Now, you know I can’t abide Andrew Sullivan for a bunch of reasons. Hence my unwillingness to give him any traffic at all by even going to his site and re-posting his article here. But when I saw this blurb, and Sullivan’s arrogant, and sexist, title, I just couldn’t resist. I almost cracked up laughing that he, of all people, is getting his nose out of joint about the questions Cheney was asked in this interview. Apparently, he has forgotten just about every interview Obama has had since he began his campaign, and he was running for the highest office in the land! Cheney is not running for anything (and I hasten to add, I have absolutely NO love lost for Dick Cheney. I appreciate that he supports his daughter, her partner, and their child, but that’s about it).

Perhaps Sullivan forgot this interview by Charlie Gibson of ABC News, an outlet that uses OUR airwaves for FREE, of Obama during the campaign:

How does it feel to break a glass ceiling?
How does it feel to “win”?
How does your family feel about your “winning” breaking a glass ceiling?
Who will be your VP?
Should you choose Hillary Clinton as VP?
Will you accept public finance?
What issues is your campaign about?
Will you visit Iraq?
Will you debate McCain at a town hall?
What did you think of your competitor’s [Clinton] speech?

Oooooohhhhh – how di Obama withstand those WITHERING questions?

Or more recently, how about Brian Williams and his day at the White House, one that culminated in THIS moment:

Seriously?? He really wants to go down this road of how political interviewees are handled? How about this clip with George Stephanapoulous:

Heck, George even supplies the correct verbiage to Obama! And may I just say one more time – HOW was this man portrayed as being ELOQUENT??? Holy smokes.

Okay, one more to prove the point, if you can stomach watching Keith Olberman:

Oh, yes – that is some HARD-HITTING “journalism” there for Mr. Sullivan. Get one of the two most biased for Obama show hosts (I refuse to call Olberman a “journalist”) to lob softballs for Obama to trash the Republicans.

By the way, remember Obama’s appearance with McCain at Ground Zero? Yeah, so dignified:

I digress. Back to the whole hard-hitting journalism thing: At least Steve Kroft pointed out Obama’s inappropriate laughter here:

But he did so with a smile, and accepted that lame-ass excuse from Obama as to why he was laughing while indicating how he was going to use our money to bail out the UAW even though Americans were STRONGLY opposed to that idea.

Sullivan complains about the questions asked Cheney? Maybe he should have been so worried about the questions asked of Obama…

Axelrod puppet Barack Obama studies Axelrod puppet Deval Patrick as the latter offers empty slogans and gestures

David Axelrod manufactures commodities, not politicians: they don suits; they read teleprompters; they promise something new and unprecedented; but these newfangled objects cannot govern. No, I am not referring to Barack Obama, although this news does not bode well for Axelrod’s latest product; I am discussing Deval Patrick, who according to a 7News Boston poll has lost all credibility with the voters of Massachusetts.

Readers of No Quarter recall how Obama and Patrick read from the same script penned by David Axelrod.

I guess the voters of Massachusetts are finally experiencing a moment of disenchantment. Perhaps they now realize that all Axelrod’s commodities cum politicians can offer are “just words.” I quote the Boston Herald:

The survey of 400 registered voters – Democrats, Republicans and unenrolled alike – shows angry Bay Staters quickly losing faith in the state government, with Patrick taking the biggest hit.

Only 34 percent of those surveyed in the poll conducted for 7News by Suffolk University say the governor deserves re-election, while a stunning 47 percent say it is “time to elect someone else.”

Voters gave Patrick a 43 percent unfavorable rating and a 44 percent favorable rating. The rest are undecided….

Asked about Patrick’s job performance, 49 percent disapproved, 40 percent approved and 11 percent were undecided….

Patrick’s dismal poll numbers come after battering in the press over his naming of a senator pal to a costly plum post, raises for sheriffs, addition of two pricey staffers to the Pike payroll, embarrassing comments by his transportation secretary and his own dismissal of the controversies as “trivial.”

Aloof and oblivious to the cronyism of his administration, the incompetence of his Cabinet members and the apparent lack of ethics and fiscal responsibility he and his operatives are exhibiting, Deval Patrick is the ominous reflection of his political semblable Barack Obama.

No wonder why the NRSC has created the following advertisement:

The NRSC now knows what we have always known: Obama is just another Patrick. Indeed, he is just an updated version of a model everyone now knows is failed. He is, in other words, just so many ethereal words.

I am sure Obama will dismiss all the contradictions highlighted in the NRSC advertisement as so much trivia. He will probably claim that we cannot hold him accountable for what he promised during the campaign. After all, all he had uttered before the desperate crowds were “just words.” And I am sure he will become as aloof and oblivious as Patrick has as more and more voters lose confidence in his ability to lead as controversy compounds controversy. Commodities are alluring during a campaign, but they prove to be defunct the moment one tests their ability to govern. All that once appeared to be solid evaporates into so much hot air, I guess. The object that seemed so tangible in its promise provided nothing more than an impalpable mirage.

Obama is quickly becoming a Patrick, who from all indications is dead on arrival in 2010. Certainly if Obama continues on the path he has forged thus far, he too will be a flash in the pan, a wonder who lasted one term. This should be of no surprise, for he and Patrick are cut from the same cloth, hewn from the same block of wood, carved by the same Axelrod. And besides, his/tory has this tendency to repeat itself, rendering the past, the present and the future all into one grand, temporally suspended farce. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, would have made her/story. For she was not assembled in Axelrod’s toxic factory.

It looks like President Obama hasn’t gotten acquainted to his White House surroundings. On the way back to the Oval Office Tuesday, the President approached a paned window, instead of the actual door — located a few feet to his right.

Uh, yeah. That would be a window, as evidenced by the fixed nature, lack of hinges, and a doorknob. Ahem.

As a reminder:

Doors didn’t open automatically for Obama’s predecessor either. While making a hasty exit from a 2005 press conference in Beijing, former President George W. Bush tugged on the handles of a door, only to find it locked.

Bush laughed off the blunder, but the pictures still live on as part of Bush’s lame duck legacy. However, there was little note taken of Obama’s rookie mistake.

Really? The media is going to ignore yet another “mistake” of Obama’s? What a new and different approach for their treatment of Obama! Cough. Ahem.

