DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION COVERAGE Listen Live! to the Basham and Cornell Radio heard weekday mornings at 8 a.m. on 1230 AM KLAV in Las Vegas and worldwide on the web — for fun, witty DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION COVERAGE complete with soundbites and highlights including the Clinton and Biden speeches! If you live in Vegas you can tune in Live or go to our website and listen in the audio archives.
Did you just watch the roll call at the Convention -- when Illinois yielded to New York and Hillary officially gave all her delegates to Obama - and there was wild dancing and tears. I am so in love with America right now I feel like a nerd! (Guess that's nothing new...)
HILARY UNITES THE PARTY! NO WAY, NO HOW, NO McCAIN!
HILLARY GIVES THE BEST SPEECH OF HER LIFE TONIGHT UNITING THE PARTY AND URGING HER FOLLOWERS TO VOTE FOR OBAMA!!
ALWAYS REMEMBER: The Republicans inherited the biggest budget surplus in history from Bill Clinton and drove our economy into the ground while killing the soul of regular Americans and bankrupting the middle class. John McCain is George Bush with more anger issues. Plus, John McCain "doesn't believe that women deserve equal pay for equal work" or the right to access legal abortion.
TONIGHT! HILARY SPEAKS!!HERE IS MY BIG QUESTION: Given the gulf of differences between the Democrats and McCain, why would a Hillary supporter support McCain over Obama? What are they, nuts?
As Bob Casey said, "John McCain is not a maverick, he's Bush's sidekick!" A vote for McCain is a vote against HEALTH CARE FOR LOW INCOME CHILDREN, a vote against health care for everyone, a vote for more death of our young troops, for more war, for more corporate corruption, for more cronies and lobbyists, for more greed, for more anti-American sentiments abroad. And a vote for John McCain is a deeply unChristian, unethical, amoral vote that will set us back light years. A vote for John McCain is a vote for GEORGE BUSH AND his criminal corruption that stole billions of our taxpayer dollars in Iraq.
So please explain how on earth a sane person who cares about human life could vote for John McCain? Please leave comments in the thread.
HISTORY IN THE MAKING! MICHELLE OBAMA'S SPEECH touched me deeply. It was so heartfelt, so honest and clear, there is no doubt whom should be our next president. There is no comparison between the candidates in the "honesty department."
Stay tuned for Wednesday night when Bill Clinton takes the stage to cheerlead for Obama!
This is the most important election of our time and I was blown away by Caroline Kennedy's introduction to her uncle Teddy. Ted Kennedy is a liberal lion and has always fought for the common man in his long Senatorial career.
Hillary needs to offer to sit down ON CAMERA with a couple of "her" PUMA supporters so they can explain it to her .....
ReplyDeleteThat would be interesting to watch.
I do find it VERY interesting with how much Bush ET Al have played the slightest idea of a foreign terrorist to PUMP up the fear,
ReplyDeleteHow MUCH the Bush lead FBI is trying to down play arresting three RIGHT WING people with rifles and scopes who claim they wanted to kill Barack Obama Thursday night.
John McCain is a LIAR
ReplyDeleteLast night on the Jay Leno show John McCain lied to millions of American people. He claimed when he was in the POW camp he had no kitchen table however that was not true. He had a family back in the United States, and they sat at the very kitchen table he claimed didn't exist.
I wonder if his attempt to spin his inability to know how many houses his Rich wife has bought is also bleeding into his desire to hide the fact he had a family back in the United States which he abandoned when he cheated on his wife and divorced her for a much younger richer woman.
He claims so much because of his POW status, however for his wife and children who suffered here when he was over there, he seemed very willing to throw them away as yesterdays news, and now wants people to forget. Is that why he lied and claimed he didn't have a kitchen table because then people won't think about the family he abandoned just HIM .... always him.
McCain needs to stop using his POW status because it has a very seedy side, and his claims of a free pass falls flat when one thinks of how he is twisting the truth to fit his campaign needs.
There is really only one reason why s Hillary supporter would vote for McLame. Vengeance! They assumed the nomination would be theirs. They've had that assumption since '05 or earlier. Hill's campaign wasn't prepared for someone like Obama. They assumed it would be over the first week of February. They had no plan B.
ReplyDeleteMost are not thinking with logic and reason. They think the DNC stole the nomination from Hillary. And even with Michigan and Florida delegates, Hillary still didn't have enough to put her over the top. Yet they'll keep using that as an excuse for losing.
Sometimes defeat is a bitter pill to swallow and these so called PUMAs are a lot of (mostly women) scorned. It really is an unfortunate turn of events for the Democratic party. These people would rather vote against their own self interest and the interest of the country to keep Hill's main competitor from winning in November.
