2008 Presidential Campaign

Seems rather convenient for the governor to have had our Alaskan friends release the abuse of power investigation way past 5pm EST on a Friday. And it's a 263-page report at that!

It looks like a mixed bag of findings. Palin didn't break labor laws when she decided to reassign the then Public Safety Commissioner, Walt Monegan, as retaliation for his insubordination. Of course, her camp is spinning it as a decisive victory for her.

Yet the report does say she broke ethics laws by abusing her executive power. In her case though was her inability to reign in her husband's "inappropriate efforts" in trying to get their ex-brother in-law fired

From The Caucus blog :

Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen will do a benefit concert for Senator Barack Obama’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee next month at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Oct. 16.

Mr. Obama will be appearing on stage as well for the event, which is set for the day after his debate with Senator John McCain at Hofstra University on Long Island.

The concert was being billed by Obama fund-raisers as the first joint concert for Mr. Joel and Mr. Springsteen, although they have appeared together on stage at least once before in 1987 during a benefit concert for homeless children at Madison Square Garden with Paul Simon, among others.

Tickets for the fund-raiser, which is slated to be Mr. Obama’s last in the New York area, are not cheap. Balcony seats are going for $500; a “premiere seat” costs $2,500; and a “lounge ticket” is $10,000.

I'm a member of a mailing list with a broad cross-section of women on it: Very conservative, very liberal, and everyone in between. The undecideds on the list asked both me and the resident Republican activist to write up why we support the candidate we do, with as little bashing of the opponent as possible. This is the letter I wrote them about why I support Barack Obama. If it can help you with your undecided friends, please pass it on.

I was asked to tell the undecideds here why I support Barack Obama. I've been thinking hard about this; I want to talk to you honestly. You all know where I stand on things: I am a libertarian Democrat (small L, big D). Government is rarely the best solution, but when it is, it had better serve the common people. Initially I had a much, MUCH longer statement, but instead I have decided to boil it down.

The short version: I support Obama because he's right on the issues, and he has the right temperament for the times.

Smart, very smart.

Capitalizing on the fact McCain not once uttered the words "middle class", Team Obama slapped together an ad that they're using to fundraise. They've titled it "Zero".

Here's part of the email, "In case you missed it", signed by Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe :

Just got this email :

“This was a clear victory for Barack Obama on John McCain’s home turf. Senator McCain offered nothing but more of the same failed Bush policies, and Barack Obama made a forceful case for change in our economy and our foreign policy.

While Senator McCain wants to keep giving huge tax cuts to corporations and said nothing about the challenges Americans are facing in their daily lives, Barack Obama will be a fierce advocate for tax cuts for the middle class, affordable health care, and a new energy economy that creates millions of jobs.

While foreign policy was supposed to be John McCain’s top issue, Barack Obama commanded that part of the debate with a clear call to responsibly end a misguided war in Iraq so that we can finish the fight against al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

John McCain needed a game-changer tonight, and by any measure he didn’t get it.”

John McCain is getting his ass to Grand Ole after all. Tonight's debate is on as scheduled. After all, this little stunt of his was a huge mistake.

Obama better wipe the floor with this ass rag.

Yup. John McCain's campaign was never really suspended.

Jeff Toobin over at CNN's "The Situation Room" just pointed out the obvious : McCain is still campaigning. All this screaming around Washington DC is pure political posturing.

We already saw how McCain dissed Letterman so he could sit down with Katie Couric. Somehow he found "courage" to get his ass to Clinton's Global Clusterfuck. McCain is doing the rounds at all the major networks newscasts. His flack? They appeared in six different newscasts and cable shows. That was in less than 24 hours. Wow.

Ironically, the "media deaf and dumb" Sarah Palin seemed to have engaged today the media circus assigned to her. The networks and newspapers were so shocked to have Palin taking questions today that it made headlines.

Gawker has a hilarious post about the National Enquirer's scandal digging article on Sarah Palin's alleged tryst with her husband's former business associate. The Money Quote:

The Enquirer says Sarah Palin told friends the relationship was never "consummated" but you know how they get around that in Islam.

HAWT!

Even hotter : The picture they of Sarah the National Enquirer put up with the post about the paper's article and Gawker's observation that Sarah likes her men to look alike.

Both made me laugh out loud.

After the John Edwards' baby mamma scandal, I think it is best to take seriously any National Enquirer dirt digging of politicians. And grock knows I should have known they were saying the truth about Edwards.