C’mon, already – this is pretty damn laughable. How can they ignore this? Shoot, at least Bush was somewhere unfamiliar – this was at the freakin’ Oval Office!! You better believe if this had been ANYONE else, ANYONE, it would be leading all of the news stories. Oh, well, I guess I should be thankful SOMEONE is covering it. The article finishes up with a bit of an excuse (again, oh what a surprise):

Obama, who was returning from meeting with Congressional leaders, may have been distracted by Republicans’ icy reception to his $825 billion stimulus package, which is poised to pass on Wednesday even without a groundswell of Republican support.

Yeah, that’s the ticket. He was thrown off his stride by those schmucky Republicans! What is their problem not wanting to hand out even more money for things like, oh, $600 million more for its fleet of 600,000 government cars? So what if the US Government is already spending a cool $3 BILLION a year on these cars? Sheesh! Skinflints.

Anywho – let’s just see if this photo has the shelf life of the Bush photo. I, for one, am not holding my breath.

Oh, but WAIT, there’s more that just came out!!! (Major H/T to Andy for this story.) It seems that before Obama tried to enter through the window at the Oval Office, he tried to take the wrong elevator after meeting with Republican Senators. He was a bit “disoriented,” it seems. Wow. This stuff practically writes itself. Though that was not as much of a faux pas, since he was trying to use the Senators’ elevator. Come to think of it, consider how little he did while in the Senate, it’s kind of a surprise he even knew about that elevator! Ahem.

Yep – I’m thinking there are going to be a whole lot more of these kind of episodes. As my buddy, Divine Democrat reminded me, we’ve already had his “57 states” thing, and I know he’s made a ton of gaffes while on the campaign trail. At least that’s something toward which we can look forward, right? Ahem.

What are some of the ones Obama made that stand out to you?

The IBD today has an article about what the problems could be.

As Obama makes political hay off protectionism and promises a new Smoot-Hawley era, it’s no surprise our trading partners are beginning to look to other markets — such as Europe. It’s a warning.

Our No. 1 trading partner, Canada, isn’t stupid. When Obama threatened last February to rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement on his own terms, our northern ally started looking abroad to other markets.

They found a big one in Europe, which seems to have few hang-ups about increasing exports and signing free-trade treaties. Last Friday, Canada and the European Union held the first talks toward an eventual free trade agreement between the two.
——————

Canada isn’t the only one responding to these chill trade winds blowing in from the Washington elites in election season.

Read the rest ->

Colombia is also preparing to sign a free-trade deal with Europe, as its own free-trade accord with the U.S. languishes after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blocked it in Congress last April.

U.S. allies are wise to seek other partners no matter what the U.S. climate — the U.S. downturn no doubt plays a role too. But it started with noises out of the U.S. about pulling up the drawbridge.

Hey, I’m sure we shouldn’t be worried. Canada, after all, is a very unreliable trading partner. . . . . .

2) CNN has a story today about the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While you may be familiar with “rape as a weapon,” the natural progression to what may come next will still take your breath away.

She talks about a woman being gang-raped by 15 soldiers. Some violated with sticks and knives. Cannibalism. She has returned from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where thousands of women and girls have been systematically raped during a 10-year war that some say has cost more lives than any other war since World War II.

“It’s ‘femicide,’ ” Ensler says, using another word to describe the treatment of Congolese women. “It’s the systematic destruction of women. It’s an economic war fought on the bodies of women. It’s the destruction of the Congolese people and life itself.”

Femicide – a new word and a stunning description. I had to stop everything else I was doing and pay attention to this story. The author quotes Eve Ensler, who has visited the Congo when asked why this story hasn’t gotten more attention:

The world’s reaction has been muted so far and Ensler, best-known as the playwright of “The Vagina Monologues,” says she knows why.

“A lot of it is flat-out racism,” she says. “When we see conflicts that involve white people, the world responds faster. Bosnia is a perfect example.”

I’m going to have to disagree with Ms Ensler here. I think the overarching problem is misogyny not race. We’ve become used to “honor killings,” “female circumcision,” and burqas in “less advanced” countries. We’ve seen inequality of income, position and rights in other countries and a reduction of women to a one word physical description in the “most advanced” country.

What is the thread running through all this? Is it race? No. It’s gender. If it weren’t gender, then Congolese women would be respected by their countrymen and family members while the atrocities were committed by outsiders, right?

Not so much.

Rape has become a primary weapon in that war, says Geoffrey Keele, a UNICEF spokesman. Keele says rape is designed to destroy the Congolese community. Husbands, families and villages often shun rape victims. A weak and divided community is easier to conquer.
——————-

Congolese women have traditionally held such low status that many expect violence from their husbands and men, Keele says.

“A lot of the women we talked to had said that this is just their lot in life and it is something to be endured,” he says.

The US isn’t the Congo. We don’t have that country’s savage war. But we do seem to enjoy some of the same retrograde attitudes to women. And no one seems to be held accountable for those attitudes. If it’s about a woman, you can say pretty much anything you want. Check that. You CAN say anything you want. Quite frankly, I’m not sure what HASN’T been said about either Hillary Clinton or Sarah Palin here in the “enlightened” US.

3) Over at Commentary, Jennifer Rubin talks about Biden’s gaffe regarding Obama’s “first test” as US President.

Joe Biden may have the inside track on the real “Obama doctrine.” His mega-gaffe may actually have revealed something more than his own inability to keep his lips sealed. Aside from predicting that the world’s “evil doers” will take advantage of the young President (not a bad prediction), he also tells us to be prepared for a poor reaction. In his words, “it’s not gonna be apparent initially, it’s not gonna be apparent that we’re right.” What does that mean?

Bill Kristol suggests:

In other words, Biden is forecasting inaction by Obama in the face of testing by a dictator. I suspect he’s right in this forecast. McCain might want to clarify this point. It’s not just that Obama’s own running mate expects an international crisis early in his presidency. It’s not just that Obama has a weak foreign policy record. It’s that Biden himself expects what will appear to be a weak response from Obama to testing by a dictator.

Biden after all is watching Obama in action — receiving briefings with him and presumably discussing both national security policy and personnel. Biden, famously unable to keep to himself any thought that pops into his head, has now let slip out what’s troubling him. But we don’t know what prompted this spasm of honesty. Was it mulling over the Obama non-reaction to Georgia? Was it some reaction to developments in Iraq? Has he heard about Obama’s intentions on Iran or North Korea? It would be nice to know.

For whatever reason, Biden clearly told people that an Obama reaction to some undetermined event some time in the future would not initially appear to be the “right” decision. WTH? So now we’re down to lowering expectations for a President Obama too? Great. . .