I need to stop now before I start using language my mother wouldn't approve of.
Clif - I agree with you! If Hilary sat down on camera with her PUMA (Party Unity My Ass) supporters, that would be perfect.
ReplyDeleteRobert - our internet keeps disconnecting. I just wrote you a 20 -line comment and tried to publish and it disconnected.
ReplyDeleteI'll start again!
Thank you so much for your wonderful comments about Ted Knight. I just left a comment for you over at your blog LEFT OF CENTRIST.
I agree with you about PUMA and how they vote against their own self-interests. But I also know several Hilary supporters who have no time to watch the news, they only watch mainstream media occasionally as they work long hours - and they had no idea Obama was a good person or had similar ideas and platform to Hilary.
They had no idea McCain was a flip-flopper, they only hear the good things the media reports about McCain.
Because most of America doesn't read blogs or watch pundits, they follow what the media tells them -- and they think hilary and McCain have the same platform!!!
It's astounding, the stupidity!!
Also, I hear the public is not seeing the Democratic Convention in it's full glory - since Roger Ailes of FOX News is controlling the feed!
ReplyDeleteApparently, Fox is not showing the Convention or the speakers in the right light. Fox pundits are interrupting and talking right -wing talking points over Michele Obama and Ted Kennedy.
Please correct me if I'm mistaken.
Why can't the Democrats control the feed for the biggest ad they have all year - their own convention?
Lydia, faux noise can not allow the truth unfiltered especially to the American sheeple who buy their crap,
ReplyDeletethe only way they can continue to hood wink the sheeple who still watch and support the worst president ever is destroy the convention with their right wing lies and spin foisted over the real activities there.
If the people listened and saw with out o'lielly and the rest of the sycophants on faux,
faux as a viable propaganda outfit would be finished!
And the republican brand would be known by all as the bankrupt organization it has been ever since Reagan and his merry band of cut throats stole it from the moderate republicans and real conservatives.
If Cindy McCain gives a speech at the GOPer convention;
ReplyDeletePosted by Neil B
Hi everyone
My name is Cindy McCain. I am the wife of a POW.
I am here at the convention to introduce my husband,
the next Pow .. I mean president of the United states.
I met John not long after he was a POW, he was cheating on his wife at the time
because he had been a POW, and I just could not be prouder that he picked me.
It was a difficult time in the POW's ... I mean Johns life. You see he had to go home
to a wife who'd been badly injured in a car accident, now he had seen enough of these injuries when
he was a POW and felt it was his moral duty to divorce her. Oh sure he tried to work it out by having
sex with other women to save the marriage - but in the end it did not work because he was a POW.
I'd like to talk a little about myself and my accomplishments ....
I married a man who was a POW.
I was raised in a family with two sisters and I am an only child.
My father - who like John - the POW - cheated on and divorced his first wife,
he left me only one hundred million dollars when he died. Subsequently we have only been able to buy twelve houses,
Sadly it is not enough to keep John from feeling cooped up like a POW.
I lobby against mothers against drunk driving because I own a beer distributorship - those mothers should not threaten the
livelihood of a POW. Now you don't want to get John mad or he might call you a c*nt - which he called me once in public.
Sadly it is because he was a POW, that may have been the low point of my life. But I bounced back and told people that
mother Teresa told me to adopt a child even though I just made that part up because John was a POW.
I could go on and on and on and on,
but just let me leave off tonight by saying thank you all, and thank God, that John was a POW.
Chuck Todd: Don’t believe the PUMA hype
ReplyDeleteAnd the democratic party included Hillary and Bill because they ARE democrats first and even though they took this Junes loss hard they will fight like hell for Barack because they know America can't take four more years of republican incompetence in Washington;
the republicans NOT so much;
Ron Paul planning parallel convention to send GOP a 'strong message' in Minneapolis
After being denied a speaking slot at the Republican convention this summer, former candidate Rep. Ron Paul, who is not supporting GOP nominee John McCain, has decided to stage his own parallel convention in Minneapolis.
"There is a growing surge of people out there just craving" for a return "to traditional American government, limited government that places personal liberty first and places an emphasis on personal responsibility and essentially gets out of the way after that," Paul spokesman Jesse Benton told the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. "The buzz we get from supporters is that they are very eager to come to St. Paul and very eager to send a strong message."
After being initially viewed as little more than a gadfly's revolt, Paul's campaign picked up substantial steam during the GOP primaries, when the libertarian leaning Texan raised about $35 million almost entirely online and garnered more than a million votes. Paul's secured at least 35 convention delegates, but Republican party big-wigs are denying him a speaking slot.
