As another American titan bites the dust, McCain flounders

"Better it is to get wisdom than gold," inscription over doorway leading to courtyard at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

As another huge corporation bites the dust and others teeter on the brink, John McCain still believes "the fundamentals of our economy are strong." And if you believe that, there's a bridge to nowhere for sale in Alaska. ABC News is among the media calling McCain out for supporting policies that led directly to Wall Street's woes.

McCain apparently needs more geography lessons, as he can't seem to distinguish between Spain and Mexico in an interview with the largest Spanish-language newspaper El Pais.

Meanwhile, the Republicans continue their campaign shenanigans, trying to suppress the voting rights of Michigan residents who have lost their homes to foreclosure; trying to pervert the course of justice in Alaska and making inflammatory comments in phone calls to voters in five states. Whew! How do they find the time? Imagine if they spent all that energy trying to do something good for our country, rather than tearing it down.

In response to the Republicans' early voter suppression efforts, a non-partisan group of civil rights lawyers today launched Election Protection. The backbone of their effort is a hotline number (866-OUR-VOTE), that voters can call to report problems and have their questions answered. Lawyers will be on hand at polling places nationwide on election day.

If you're as exhausted as I am from this political circus, maybe a session in a tanning bed would help? Why Gov. Sarah Palin likes it so much, she had one installed in her office! Despite being called out by numerous media outlets and fact-checkers, on the campaign trail this week, Palin continues to repeat her lies about Obama's tax plan and her direct involvement with the Bridge to Nowhere and receiving government earmarks.

Sad, really. The McCain campaign seems to think Americans are completely stupid and will accept anything they say as facts. Let's prove them wrong and elect Sen. Barack Obama.

Sen. Barack Obama discusses the challenges facing America and his plans to help us move forward:

"In the past few weeks, Wall Street’s been rocked as banks closed and markets tumbled. But for many of you – the people I’ve met in town halls, backyards and diners across America – our troubled economy isn’t news. 600,000 Americans have lost their jobs since January. Paychecks are flat and home values are falling. It’s hard to pay for gas and groceries and if you put it on a credit card they’ve probably raised your rates. You’re paying more than ever for health insurance that covers less and less.

"This isn’t just a string of bad luck. The truth is that while you’ve been living up to your responsibilities Washington has not. That’s why we need change. Real change. This is no ordinary time and it shouldn’t be an ordinary election. But much of this campaign has been consumed by petty attacks and distractions that have nothing to do with you or how we get America back on track.

"Here’s what I believe we need to do. Reform our tax system to give a $1,000 tax break to the middle class instead of showering more on oil companies and corporations that outsource our jobs. End the ‘anything goes’ culture on Wall Street with real regulation that protects your investments and pensions. Fast track a plan for energy ‘made-in-America’ that will free us from our dependence on Mid-East oil in ten years and put millions of Americans to work. Crack down on lobbyists – once and for all — so their back-room deal-making no longer drowns out the voices of the middle class and undermines our common interests as Americans.

"And yes, bring a responsible end to this war in Iraq so we stop spending billions each month rebuilding their country when we should be rebuilding ours. Doing these things won’t be easy. But we’re Americans. We’ve met tough challenges before. And we can again. I’m Barack Obama. I hope you’ll read my economic plan. I approved this message because bitter, partisan fights and outworn ideas of the left and the right won’t solve the problems we face today. But a new spirit of unity and shared responsibility will."

Comments

[My Mélange]

Speaking of Caribou Barbie-

Yesterday she answered questions in a town hall and from the media. I was amazed that this is actually BIG NEWS in America when a VP candidate is ALLOWED to answer questions.

She failed miserably BTW, a voter in the audience (this is a damn side show after all) asked her to expand on her foreign policy qualifications. She could have put us all at ease and given specifics- perfect opportunity. Instead, she danced and stumbled around the question- never answered it and then changed the subject. Pathetic!!! Case CLOSED!

I am beginning to wonder if this is what Vaudeville was like!!

[Lynne Rutter]

eh, i dunno about "tax breaks" at a time like this. i don't have any kids but i'd gladly pay more taxes if the schools here got what they needed. if i get $1,000 refund (or even a $600 "stimulus package") i donate it to planned parenthood or one of the other organizations that need it to help people.

[Christina]

This guy McCain is a clown who could give a damn about the people of this country. The circus officially has come to town. I feel like somebody is playing a sad joke on our country.

[tangobaby]

Tara,

How is it that the "regular" news now sounds entirely like late-night comedy skits gone awry? A tanning bed?!!! I know you too well to know that you're not making this up, just passing along the news of the day.

This country has become a cartoon!

ps. I love that photo and especially the caption. I'm sure McSame doesn't have anything inscribed like that on the lintels of his multiple homes...how many was it again, seven? Eight?

[Colette]

P.S. John Neffinger on Huffingtonpost.com - an excerpt on how McCain wanted to privatize Social Security.

"But now that you can't look at a newspaper or TV screen without seeing the mayhem on Wall Street, it's time to remind Americans what the world would look like if John McCain was in charge of our economic policy. Plenty of people are losing plenty of their retirement savings as it is. But if we had let Bush and McCain privatize social security, some of those people would be losing a lot more. And a lot of other people with less retirement savings would be hurting even more, because they depend on social security to cover basic needs."

This should be headline news. McCain wanted to privatize social security, and had he and Bush succeeded, well, perish the thought.

[Colette]

"Palin continues to repeat her lies about Obama's tax plan..."

P for Parrot.
That's what she's doing, parrotting the words. She didn't know what the Bush doctrine was, so it's not surprising she doesn't know what Obama's Tax plan is. I sometimes wonder if her synapses are firing properly. Or maybe she doesn't know how to read? Or maybe all of the above. It's that tanning bed, radiation you know.

Keep at it. Your neighbors are behind you!