Of course, John McCain had a response too.

We don’t want a president who invites testing from the world at a time when our economy is in crisis and Americans are already fighting in two wars,” McCain, a 72-year-old Vietnam War veteran, told a crowd Monday in Belton, Mo.

“What is more troubling is that Sen. Biden told their campaign donors that when that crisis hits, they would have to stand with them, because it wouldn’t be apparent Sen. Obama would have the right response,” added the Republican nominee, who was spending Tuesday in Pennsylvania, another battleground. “Forget apparent. Sen. Obama won’t have the right response, and we know that because we’ve seen the wrong response from him over and over during this campaign.”

4) Here’s something amazingly lame. The best funded political campaign in the history of the world will be charging media to cover its “election-night celebration in Chicago.”

A memo sent to news organizations on Tuesday by the Obama campaign says credentials will cost $715 to $1,815, depending on whether electrical and phone lines are needed and whether an indoor or outdoor seat is requested for the event, which is expected to be held outside the evening of Nov. 4 in Grant Park.

The only free admissions are for a “general media” area. But, the memo says, “Please note that the general media area is outdoors, unassigned and may have obstructed views . . . standing room only.”

The area also does not include access to top Obama campaign officials, whose statements likely are to be in hot demand on Election Night. They apparently will be available only in the “press file” tent, to which an additional admission fee of $935 per person is being imposed.

Obama aides declined to answer questions about why a campaign that raised $150 million in the month of September is demanding such payments. But the memo already is drawing some protest.

A whole new definition of “pay to play” and of “presidential access.” And just cheesy. Classless and cheap. At the Sun-Times is a list of the “coverage resource packages available for purchase” from the Obama campaign.

FROM THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN….

The following coverage resource packages are available for purchase:

* Main Riser Position – $935 (Includes 4 Main Riser Credentials, 5′x8′ Slot on Covered Main Riser and one 20 amp circuit)

* Main Riser Position with Telecommunications – $1870 (Includes Main Riser Position services, PLUS two unlimited long distance/local phone lines and one wired high speed internet connection)

* Cut Riser Position – $880 (Includes 4 Cut Riser Credentials, 5′x8′ Slot on Covered Cut Riser, one 20 amp circuit)

* Cut Riser Position with Telecommunications – $1815 (Includes Cut Riser Position services, PLUS two unlimited long distance/local phone lines and one wired high speed internet connection)

* Press File Seat – $935 (includes 1 Press File Credential, seat in heated Press File Tent, Power, Cable Television, High Speed Wired Internet Service, Catering)

* Satellite Truck Position – $900 (includes 35′x20′ parking position and 100 amp electrical service)

* Radio Position – $715 (includes table space and chair behind the riser, power and an ISDN BRI line for radio — comes with two credentials)

Billing information must be submitted at as part of the request. Your credit card will not be charged until the campaign confirms your coverage resource package request. Coverage resource packages must be requested at:

http://www.barackobama.com/pressbilling

Additional services may be purchased a la carte:

* Unlimited Long Distance Phone Line – $300
* High Speed Wired Internet – $275
* One 20 amp circuit – $165

For telephone service internet connectivity and additional power, orders must be placed by October 23rd, 2008. For questions on pricing or additional telecommunications assistance, please contact (deleted)

The following credentials may be requested at no cost:

* General Press Area – No Charge (Includes access to bike racked press area with standing room only)

You must fill out the form to the right to request each individual General Press Area credential.

Request media credentials for the Election Night event:

Credentials to access the General Media Area are available at no cost. Please note that the General Media Area is outdoors, unassigned and may have obstructed views. General Media Area credentials do not include access to riser positions, satellite truck parking or the press filing center.

Huh. Kind of like charging for the bar mitzvah or a slice of the wedding cake ($5 for a slice, and extra $2 for icing), huh? I wonder if MSNBC will get a sweet deal. Think Obama will install a toll booth at the White House press room? Does he get a cut of the fees? Silly me, I thought that the President worked for all of us. And the press, no matter how lame and crummy, is made up of, (mostly) humans who happen to be citizens. But for some reason, Obama thinks they need to pay to have access. There are sooooo many things wrong with this I can’t even list them all. Please, have a shot at it.

5) FiveThirtyEight says the PUMA movement is dead.

This is really the key theme of the whole post-Lehman Obama surge. Between his more populist talking points on the economy, the backlash to McCain’s attacks, and — I’m guessing here — a deep level of antipathy among Democrats toward Sarah Palin (Battleground has her favorability ratings at 12/78 among Dems), Obama has really brought the Democratic base home. By contrast, Obama’s support among independents varies quite significantly from poll to poll, ranging from essentially even in the Rasmussen tracker to a +15 in Zogby.

6) And lest we forget that money makes the world go ’round – or at least on election day in PA.

When the Philadelphia Democratic Party’s faithful gathered for their pre-election fundraiser last night, conversation among many anxious ward leaders kept coming back to the same question: Would Barack Obama come up with street money?
——————–

Street money, typically between $100 and $300 per voting division, is used to pay expenses such as meals and transportation and sometimes pay election workers for their day’s work.
——————-

“Honestly, they’d be crazy not to do it,” said Lou Agre, leader of the 21st Ward in Roxborough and Manayunk. “We’re the ones who can get those last five, six hundred people [in a ward] who haven’t voted, and that’s a big difference for the campaign.”

City Democratic chairman U.S. Rep. Bob Brady said he’s confident the Obama campaign will come up with the money.
—————————

“The single most important thing you can do to get elected is to have street money!” Rendell shouted, adding, “There are people from the Obama campaign here, so let’s all say it again. The most important thing you can do to get elected is have street money!”

Ah. The reason for the ridiculous amount of money at last. “Street money!” Pay everyone to “get out the vote” and hope they actually vote the way you want them to. I wonder how much it really takes to get people to “get out the vote.” More change you can believe in.

Medusa’s original post: According to a rumor on Daily Kos, Obama’s internals show him with a mere 2 point lead in Pennsylvania. If true, this is very bad news for the Anointed One. John Kerry carried Pennsylvania by only 2.5 points, and Kerry didn’t insult the voters there.