The Tribune-Review has the details on Paul's parallel convention:
Maverick GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul has booked an arena in Minneapolis for a "mini-convention" that could steal some of John McCain's thunder just days before he accepts the Republican nomination.
A Paul campaign aide said the Texas congressman hopes to pack about 11,000 supporters into the Williams Arena at the University of Minnesota on Sept. 2, which coincides with the second day of the Republican National Convention at the Xcel Energy Center in neighboring St. Paul.
Benton tells MSNBC that Paul's decision to hold his own convention is about more than just not getting a speaking slot at the GOP's main shindig.
Paul's supporters are really "looking to build a national organization that is going to run at a grassroots level, be organized at a precinct level, and to identify candidates to support," Benton said, "real constitutionalist candidates."
Paul camp expects to have about 50 delegates to the national convention. They will attend the Paul convention and the campaign is encouraging them to go to the official GOP convention as "active and positive." But, Benton added, Paul's supporters are independent-minded and aren't going to be told what to do.
There's some evidence that Paul's influence is beginning to stretch beyond the presidential race already. Libertarian magazine Reason recently profiled several "Ron Paul Republicans" who are seeking congressional seats in House races across the country this year.
Funny the right wing corporate OWNED media has played the PUMA crap for all it is worth, BUT not a GOD DAMNED peep about the real revolt this year Ron Paul's backers and the GOPers denial of a candidate who has delegates.
I wonder if the right wing corporate owned MSM will find the time next week to even mention it at all?
BTW remember Ross Perot, he ain't too keen on St Johnny the POW;
ReplyDeleteWhen Ross Perot Calls…
The Texas billionaire, now 77, still has some scores to settle from the Vietnam era, and his timing is exquisite. Just days before the South Carolina GOP primary, he wants me to know that McCain "is the classic opportunist--he's always reaching for attention and glory. Other POWs won't even sit at the same table with him.
The Perot-McCain relationship goes back to McCain's five and a half years of captivity in Hanoi. When McCain's then-wife Carol was in a serious car accident, McCain's mother called Perot for help. "She asked me to send my people to Philadelphia to take care of the family," Perot says. Afterwards, McCain was grateful. "We loved him [Perot] for it," McCain told me in 2000.
Perot doesn't remember it that way. "After he came home, he walked with a limp, she [Carol McCain] walked with a limp. So he threw her over for a poster girl with big money from Arizona [Cindy McCain, his current wife] and the rest is history."
Perot's real problem with McCain is that he believes the senator hushed up evidence that live POWs were left behind in Vietnam and even transferred to the Soviet Union for human experimentation, a charge Perot says he heard from a senior Vietnamese official in the 1980s. "There's evidence, evidence, evidence," Perot claims. "McCain was adamant about shutting down anything to do with recovering POWs."
I wonder why Perot would think McCain didn't want any live POW's found?
We know Perot loathes McCain for his discarding of his first wife for a rich young woman.
Might it be wise to listen to Ross Perot, a man who has known McCain since his POW days, just a little?
Might Ross Perot know things about McCain's character we will discover to our detriment way too late?
Please read the new rant about John McCain and PUMA at top of blog.
ReplyDeletethanks
Steven D over at Booman's is right;
ReplyDeleteHere is a story you will NOT see this year;
Black Supremacists Arrested in Possible McCain Assassination Plot
Four African American men were arrested today in connection with a possible plot to assassinate Senator John McCain. The arrests occurred after local police found two high powered rifles and a quantity of crack cocaine in the back of the trunk of a car driven by two of the men when they were stopped for a routine traffic violation. One or of the men arrested by police, believed to be a former member of a Black separatist movement, made statements to a local TV reporter for **** that the men intended to shoot Senator McCain during his acceptance speech.
The US Attorney in Minneapolis released a statement today that the FBI is investigating the extent of the men's involvement with this alleged conspiracy. An unnamed official with the US Attorney's office who spoke on condition of anonymity commented that officials were "absolutely confident there is no credible threat to the candidate."
But the right wingers will gnash their teeth and howl to high heavens they are more patriotic and American even though their radio talking heads sell the meme to attack even kill people they disagree with.
But you will NOT see the story above.
No way, No how, No McCain
ReplyDeleteWe don't need four more years of the last eight years.
ReplyDeleteShe delivered;
ReplyDeleteSenator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Remarks to the Democratic National Convention
August 26, 2008
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
I am honored to be here tonight. A proud mother. A proud Democrat. A proud American. And a proud supporter of Barack Obama.
