Not About Issues

John McCain doesn’t think this election is about issues.

Actually true according to one of McCain’s top advisers which helps explains this.

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Election 2008 Humor McCain Politics Videos

Like a Ricky Gervais sketch

This is a perfect description of how the Palin candidacy – and increasingly the McCain campaign overall – feels to me – “like a Ricky Gervais sketch” – where you want to look away, it’s so embarrassing and almost painful, but you keep watching. If only this weren’t so serious, it would be seriously funny.

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Economics Election 2008 Foreign Policy McCain Obama Politics

SmearedbytheTruth

Check out SmearedbytheTruth.com.

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Economics Election 2008 McCain Politics

David Letterman takes on McCain

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Election 2008 Humor McCain Obama Politics

Off the Deep End

[digg-reddit-me]Over in crazy land, also known as the National Review, Kathryn Jean Lopez says that many readers are suggesting that as Obama is saying the debates will go on…

they’d like McCain to just offer Palin step in for him.

I’d like to go on record as being in favor of that.

What are these people thinking? Either I’m crazy, or they are – and I’m hoping it’s them.

(H/t Andrew Sullivan.)

My guess is that the McCain campaign is (1) seeing a rapid change in the polls and trying to take some momentum back; and (2) wants to postpone the Vice Presidential debate because Palin isn’t ready (as Republicans have acknowledged recently). The Vice Presidential debate is scheduled for next Thursday.

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Election 2008 McCain Obama Politics The Web and Technology

Fun Fact About McCain #7: McCain Will Destroy the Internet as We Know It

McCain will destroy the internet as we know it.

A bit of an exaggeration. But McCain, opposes net neutrality, one of the core technological foundations of the internet – and essential to its growth according to everyone from Google to the inventor of the world wide web. Without net neutrality, the internet will end up like this.

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Economics Election 2008 McCain Obama Politics

Fun Fact About McCain #6: Deregulation

McCain has been an impassioned deregulator, and thus bears responsibility for the banking crisis we are in now.

Not exactly. While McCain has always voted in favor of deregulation, he has never been impassioned about the economy until the market tanked. As one prudent individual said, “I certainly don’t fault Sen. John McCain for these problems. I do fault the economic philosophy he subscribes to.”

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Election 2008 McCain Politics The Clintons

Fun Fact About McCain #5: Bad Blood with Hillary?

John McCain has a history of bad blood with Hillary Clinton.

Half true. Yes, McCain told a joke in poor taste back in the 1990s about Hillary Clinton, Janet Reno, and Chelsea; and yes, by John McCain’s rules of interpreting the phrase “lipstick on a pig“, he called her a pig quite a few times; and yes, he has laughed along with the crowd during the primary when Hillary was called a “bitch.” But they seem to get along well. So – I guess Hillary is a tough woman who doesn’t take the McCain’s insults seriously.

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Election 2008 McCain Politics

Fun Fact About McCain #4: Smears

[digg-reddit-me]McCain has “hired to run this campaign” “the very people” who smeared McCain in the infamous 2000 primary in South Carolina against Bush (as Joe Biden has claimed.)

Actually True. Or at least McCain has hired some of them. ABC News reported that McCain hired Tucker Eskew and the firm that made the Swift Boat ads he criticized in 2004. From denouncing to hiring smear artists – that’s change you can believe in.