Heidi Li Feldman and Marc Rubin of the Denver Group and Democrats for Principles Before Party (DFPBP) have two ads currently running in different metro regions in Pennsylvania. Watch the most recent one, here:

Pennsylvania is key in the election, and as you may have heard, Democratic Representative Jack Murtha first called his own Pennsylvania constituents “racists” but has now softened the insult by calling them “rednecks.” In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Murtha said:

There is no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area

But actually it turns out that these people are the gun-toting, bitter, religious types that the Dems find so clingy and bitter. Murtha clarified his remarks to mean that:

some of his constituents in western Pennsylvania are “rednecks” and the entire region just five to 10 years ago was “really redneck.

Marc Rubin’s fabulous post on No Quarter How Democrats Can Defeat Obama, See McCain Win, Still Get Everything They Want and Respect Themselves In The Morning spelled out the reasons why many Democrats refuse to vote for Obama:

Many Democrats seem to be going through a period of conflict over this election. They see Obama for what he is: a dishonest snake oil salesman, unfit and unqualified to be President, throwing out one sweet talking lie after another as the political Mr. Goodbar, trying to pick up as many votes as he can get.

Rubin rightly states that Obama must be defeated in order to “fumigate” the Democratic Party of its corrupting influences. And he urges people to vote for McCain to send a clear message to the party that gave us the Rules and By-Laws that awarded Hillary’s votes to Obama:

Obama is the nominee because of a dishonest primary in which these same people, along with the press, did everything possible to sell Obama as the nominee and do it as dishonestly as they knew how, including rigging the roll call vote, violating every Democratic Party rule and procedure in the process.

Dean, Pelosi, Brazile, Fowler and every member of the DNC who engineered and went along with fixing the process needs to go. Those who won’t resign (though I think many will after an Obama defeat) need to have their power and their base removed, so the that the Democratic Party can air itself out. And the only way that can happen is with an Obama loss. And the bigger the better.

Rubin is a former advertising executive and he understands how advertising works. In a recent interview on No We Won’t radio, with Riverdaughter, Heidi Li and Harriet Christensen, Rubin explains how skewed the polls are and why, and he says that with enough money to create ads, he feels that the DFPBP could influence this election away from Obama. Listen to the interview here.

Donating to The Denver Group’s DFPBP is a powerful way to make a difference now. If we can get 500 No Quarter regulars to donate $20 we, as a community, could raise $10,000 to run powerful, persuasive ads in Pensylviania and other battleground states!!! Now is the time to act. You have the power. Click here to donate.

Remember what Hillary said:

For everyone here in Ohio and across America who’s ever been counted out but refused to be knocked out, for everyone who has stumbled but stood right back up, and for everyone who works hard and never gives up — this one is for you.

More No Quarter posts on The Denver Group:

The quality of intent: What is really at stake in the 2008 Presidential Election by Heidi Li Feldman

Holding the DNC’s Feet to the Fire: An Interview with Marc Rubin of The Denver Group by Ani

The Denver Group’s New Video by SusanUnPc

The Denver Group’s Letter To Prevaricator Howard Dean by Uppity Woman

MAKING THE SQUEAKY WHEEL SQUEAK LOUDER Marc Rubin

NQ Radio Interview — The Denver Group Bud White

In the ad, Obama attacks McCain for being in office since 1982, thus implying he’s been around too long. Apparently, he forgot that his own running mate has been in since 1973. No matter. That’s not the worst part, it’s just stupid. No, the worst part is when the ad mocks – yes, MOCKS – McCain for not being able to use a keyboard and send email, apparently trying to keep his youthful base. Well, that’s also kinda stupid insofar as some senior citizens might take offense, but that’s not the biggest issue with it. Ready? Here is it:

JOHN MCCAIN CANNOT TIE HIS SHOES OR EVEN COMB HIS HAIR MUCH LESS USE A KEYBOARD BECAUSE OF THE INJURIES HE SUSTAINED AS A POW!!! Seriously, he cannot raise his arms above his shoulders.

This is all pretty well known, which is what makes Obama’s latest ad not just offensive, but cruel and heartless.

How dare he mock this man who almost died in service to this country for not being able to do “hip” activities like use a keyboard when the man cannot even comb his hair!!!

What the hell is the MATTER with Obama??? This is so reminiscent of Saxby Chambliss attacking Max Cleland as being unpatriotic, except that Chambliss was not running to be COMMANDER IN CHIEF!!! If this is how Obama treats this war hero, how can any of our returning wounded veterans expect him to take their issues, their physical limitations, seriously??

There are many who are writing on this issue, and better than I, so I refer you to my favorite haunt, No Quarter, to see some of those pieces. But I saw a piece on this ad today that just stymied me. The title is: “Obama Gets Tough, Shoots Self in Head.” True that, but it was THIS sentence from that piece that really hit me:

“I’ve always thought that Barack Obama is unqualified for the office of President—he isn’t qualified to be a Senator, either—but I’ve never thought he was particularly mean-spirited. Until now.”

I’m sorry, WHAT? You never thought Obama was mean-spirited (though I applaud you for recognizing that he is not fit to hold elected office)? I have long thought he was, and he has shown it in any NUMBER of ways. Here are just a few: remember the “Harry and Louise” ads in which he completely misrepresented Hillary Clinton’s Universal Health Care message, as well as NAFTA, and how he dismissed her when she spoke out about the ads? Here’s a refresher:

ABC News’ Sunlen Miller reports: After two of Sen. Barack Obama’s mailers, one on NAFTA and the other on health care, prompted Sen. Hillary Clinton to say, “Shame on you, Barack Obama,” Obama told reporters Clinton got “exercised this morning,” and that the notion that “somehow we are engaging in nefarious tactics, I think, is hard to swallow.”

Uh, no, no it isn’t.

Okay, that was mild, but still, shows his character. How about this one?

Or this:

Or how about this:

Don’t you just LOVE his mealy mouth attempts to claim this didn’t happen?? Claire McCaskill’s mouth does not look like she is saying a damn thing, Obama. And pictures don’t lie.

How about the ever-growing number of people he has thrown under the bus whenever it was politically expedient to do so, INCLUDING HIS OWN GRANDMOTHER? That doesn’t strike anyone as being mean-spirited?

Hell, I could go on and on and on, sadly. I just cannot believe that people are just NOW seeing how mean-spirited he IS. He has demonstrated it time and time again, but I guess since his minions were laughing, others thought maybe it was suppsoed to be funny.

Yeah, well, that freakin’ offensive as all-get-out ad was SUPPOSED to be funny – if he wasn’t making fun of someone for activities lost to him because of TORTURE!!!

Again, here is the one the DNC shoved down our throat. This mean-spirited, egotistical, arrogant, narcissistic, unqualified, inexperienced blowhard. Well done, DNC. You really know how to pick ‘em.