My friends, it is time to take back the country we love.
Whether you voted for me, or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose. We are on the same team, and none of us can sit on the sidelines.
This is a fight for the future. And it's a fight we must win.
I haven't spent the past 35 years in the trenches advocating for children, campaigning for universal health care, helping parents balance work and family, and fighting for women's rights at home and around the world . . . to see another Republican in the White House squander the promise of our country and the hopes of our people.
And you haven't worked so hard over the last 18 months, or endured the last eight years, to suffer through more failed leadership.
No way. No how. No McCain.
Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be our President.
Tonight we need to remember what a Presidential election is really about. When the polls have closed, and the ads are finally off the air, it comes down to you -- the American people, your lives, and your children's futures.
For me, it's been a privilege to meet you in your homes, your workplaces, and your communities. Your stories reminded me everyday that America's greatness is bound up in the lives of the American people -- your hard work, your devotion to duty, your love for your children, and your determination to keep going, often in the face of enormous obstacles.
You taught me so much, you made me laugh, and . . . you even made me cry. You allowed me to become part of your lives. And you became part of mine.
I will always remember the single mom who had adopted two kids with autism, didn't have health insurance and discovered she had cancer. But she greeted me with her bald head painted with my name on it and asked me to fight for health care.
I will always remember the young man in a Marine Corps t-shirt who waited months for medical care and said to me: "Take care of my buddies; a lot of them are still over there ... .and then will you please help take care of me?"
I will always remember the boy who told me his mom worked for the minimum wage and that her employer had cut her hours. He said he just didn't know what his family was going to do.
I will always be grateful to everyone from all fifty states, Puerto Rico and the territories, who joined our campaign on behalf of all those people left out and left behind by the Bush Administration.
To my supporters, my champions -- my sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits - from the bottom of my heart: Thank you.
You never gave in. You never gave up. And together we made history.
Along the way, America lost two great Democratic champions who would have been here with us tonight. One of our finest young leaders, Arkansas Democratic Party Chair, Bill Gwatney, who believed with all his heart that America and the South could be and should be Democratic from top to bottom.
And Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a dear friend to many of us, a loving mother and courageous leader who never gave up her quest to make America fairer and smarter, stronger and better. Steadfast in her beliefs, a fighter of uncommon grace, she was an inspiration to me and to us all.
Our heart goes out to Stephanie's son, Mervyn, Jr, and Bill's wife, Rebecca, who traveled to Denver to join us at our convention.
Bill and Stephanie knew that after eight years of George Bush, people are hurting at home, and our standing has eroded around the world. We have a lot of work ahead.
Jobs lost, houses gone, falling wages, rising prices. The Supreme Court in a right-wing headlock and our government in partisan gridlock. The biggest deficit in our nation's history. Money borrowed from the Chinese to buy oil from the Saudis.
Putin and Georgia, Iraq and Iran.
I ran for President to renew the promise of America. To rebuild the middle class and sustain the American Dream, to provide the opportunity to work hard and have that work rewarded, to save for college, a home and retirement, to afford the gas and groceries and still have a little left over each month.
To promote a clean energy economy that will create millions of green collar jobs.
To create a health care system that is universal, high quality, and affordable so that parents no longer have to choose between care for themselves or their children or be stuck in dead end jobs simply to keep their insurance.
To create a world class education system and make college affordable again.
To fight for an America defined by deep and meaningful equality - from civil rights to labor rights, from women's rights to gay rights, from ending discrimination to promoting unionization to providing help for the most important job there is: caring for our families. To help every child live up to his or her God-given potential.
To make America once again a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws.
To bring fiscal sanity back to Washington and make our government an instrument of the public good, not of private plunder.
To restore America's standing in the world, to end the war in Iraq, bring our troops home and honor their service by caring for our veterans.
And to join with our allies to confront our shared challenges, from poverty and genocide to terrorism and global warming.
Most of all, I ran to stand up for all those who have been invisible to their government for eight long years.
Those are the reasons I ran for President. Those are the reasons I support Barack Obama. And those are the reasons you should too.
I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?
We need leaders once again who can tap into that special blend of American confidence and optimism that has enabled generations before us to meet our toughest challenges. Leaders who can help us show ourselves and the world that with our ingenuity, creativity, and innovative spirit, there are no limits to what is possible in America.
This won't be easy. Progress never is. But it will be impossible if we don't fight to put a Democrat in the White House.
We need to elect Barack Obama because we need a President who understands that America can't compete in a global economy by padding the pockets of energy speculators, while ignoring the workers whose jobs have been shipped overseas. We need a President who understands that we can't solve the problems of global warming by giving windfall profits to the oil companies while ignoring opportunities to invest in new technologies that will build a green economy.
