Happy Hour Discurso

Today's opining on the public discourse.

Senator Obama seems to be enjoying himself immensely:

I can’t help but enjoy the fact that Barack Obama is successfully taking attacks from George W. Bush and John McCain, and turning them into a positive. He’s effectively taking GOP talking points, and throwing them back in their face.

Sen. Barack Obama went one step further today in his pushback against presumptive GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain and President Bush on appeasement, suggesting that both Republicans have a problem with presidents past who have engaged in direct diplomacy.

“If George Bush and John McCain have a problem with direct diplomacy, led by the president of the United States, then they can explain why they have a problem with John F. Kennedy because that’s what he did with [Soviet leader Nikita] Khrushchev, or Ronald Reagan, ’cause that’s what he did with [Soviet leader Mikhail] Gorbachev, or Richard Nixon ’cause that’s what they did with [Chinese leader Mao Tse-tung],” Obama said in Roseburg, Ore. “That’s exactly the kind of diplomacy we need to keep us safe.”

I'm noticing a trend, here: now that the political attacks are coming from the Republicons rather than HRC, Obama's thriving. He hits back fast, hard and with dignity and truth - excellent qualities in a Democrat who expects to lead the nation. Whereas McCain is playing the typical Republicon snivelling games:

The McCain campaign responded:

“Offering the current Iranian regime an unconditional summit and the status of a super power akin to the Soviets, as Barack Obama has suggested, shows incredibly weak judgment and a dangerous lack of experience,” McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds said.

My goodness, this sure is dumb. First, if McCain is troubled by the notion of equating Iran with the USSR, why hasn’t he said anything while prominent far-right Republicans have equated Iran with Nazi Germany for the last few years? Doesn’t that show “incredibly weak judgment”?

Second, Obama has not offered Iran an “unconditional summit.” That’s utterly absurd, patently dishonest, and the McCain campaign knows it. Obama has said for months that before any direct engagement with a country like Iran, there would have to be extensive diplomatic legwork completed first. Does any serious person think Obama, shortly after he’s inaugurated, is going to jump on a plane to Tehran or Pyongyang — without any advance work — just to see what happens? Does the McCain campaign really believe we’re foolish enough to buy such nonsense?

Yes. Which is why it's refreshing to see a candidate who's treating the American public like they have an actual brain to think with. Who knows - maybe it'll even prove to be true.

Think we should invite Obama to the Carnival of the Elitist Bastards? Heh. Now that would be cachet.

Meanwhile, McCain's campaign woes mount. You see, when you build a substantial portion of your campaign on anti-lobbyist rhetoric, you might kinda sorta maybe you know not staff your entire fucking campaign with lobbyists:

Following up on an earlier item, the McCain campaign has had to get rid of its convention manager, one of its national finance co-chairs, a regional campaign manager, and a senior aide, all within the last week, and all because they were lobbyists discovered to have worked for controversial clients, most notably Burma’s military junta.

That's quite the list. But wait! There's more:

But if McCain is just now starting to realize the problems associated with lobbyists with scandalous client lists running his campaign, he may have little choice but to get rid of Charles Black, McCain’s senior campaign strategist and chief political advisor. Black, in other words,
is McCain’s Karl Rove.

MoveOn.org's running a wee add punching McLame in the gut over this, which is a joy to see. And then there's the fun facts of who Black's lobbied for:

Black’s client list includes (but by no means limited to) Iraq/Iran’s Ahmad Chalabi, Mobutu Sese Seko, Ferdinand Marcos, Somalia’s Mohamed Siad Barre, Nigeria’s Ibrahim Babangida, and Angola’s would-be dictator Jonas Savimbi.

Why, it's a veritible who's-who of disgusting dictators. Remember, my darlings, McCain's dear Mr. Black likes to say it's all behind him now, but he's the fuckwit who was lobbying from the back of McCain's campaign bus earlier this year. What a maroon.

And finally, speaking of amazing fuckwits, our own dear Leader is set to make history once again:

On NBC’s “Meet the Press” this morning, Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) discussed his 21st Century GI Bill, which would dramatically expand educational benefits for returning veterans. President Bush, however, has vowed to veto the bill. Webb blasted Bush for this unprecedented action:

No president in history has vetoed a benefits bill for those who served. … The Republican party is on the block here, to clearly demonstrate that they value military service or suffer the consequences of losing the support of people who’ve served. … The president has a choice here to show how much he values military service.

Has anyone bothered to tell this assclown that it's better to make history for good reasons? I think he needs a twelve-step program to help him quit the veto pen. His addiction is really starting to affect the quality of our lives.