Who hell the does he think is, POTUS or something? What has he already set up his own shadow government?

While the trip was not connected to the Obama campaign, according to Daniel Kurtzer, he nonetheless provided Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem with some advice of his own.

“I urged him to move ahead in the Israel-Syria negotiations as much as possible so that whoever is the next president would not start from too far down the track,” Mr. Kurtzer, a former American ambassador to Israel, said yesterday in a phone interview. “I did not say anything about Obama or McCain. I said whoever is the next president is not going to want to inherit a process that isn’t going anywhere.”

Where the hell does Obama get off mixing it up with the Syrian government? Is he really that out of it he doesn’t know he isn’t our POTUS at this time?

A spokeswoman for the Obama campaign, Wendy Morigi, said: “Senator Obama values the expertise of Ambassador Kurtzer, but he is not a paid adviser, nor is he authorized to conduct talks with any government. Ambassador Kurtzer’s trip was part of an American Bar Association (ABA) delegation on legal reform and had no connection with the campaign.”

Mr. Kurtzer said he informed the campaign of his trip to Damascus and described his role as someone who gives advice to the campaign and the candidate from time to time on the Middle East. In this capacity, he was at the Illinois senator’s side in Israel last month. “I don’t do politics, I do policy,” Mr. Kurtzer said.

Yeah Right! Now Obama is splitting hairs and so is his adviser. The only thing we are reminded of that Obama is a relative inexperienced candidate.

In a conference call today, McCain adviser, Randy Scheunemann, Senior Foreign Policy Adviser, had this to say, about the meeting, “it was underwritten by a Syrian oil company as well as other Syrian corporations”. He went on to say this “it appears there is no transparency in Obama’s campaign”. It seems to me, Obama truly intends to meet with any dictator or foreign thug without preconditions.

Scheunemann suggested that Obama needed an education in Negotiating 101. He implied there are three conditions that should be met, preconditions, confidence you aren’t being used and confidence you are doing the right thing!

Obama proves again that he is an utter threat to our national security and could very well destroy any foreign agreement we have with any country!

Once again I have to remind you Obama, you are not POTUS and being POTUS is not a game! And you simply are not ready for “prime time”.

One source directed CBS4 to an unpublicized part of the Obama campaign’s Web site where Democratic supporters, reportedly with deep pockets, could buy tickets for $1,000 each. The source told CBS4 he was solicited three times to buy the tickets through the Web site.

—————————–

CBS4 was able to find the Web site only by directly typing in the URL provided by the source. While CBS4 attempted to contact the Obama campaign about the selling of tickets, the pay-for-tickets page was changed to say no more tickets were available.

It’s pretty clear $1,000 just doesn’t buy what it used to.

2) John Kass of the Chicago Tribune, weighs in on the Obama / Ayers paper cache at the UIC Richard J. Daley Library.

Conservative writer Stanley Kurtz—researching an article for the National Review about connections between Barack Obama and former Weather Underground terrorist William Ayers—made a big mistake.

The poor man took a wrong turn on the Chicago Way. Now he’s lost.
———————————

“It leads me to have tremendous fear for the documents,” Kurtz said. “What if they are going through them right now and deciding which names to take out? I’m completely alarmed. I think public scrutiny is the only way to save the documents.”

He should be worried. Though national pundits get thrills running up their legs when Obama speaks, it’s when Daley says “I’ll be very frank” that you’ve got to worry.

Kurtz fears “they’ll manage to take this all the way past the election.”

You think?

3) Jake Tapper at Political Punch (ABCNews) covers the Annenberg cache story from a different angle. The Obama campaign released a new ad tying John McCain to Ralph Reed and Jack Abramoff. When asked about the Obama ad though, a McCain staffer replied this way:

. . . if Barack Obama wants to have a discussion about truly questionable associations, let’s start with his relationship with the unrepentant terrorist William Ayers, at whose home Obama’s political career was reportedly launched. Mr. Ayers was a leader of the Weather Underground, a terrorist group responsible for countless bombings against targets including the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon and numerous police stations, courthouses and bands. In recent years, Mr. Ayers has stated, “I don’t regret setting bombs. . . I feel we didn’t do enough.”

Then the same staffer remarked that the Obama / Ayers papers at UIC should be released.

4) At CNN, David Gergen has an interesting piece. He says Obama needs a “game changer” right now. Although Gergen says campaigns ebb and flow and any McCain advances may be met later by Obama advances, it seems Obama needs to do something interesting – and fast.

Still, this should be a huge wake-up call to Obama and the Democrats. From my perspective, Obama needs to introduce a game changer — and fast — before public opinion starts to gel around the notion that he is a phenom who deserves great respect but is not seasoned enough and would be too much of a risk in the Oval Office.
—————————-

. . . Obama must also introduce a game changer through the way he signals who will be in the Oval Office with him. After all, no president governs all by himself; the success or failure of an administration also rests heavily on the team he assembles to work at his side.

Looks to me like Gergen is thinking Obama isn’t getting the job done on his own. Whatever the “game changing” tactic chosen is, it clearly involves bringing in some heavy weight to lend gravitas and experience to a candidate.

But what does Gergen suggest? HRC as VP or Gore as VP or Obama developing his potential administration sooner rather than later. All seem very unlikely to me and that, by itself says something.

Here’s my observation on Gergen’s idea of introducing a “game-changer” to the ticket. When I get a fountain soda, I often get the diet version and then splash a little of the full-sugar version to add a little extra flavor.

But I still know I’m drinking mainly diet soda.

5) Realclearpolitics has a fun article about dueling negative ads. It starts off like this:

In politics, everyone wants to be seen as a mudslinging virgin — who, like King Lear, is “more sinned against than sinning.” Toward that end, Democrats have crafted the conceit that Republicans are attack dogs, while Democratic candidates are not sufficiently ruthless.

The author then reminds readers that Obama spoke some negativity to the VFW crowd this week:

One of the things that we have to change in this country is the idea that people can’t disagree without challenging each other’s character and patriotism,” said Obama. “I have never suggested that Sen. McCain picks his positions on national security based on politics or personal ambition. I have not suggested it, because I believe that he genuinely wants to serve America’s national interest. Now, it’s time for him to acknowledge that I want to do the same.