We need a President who understands that the genius of America has always depended on the strength and vitality of the middle class.
Barack Obama began his career fighting for workers displaced by the global economy. He built his campaign on a fundamental belief that change in this country must start from the ground up, not the top down. He knows government must be about "We the people" not "We the favored few."
And when Barack Obama is in the White House, he'll revitalize our economy, defend the working people of America, and meet the global challenges of our time. Democrats know how to do this. As I recall, President Clinton and the Democrats did it before. And President Obama and the Democrats will do it again.
He'll transform our energy agenda by creating millions of green jobs and building a new, clean energy future. He'll make sure that middle class families get the tax relief they deserve. And I can't wait to watch Barack Obama sign a health care plan into law that covers every single American.
Barack Obama will end the war in Iraq responsibly and bring our troops home - a first step to repairing our alliances around the world.
And he will have with him a terrific partner in Michelle Obama. Anyone who saw Michelle's speech last night knows she will be a great First Lady for America.
Americans are also fortunate that Joe Biden will be at Barack Obama's side. He is a strong leader and a good man. He understands both the economic stresses here at home and the strategic challenges abroad. He is pragmatic, tough, and wise. And, of course, Joe will be supported by his wonderful wife, Jill.
They will be a great team for our country.
Now, John McCain is my colleague and my friend.
He has served our country with honor and courage.
But we don't need four more years . . . of the last eight years.
More economic stagnation ... and less affordable health care.
More high gas prices ... and less alternative energy.
More jobs getting shipped overseas ... and fewer jobs created here.
More skyrocketing debt ...home foreclosures ... and mounting bills that are crushing our middle class families.
More war . . . less diplomacy.
More of a government where the privileged come first ... and everyone else comes last.
John McCain says the economy is fundamentally sound. John McCain doesn't think that 47 million people without health insurance is a crisis. John McCain wants to privatize Social Security. And in 2008, he still thinks it's okay when women don't earn equal pay for equal work.
With an agenda like that, it makes sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities. Because these days they're awfully hard to tell apart.
America is still around after 232 years because we have risen to the challenge of every new time, changing to be faithful to our values of equal opportunity for all and the common good.
And I know what that can mean for every man, woman, and child in America. I'm a United States Senator because in 1848 a group of courageous women and a few brave men gathered in Seneca Falls, New York, many traveling for days and nights, to participate in the first convention on women's rights in our history.
And so dawned a struggle for the right to vote that would last 72 years, handed down by mother to daughter to granddaughter - and a few sons and grandsons along the way.
These women and men looked into their daughters' eyes, imagined a fairer and freer world, and found the strength to fight. To rally and picket. To endure
ridicule and harassment. To brave violence and jail.
And after so many decades - 88 years ago on this very day - the 19th amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote would be forever enshrined in our Constitution.
My mother was born before women could vote. But in this election my daughter got to vote for her mother for President.
This is the story of America. Of women and men who defy the odds and never give up.
How do we give this country back to them?
By following the example of a brave New Yorker , a woman who risked her life to shepherd slaves along the Underground Railroad.
And on that path to freedom, Harriett Tubman had one piece of advice.
If you hear the dogs, keep going.
If you see the torches in the woods, keep going.
If they're shouting after you, keep going.
Don't ever stop. Keep going.
If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.
Even in the darkest of moments, ordinary Americans have found the faith to keep going.
I've seen it in you. I've seen it in our teachers and firefighters, nurses and police officers, small business owners and union workers, the men and women of our military - you always keep going.
We are Americans. We're not big on quitting.
But remember, before we can keep going, we have to get going by electing Barack Obama president.
We don't have a moment to lose or a vote to spare.
Nothing less than the fate of our nation and the future of our children hang in the balance.
I want you to think about your children and grandchildren come election day. And think about the choices your parents and grandparents made that had such a big impact on your life and on the life of our nation.
We've got to ensure that the choice we make in this election honors the sacrifices of all who came before us, and will fill the lives of our children with possibility and hope.
That is our duty, to build that bright future, and to teach our children that in America there is no chasm too deep, no barrier too great - and no ceiling too high - for all who work hard, never back down, always keep going, have faith in God, in our country, and in each other.
Thank you so much. God bless America and Godspeed to you all.
Ted Strickland NAILED the idiocy of Bush;
ReplyDelete"George Bush started on third base, and then he stole second."
If anybody wants to claim Hillary Clinton doesn't whole heartedly support Barack Obama for president, they just got their truth-o-cution.
ReplyDeleteReally Clif?
ReplyDeleteHow many times did Hilary mention Obama in her speech tonight?
I must admit I didn't listen to it all, but the 5 minutes of it I did listen to I never once heard her talk about anyone but herself and her supporters.
Oh yea and she dissed Bush.
So how many times did Hilary reference Obama in her speech tonight?
And what exactly did she say that is so overwhelming about Obama that I missed?
I read the text of her speech you provided clif and I counted a total of 12 mentions of Obama's name in that entire speech.
ReplyDeleteAnd none of it seemed overwhelmingly convincing to me.
Bart she definitely is backing Barack.
ReplyDeleteIf you watched the speech and her face as she spoke there was NO doubt.
She knows the country, party, children, senior citizens, soldiers, and all the rest of us can't take four more years of the last eight years.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast, she mentioned John McCain only 6 times, and one of those was complimenting him.
ReplyDeleteI just don't see this overwhelming support she has for him.
I mean, she went through the motions, but she didn't seem sincere, nor was her speech written to really sell Obama.
It was, "yea, I'm voting for him, you should too".
That's it.
She should have looked her supporters in the eye and said "HEY, WE LOST! GET BEHIND OUR CANDIDATE!"
She should have talked about NOTHING but Obama. Not her life. Not her supporters.
Just OBAMA. She didn't. It was ok I guess but it was no home run.
She did at least as well tonight as Michelle Obama did last night.
ReplyDeleteclif said...
ReplyDeleteBart she definitely is backing Barack.
If you watched the speech and her face as she spoke there was NO doubt.
Ok, I'll try to look at reruns of it.
The 5 minutes I watched however, she only talked about herself, so it's hard to judge.
She should have looked her supporters in the eye and said "HEY, WE LOST! GET BEHIND OUR CANDIDATE!"
ReplyDeleteNo bart this is a much better line;
I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?
She’s saying if you claim to be a democrat, YOU must vote for Obama because McCain is NOT what I campaigned for and he don’t stand for what I and all of you fought for.
To quote Hillary;
No way, No how, No McCain
That will be chanted, and probably become a campaign slogan.
Watch the whole thing, it is one of the best speeches she has given, and she made the unity connection for her supporters IF they were really HER supporters in the first place.
ReplyDeleteShe set a standard for Bill to beat tomorrow night in backing Barack and calling all those who believe in the country and the need to change course from the last eight years to get behind Barack.
ReplyDeleteAt 538 they said this;
ReplyDeleteHow you'll know that Hillary's speech was a winner:
If the principal Republican talking point tomorrow is: "the speech was too good! It just proves that she should have been the [Presidential/Vice Presidential] nominee!"
Pat Buchanan just said
"Why didn' they put Hillary on the ticket,"
QED
Bart, there are many republicans NOT too happy, because their slimy attempt at driving a wedge between some Hillary supporters and Barack just got stomped on.
ReplyDeleteOne interesting thing, Both Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton raised the bar for Bill and Barack's speech.
ReplyDeletebart, you'll like this email I just got from the DNC;
ReplyDeleteMcCain Owes America An Alzheimer's Test
While Ted Kennedy and Michelle Obama were rocking the Democratic convention in Denver, John McCain made his 13th appearance with Jay Leno to joke about his age.
But McCain's age is no joke. He will turn 72 on Friday and would be halfway to 73 if elected and sworn in on January 20. That would make him the oldest first-term President ever, two years older than Ronald Reagan. He has survived four skin cancers (melanomas), including one in 2000 that was classified as Stage IIa.
McCain is two years older than his father was when he died suddenly of a heart attack at 70. He is 11 years older than his grandfather was when he died suddenly of a heart attack at age 61.
The United States cannot afford the risk that McCain would die suddenly in the middle of an international crisis.
Nor can we afford the risk of dementia. 22% of Americans over 70 are affected by mild cognitive impairment, while 13% of Americans over 65 have Alzheimer's. Ronald Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at age 83, but early signs were evident during his first term. Britain's "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher developed dementia at age 75.
McCain has never had an Alzheimer's test, even though he has 6 of the 10 warning signs , including his inability to remember recent facts like the number of homes he owns, the $1M lawsuit he filed in 1990, or the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.
John McCain owes America a thorough test for Alzheimer's and cognitive impairment long before Election Day.
The issues Hillary raised were fantastic, we need to focus on health care and education instead of waging war or this frickin national security crap all the conservotard goons keep trumpeting.