Now, surely no one here at NQ thinks any campaign is free of mud-slinging. But you may not know this:

You’ve read the stories about McCain’s ad mocking Obama as a Paris Hilton-like celebrity. But the media have barely reported on the Obama spot that hits McCain for playing the “same old Washington games.” And in case you missed the “old” part — the phrase appears in big letters. NBC Political Director Chuck Todd reported that Team Obama has run a “stealth” negative ad campaign, by placing ads in key markets without first alerting the media.

Hmmm. Surprising? No. What’s a bit surprising is the success that Obama still enjoys in portraying himself as a positive campaigner.

The author goes on to call hypocrisy on THAT. Then she ends with this:

So when I hear Democrats complain that McCain did not stay in a “cone of silence” before the Saddleback Church debate, it means Obama lost the debate. It couldn’t be that McCain won because he does frequent town hall meetings, and he’s heard all the questions before — and he has good answers. No, it has to be because he cheated.

The left then whines that the right plays hardball, and the right excels at slinging mud — blind to the fact that both sides have able mudslingers, but only one side has champion poor losers.

Sounds about right.

6) From sfgate comes one of the more interesting assessment of poll fallout I’ve seen.

At the Saddleback forum with Pastor Rick Warren on Saturday in Orange County, the Republican presidential candidate delivered on-the-money messages and answers so effective they were “scary to me,” said George Lakoff, a renowned author and UC Berkeley linguistics professor who has studied how the human brain absorbs and processes messages.

Lakoff, whose work has helped shaped numerous Democratic candidates’ campaigns, said that “right through the motivational campaign theme, they were doing everything right.”

By contrast, Obama was “overconfident … and certainly not prepared” before the evangelical audience with definitive answers to clearly explain to voters his world view, values and vision, Lakoff said.
————–

Two examples from Saddleback that Lakoff and others said underscore Obama’s troubles:

– McCain – asked his reason for running for president – confidently outlined a strong message of “country first,” urging service to America. That idea, dominant in McCain’s message and the theme of the GOP convention, showed that McCain Republicans have “figured out the formula” of effective campaign communication – and brilliantly melded ideas touted by both Presidents Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy.

– Obama, in contrast, delivered a far more nuanced plea for empathy and building bridges across party lines instead of a more direct answer – telling voters what those values would mean specifically “to your children, your future, your environment,” said Lakoff.

Worth clicking on to read the whole piece.

7) The Boston Globe has a piece that looks interesting. But it isn’t. The title – “It’s up to Obama to erase the doubt,” sounds like a discussion of Obama’s leadership will ensue. Not. The best part is the beginning:

IT’S STILL all about Barack Obama.

Is he ready to be president? Does he care enough about ordinary people to deliver for them?

After that comes a short summary of how McCain and Obama have campaigned over the summer and then the author’s ideas of how Obama can “lose” the election.

He can lose if he keeps responding to debate questions by saying the answer is “above my pay grade.” He did that last week when asked by the Rev. Rick Warren to define the beginning of life, feeding the Republican script that Obama is not up to calling the shots in the Oval Office.

He can lose if he is cast as an abortion-rights extremist, a theme that Republicans are also pushing. A focus on abortion would give the GOP a wedge issue it can use to undercut Obama on the so-called “values” front.

Uh. Ya think? Unfortunately, you won’t learn much from this article. Don’t bother.

8 ) Then contrast that with this lively Boston Herald piece today. The author has a little Obama buyer’s remorse, and he even mentions PUMA!!

Here’s how it begins:

Hillary’s marauding women may be vindicated yet.

The tide has turned for The Precious, The One, The Eloquent and Elegant and Lithe and Liquid and Cool as a Cucumber – except for those unfortunate stick legs (which explain the sweats on the basketball court).

What happened to Obama’s Midas touch? Was it overkill at Coronation Berlin? The tongue-tied orator this weekend uh-uh-uh-ing before the evangelicals at Saddleback Church, his stumbles replayed all over the Internet? I watched and felt – how could this be? – like I was watching a George Bush press conference, sweating it out and wondering, “Oh no! Doesn’t he know the answer to the question?”

The writer goes on to say that as Obama’s campaign has gotten tiring:

The only person who’d bring some excitement back is Hillary herself as veep.

. . . Besides, in a new poll, 28 percent of Hillary’s voters said they weren’t voting for Obama no matter what. Her biggest backers, including PUMA (better known as The Party Unity My Ass girls), are imploring delegates to vote for the candidate who can win (Hillary). Many women still upset about the sexist attacks on Hillary – from MSNBC’s “nutcracker Hillary doll” jokes to Obama himself saying she’s “likeable enough” – aren’t interested in giving her the No. 2 spot when, they say, she earned No. 1.

It ends like this:

I can’t say I have Obama remorse. Yet. But I’m nervous. How did he get so annoying? I wish he’d save nuance and sanctimony for senior seminars; give America some straight answers; crack some jokes at his own high-horse expense; convince me he’s up to this and soothe my furrowed, fretful brow.

That’s what McCain’s done lately. It’s working.

Go and read. It’s short, amusing and worth the time.

• “Does he wear a flag pin on his lapel? Yes, but not always. Like many presidential candidates, sometimes he wears a flag pin, sometimes he wears a breast cancer awareness pin, sometimes he wears his U.S. Senate membership pin and other times he wears no pin at all.”

• “Is he a Christian? Yes. He is a committed Christian. In 1985, he began working as a community organizer with a Christian church-based group seeking to improve the living conditions in poor Chicago neighborhoods.”

The mailer missed the mark! It reminds of us those rumors, that he is unpatriotic and a Muslim, rather than dispels them. Once again our family, friends and neighbors will be discussing the rumors anew.

Here is the second mailer. Part of this mailer has an older white woman saying “I am voting for the candidate who will fix our health care system.” Today, it was revealed that a health care plan backed by the AFL-CIO and SEIU may derail Obama’s healthcare plan.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcdnlNZg2iM[/youtube]

And now this on a union backed health care plan is called “guaranteed affordable choice”. More on that:

If SEIU and the AFL-CIO get their way, the day that all Americans have affordable insurance will be pushed into the unforeseeable future.

The labor-backed plan, which they call “guaranteed affordable choice,” would create a public program like Medicare that would allegedly compete with the nation’s 1,500 insurance companies. Americans would get tax-financed subsidies to purchase insurance from either a private insurance company or the public plan. Competition, which has never worked in the health insurance industry, would magically come to life.

By leaving the bloated insurance industry smack in the middle of our health care system, “guaranteed affordable choice” would have taxpayers and premium-payers continuing to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on unnecessary administrative costs.