ReplyDeleteI dont give a frickin crap about waging war in Iraq, or going to frickin war with Russia over Georgia a country i could care less about we need to take care of American citizens and see everyone gets free healthcare and afforable tuition, and hard work and a decent middle class lifestyle are attainable still.
Lydia Cornell said"John McCain is George Bush with more anger issues. Plus, John McCain "doesn't believe that women deserve equal pay for equal work" or the right to access legal abortion."
ReplyDeleteWay to frickin go Lydia, you couldnt be more right, mcLOSER doesnt have any respect for women, he doesnt think the deserve equal pay, the right to choose an abortion, and him and some of his supporters find it frickin amusing when a woman gets raped.
"If McCain's the answer, the question is ridiculous."
ReplyDeleteLooks like faux noise is really losing viewers;
ReplyDeleteRATINGS FLASH: 10PM ET/CONVENTION COVERAGE
NBC 4.71 MILLION
CNN 4.24 MILLION
ABC 4.17 MILLION
CBS 3.46 MILLION
FOXNEWS 2.72 MILLION
MSNBC 2.09 MILLION
Wanna bet O'Rielly's big head just exploded.
I guess only the 27%er backwash watches the faux noise charade anymore.
ReplyDeleteToo bad they are kickin' the bucket since faux noise can't attract new viewers cause they almost all are democratic party people.
Fuax noise is destined to be extinct in ten years, especially when most the hate filled old racists who watch it have died off.
This is a sign they are toast;
ReplyDeleteCitigroup Limits Meetings, Pares Color Photocopies
Citigroup Inc., the biggest U.S. bank by assets, banned off-site meetings among investment- banking employees and cut back on color photocopying to reduce expenses as revenue declines.
Executives in the New York-based bank's trading and investment-banking unit will need to ensure spending is ``highly efficient,'' according to an internal memorandum confirmed by a Citigroup spokesman in London today.
Citigroup is clamping down on spending after cutting about 14,000 jobs in the first half of 2008 and reporting $55 billion of writedowns and credit losses in the past year, more than any other bank, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue at the company's corporate and investment bank plunged 71 percent in the second quarter on losses for subprime-related assets.
.... Under the new policy, employee meetings must be held within Citigroup offices and client events will require approval, the memo said. Color photocopiers will be removed from some locations and their use will be limited to client presentations. The memo didn't say how much money the new rules will save .....
Citigroup is also scaling back external training, which will be limited to that which is ``strictly necessary,'' the memo said. Purchases of computer hardware and software must also be pre-approved under the new rules, as must all non-client travel, the bank said. The U.K.'s Daily Telegraph newspaper reported the contents of the memo earlier today.
``We will be conducting a review of our Blackberry usage,'' Citigroup said. ``In the interim, all new Blackberries will require pre-approval.''
They are trying to cut costs (ie save a few pennies a copy) by curtailing color copies after losing $55,000,000,000 last year.
Man they are so freakin' doomed.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Lydia,
ReplyDeleteGreat article and I totally agree with everything that you said! :)
I sent you a couple of emails but they came back.
Could you please email me? ;)
Suzie
Sara - thank you for your comments! They are so brave, honest and FUNNY!
ReplyDeletexoxo
I have to agree with Barts comments about Hillarys speech last night.Having watched the entire address I came away feeling Hillary made a half hearted attempt for unity in the party,yes she did give her full support to Obama but maybe I'm just jaded by the Clintons because I felt the support was not the first thing on her adgenda.To me, she talked more about herself then about Obama.Everything was,I want healthcare,so does he,I want more american jobs,so does he,I want the troops home,so does he.
ReplyDeleteThe tale will be told tonight when
big Willie gives his speech.I heard one of Bills advisors on the news today,he said nobody tells Bill Clinton what to say.Should be interesting to say the least.
I dont know about the rest of you but I find it a bit troubling there hasnt been much of bounce in the daily tracking polls,none for Biden,none for Michelle and none for Hillary.I realize polls donr mean all that much at this point but history shows there should be an upward bounce.
Hi SUZI-Q!!! I was just thinking about you and wondering where and how you are?
ReplyDeleteYou have been through an enormous tragedy and I still can't fathom how you are getting through it. My heart goes out to you.
I can't figure out why you're not able to get through to me on my webmail. That's so weird. I'll write you.
I wonder if others have also been unable.
I have to check with my webmaster.