The other two faces on the mailer show white older males, one a retiree and one still employed. It will evoke memories of the comments spoken in front of wealthy donors in San Francisco. Here are Obama’s exact words:

“You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them,” Obama said. “And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

And of course we will be reminded of Obama’s stance on NAFTA. Or were those just words and he didn’t mean it?

“While Senator Obama was telling voters he would fix NAFTA, his chief economics advisor was telling Canadians that his position was just words.

The AFL-CIO wasted their money and time. The AFL-CIO needs to go back to the drawing board on these mailers! If the mailers evoke these memories in me, what will they do for the union members and the bitter people living in Pennsylvania? All those campaign gaffes during the primaries will haunt Obama’s dream again, while I sleep peacefully at night!

Update: The video above is a “REVISED” version. For the 1st version, Click Here. Again, for the 1st version, the text at the beginning of the video which may appear “smeared” is pasted onto the video so that it is easier to read. If it is too quick, press the handy “pause” button.

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From my blog, “Come A Long Way.”

Obama’s Speechwriter: A Baby Faced, 26-Year-Old White Guy 

So, Obama is really, really successful at reading a teleprompter, and delivering someone else’s words. A puppet, you might say. 

Then we learned that Obama was regurgitating words originally given by his friend Patrick Deval. Not once, but many times. 

And we not only learned about *borrowed* speeches but also borrowed phrases. 

“Sí Se Puede” or “yes we can” is from the United Farm Workers. 

 “Together we can” was the campaign slogan of Deval Patrick in 2006

“Fired Up! Ready to Go!” is from the NAACP in South Carolina, used by Jondelle Harris Johnson in the Civil Rights marches. 

“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” is a Hopi Indian saying, used by Alice Walker as the title of her book.

But now we learn that not only is Obama a puppet when it comes to giving speeches, but his foreign policy isn’t his either. I knew he had very little foreign policy experience, if any, but doesn’t he have to do anything?? A cast of 300 prepare him daily? Who are these people that are affecting our foreign policy? Shouldn’t they be running for office, or at least vetted, since they are doing all the work? 

A Cast of 300 Advises Obama on Foreign PolicyEvery day around 8 a.m., foreign policy aides at Senator Barack Obama’s Chicago campaign headquarters send him two e-mails: a briefing on major world developments over the previous 24 hours and a set of questions, accompanied by suggested answers, that the candidate is likely to be asked about international relations during the day.One recent Q. & A. asked, for example, whether Mr. Obama supported the decision by Iraq’s prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, to include a timetable for American troop withdrawal in any new security agreements with the United States. The answer, provided to Mr. Obama with bullet points, was yes — or “a genuine opportunity,” as he put it in a speech on Iraq this week. Behind the e-mail messages is a tight-knit group of aides supported by a huge 300-person foreign policy campaign bureaucracy, organized like a mini State Department, to assist a candidate whose limited national security experience remains a concern to many voters.   

I do take some comfort in knowing that many are from the Clinton White House and from Hillary’s staff. (funny how Obama always wanted to distance himself from the politics of the past, and from the Clinton’s, but he always surrounds himself with people from the Clintons years.) 

I know all candidates, and all Presidents have advisors. I know they all have speech writers. But, if you take away Obama’s great speeches, and you take away his foreign policy advisors, what is left? Seriously. He has not accomplished anything. Nada. Zilch. And the LITTLE that he does do, now, (give speeches or comment on foreign policy) is totally scripted and provided by someone else. And when he speaks to groups like African Americans about taking responsibility, he is threatened with castration. And when he has taken a firm stance on an issue, he completely FLIPS and FLOPS on them – FISA, NAFTA, the surge in Iraq, campaign finance, guns, abortion… 

Well, I think we have a pretty good idea of what happens when Obama is left to his own devices. Here are some new ones: 

“Great” Moments in Presidential Speeches: Obama

Another Barack Obama Gaffe: A Civilian Army? (what is that all about??)

The Real Barack Obama, The Flip Flop Kid

The Obama Iraq Documentary: Whatever the Politics Demand

Barack Obama “Uh” Count 

And of course, the classics:

Obama VS. Robert Gibbs on the surge

Obama on Iran

 The Game of Expedience

Obama Just words – just speeches – just think

Obama on Lobbiest bill

Obama on the Race Card

Obama Claims He’s Visited 57 States

Obama on his dad and the flag?

Barack Obama Sees Dead People

Obama’s Memorial Day Gaffe

Obama in Sunrise 

Obama rally in Sioux Falls

Obama on Rezko

Obama Gets Afghanistan Language Wrong 

So, again I ask, is he just a puppet? A flip flopping, do nothing, know nothing, present voting, change jobs every two years, never having accomplished anything, hangs out with bigots, racists, and terrorists, gaffe machine, judgment lacking, slumlord buddy, vain, pandering puppet. 

What does he stand for, really? We thought he was very left. But now he is moving further and further to the right. We can’t look at his voting history, because it is very un-telling (130 present votes on tough issues- intentional, me thinks) We can’t look at his resume because it is very, very short – he has spent more time campaigning then serving in the Senate (146 days). And his state senate job was part time, meeting 55 days a year.  

Hell, we can’t even look at his birth certificate to know if he is who he says he is! We can’t even look to his books for information, because they are full of mistruths, and fictitious characters and situations.

I can’t figure out if he is super calculating and dangerous, or a puppet.  

But, who is controlling his strings? 

Published at American PUMA in Italy. 

Maliki Backs Obama Troop Pullout Plan

BAGHDAD—Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki threw his support behind Barack Obama’s troop withdrawal plan in an interview published Saturday, ahead of an expected visit by the Illinois senator to a significantly calmer Baghdad than the one he last encountered two years ago.

“U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months,” Maliki told the German news weekly Der Spiegel, referring to the plan the Democratic hopeful outlined last week to bring U.S. troops home over a 16-month period starting next year.

“That, we think, would be the right time frame for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes,” Maliki said.

That the prime minister is publicly endorsing Obama’s Iraq proposals may make it difficult for Republican presidential contender John McCain to continue to justify his support for a more open-ended commitment.

Cool huh? Why, Magical Barky Obama is a hit!

He’s taking Iraq by storm, dribbling his basketball-sized ego everywhere!!

Dribble Dribble! The man is a genius! A dynamo!

A Real Foreign Policy Expert Already! In the Accelerated program. One day here, one day there, a Foreign Policy Expert is made! He’s so good at skipping experience steps isn’t he? A day is YEARs when it comes to our own Barack Obama. It’s the Barack Obama Advanced Placement Program!

He’s so advanced he devised his plan before even visiting the place! I mean how Advanced is that?

Maliki loves him! Maliki agrees with him! Everybody should agree with him! He’s Barack Obama!

Ooops. One problem. Reported by CNN, no less! Somebody alert the media! Oh wait! They ARE the media. It’s just sometimes hard to tell.

CNN: Iraq PM Disputes Report On Withdrawal Plan

But a spokesman for al-Maliki said his remarks “were misunderstood, mistranslated and not conveyed accurately.”

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the possibility of troop withdrawal was based on the continuance of security improvements, echoing statements that the White House made Friday after a meeting between al-Maliki and U.S. President Bush.

The two men “agreed that the goals would be based on continued improving conditions on the ground and not an arbitrary date for withdrawal,” the White House said.

In the magazine interview, Al-Maliki said his remarks did not indicate that he was endorsing Obama over presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain.

Somebody give Barack Obama a basketball right now please. While he is visiting other countries, particulary ones at war, it is so much safer for American Foreign Relations to keep him busy playing ball and gyrating for the girls as much as possible.

We’re not in Chicago anymore, Toto. This kind of eager gaffe between Obama and his Media Pimps can dramatically affect relationships.

“Factually Correct, Not Politically Correct”

“Senator Obama, I knew Jack Kennedy, and you’re no Jack Kennedy”

(NEW YORK) (July 17, 2008) One of the great lines in American political history is Senator Lloyd’s Bentsen’s 1988 retort to Senator Dan Quayle, “Senator, I knew Jack Kennedy, and you’re no Jack Kenney.” Senator Barack Obama daydreams that he’s the “new Kennedy.” In your dreams.

The remnants of the Kennedy dynasty have pronounced Obama “the new Kennedy.” Defunct dynasties are like that. They still want to pretend the dynasty lives. But the entire Kennedy/Obama spectacle is farce and charade. Obama is a great actor and entertainer. Kennedy was neither. On the contrary, Kennedy had great personal charm and incredible grace. Obama is the spitting image of the fictional Sammy Glick, not the legendary John F. Kennedy.

I have learned a few lessons about grace along the way, and I vividly remember one lesson administered by Senator Charles Percy in 1978 on a snowy day at the Palmer House in Chicago. Senator Percy could not have been more gracious and more welcoming, and humorous, in introducing me to his audience.

As a talk radio host in Palm Beach, I often raised controversial topics. But callers always felt I was gracious and fair to even my harshest critics. I never screamed, never hung up the phone, never insulted anyone—all while raising the blood pressure of my audience with hot button topics. As so graciousness and gracefulness come with time and experience.

Let’s start with the obvious: The New Yorker cover was laughable. It was ridiculous. And it was funny. I know the East Side of New York well, and the West Side too; and in those neighborhoods where the New Yorker is targeted people would have laughed and moved on.

Obama made the story by bungling his response to the New Yorker.

I was in New York last Sunday and saw the new New Yorker issue at the newsstand where I buy the Washington Post. The newsstand editions a wrapper that obscured the full cover, so I missed a view of the outrageous NY cartoon.

Obama’s initial response to the cover cartoon was correct. He shrugged his shoulders. That’s what Kennedy would have done, and maybe tossed off a quip. End of story.

Obama’s handlers then issued a denunciation of the New Yorker cover, and the story exploded. Obama made the incident, not the New Yorker. Senator John McCain also chimed in, and he made the ruckus even louder. Good move, John; if that’s what you intended. Obama’s denunciation was all the talking heads on cable TV needed to create the gonsa megillah. As a result, Obama took what should have been a nothingburger and converted the cover cartoon into a media extravaganza.

Outrageous political cartoons have a long history in the United States. Thomas Nast’s cartoon attacks on corrupt New York City leaders a century and a half ago are part of American history. Richard Nixon endured biting attacks. Even President Franklin Roosevelt was targeted by conservative opponents. So the goofy New Yorker cover on Obama was nothing special.

Ironically, by reacting the way he did, Obama made something out of nothing. He showed that he lacked the grace and graciousness to “blow off” the New Yorker with a genuine Kennedyesque quip and maybe a roll of the eyes.

The bottom line: it’s not enough to daydream you are the “new Kennedy.” Dreamin’ ain’t bein’. I won’t take anything away from Barack Obama. He is intelligent, attractive and suave. He knows how to work the rope line. He is going to make mega millions after he leaves the senate.

But I knew Jack Kennedy. And Barry Obama is no Jack Kennedy.

Not now. Not ever. Not inshallah.

—————————————————————

Andy Martin is a legendary Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of Contrarian Commentary. © Copyright by Andy Martin 2008. Martin covers regional, national and world events with over forty years of experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. His columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com. Andy is the author of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, published in July 2008, via AndyMart20@aol.com.

Note about NoQuarter Radio’s interview of Andy Martin: An audio archive of the Friday interview of Andy Martin by Larry Johnson, which you can hear live at 11:00 a.m. ET via No Quarter Radio (NQR) will be available at NoQuarterUSA.net and at NQR immediately following the show.

“Let them eat cake!” is the response attributed to Marie-Antoinette, queen consort of Louis XVI, when informed that the poor had no bread.

It seems Michelle Obama has her own twist regarding those whose income is low enough to qualify for the $600 government’s so-called stimulus tax relief package. Criticizing the short term advantage to an audience of mostly African-American women in Michigan she stated, “What can you do with that? Not to be ungrateful or anything. But maybe it pays down a bill, but it doesn’t pay down every bill every month.”

It would have been wise for her to have stopped right there. But she added, “And it may even feel good that first month when you get that check. And then you go out and you buy a pair of earrings.” (Read more at USAToday’s political blog.)

OK, maybe she said it in a joking manner, but humor experts always say to look for serious underlying meaning whenever anyone is trying to be funny. So, regardless of whether one favors this rebate, the joke makes it sound like those with less have no ability to delay gratification. Get a penny, spend a penny.

More compelling news took precedence when the earring comment was uttered, prompting David Gergen to say yesterday on CNN that Obama was lucky on this one. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0807/10/acd.01.html

And, I wouldn’t have brought up this seemingly minor gaffe were it not for a pattern I see. The Obamas seem to be out of touch with the rest of us struggling “bitter people,” especially female people.