Love,
Lyd
Here is Obama's tax plan compared to McSame's tax plan for the very rich;
ReplyDeleteObama's plan is much better for the middle class and working poor, Mcsames plan is for the very rich just like bush's plan was
(look at the chart)
Obama and McCain Tax Proposals
According to a new analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are both proposing tax plans that would result in cuts for most American families. Obama's plan gives the biggest cuts to those who make the least, while McCain would give the largest cuts to the very wealthy. For the approximately 147,000 families that make up the top 0.1 percent of the income scale, the difference between the two plans is stark. While McCain offers a $269,364 tax cut, Obama would raise their taxes, on average, by $701,885 - a difference of nearly $1 million.
So if the right wing working people , and all the rest of the American people who do the work of keeping this country running in spite of the repuvblicans desire to destroy the middle class, want a REAL tax cut this time they need to vote for Obama, because Obama's plan focuses the cuts on the 70% part of the public who make less then $100,000 a year, while McCain's plan focuses on the upper 1% of the tax paying public ......
Obama wants to raise
McCain's taxes,
Clinton's taxes,
Cheney's taxes,
Romney's taxes,
Lieberman's taxes,
Kerry's taxes,
Rove's taxes,
Giuliani's taxes,
Edward's taxes,
Boone Picken's taxes
Buffet's taxes,
Gate's taxes,
Bush's taxes,
and yes,
even his own taxes,
to give the hard working people of this country a tax cut,
John McCain not so much.
Fox News aired two minutes of Democratic keynote address, discussed Ayers instead
ReplyDeleteSummary: On August 26, Fox News aired just over two minutes of former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner's keynote address to the convention. After returning from a commercial, Alan Colmes stated, "In other election news, an independent group supporting John McCain released an ad last week attacking [Sen.] Barack Obama's ties to former Weather Underground leader Bill Ayers," and aired an ad from the Obama campaign responding to the independent ad. Colmes and Sean Hannity then interviewed Rudy Giuliani.
"fair and balanced" my ass.
BTW remember last September that the Arctic ice sheet melted to levels not seen in modern times?
ReplyDeleteWell it is happening again
Scientists Report Further Shrinking of Arctic Ice
Area Is Close To All-Time Low
So the right wing fairy tale will soon have to change;
You know the one which say Global Warming isn't real but Santa Claus is.
Hey Voltron AKA Cosmic...sockpuppet go play your pathetic slime the demacrats with disunity games somwhere else you partisan stooge.
ReplyDeleteIt eats at you to see the Demacratic Party unifying and pounding on the repug POW moron.
ReplyDeleteDid ANYONE happen to notice the LATEST stupid dishonest repug talking point that Hillary Clinton didnt say Obama was READY to lead..............EVEN the partisan stooges on CNN said that was an Empty dishonest Right Wing talking point and that NO ONE would endorse someone who wasnt ready to lead.......being ready to be Commander in Chief is implied when you endorse someone for President.
ReplyDeleteIsnt it PATHETIC that thats ALL the Right Wing idiots have left.
You would think that after GWB a door nob would be ready to lead in comparison ie.....McSame the POW is another greedy dunce that would be dangerous as President.........GWB with anger management problems is a PERFECT description of McSame.
The feminist movement was strongest, and won more fights, when Nixon was president, than when Bill Clinton was. Nixon was not progressive. The movement was in the streets, not marginalized by Democratic politicians.
ReplyDeleteThe Democratic Party is the graveyard for social movements.
No feminist will vote Republican. It's the least of Obama's worries.
Only an idiot would vote for McSame, any woman or middle class person voting for McSame is a fool...............and anyone who supported Hillary that would vote for McSame is a knuckledragging moron anyway.
ReplyDeleteWait till you see what Obama and Biden do to Bush's sidekick and McSame's sidekick in the debates..............these debates should be classic election footage for a century or as long as the POW wantsw to stay in Iraq.........I think McSame will look stupider than Bob Dole and Michael Dukakis when this is over.
You know how the wingnuts and MSM talking heads are becomning un screwed about the set for barack's Invesco field acceptance speech?
ReplyDeleteYes this one;
Well it reminded me of
this set for bush's 2004 acceptance speech
Hypocrite thy name is republican.
How many sock puppets do you have Voltron, theres alot more than Cosmic Cowboy, Hippie Joe, and Jeff Davis?
ReplyDeleteHey Clif was that the Set from Star Wars Revenge of The Sith when The Emperor Gave his speech that the Republic has become an Empire>
ReplyDeleteNo Mike that was the actual set bush used, and NOW the hypocrites bed wetters on the right wing are crying like babies about a very similar set for Barack Obama.
ReplyDeleteThey have no credibility left.
Florida voting on Baracks nomination
ReplyDelete136 for Barack and 51 for Hillary,
Total 452.5 for Barack and 131.5 for Hillary.
It ain't even close,
ReplyDeleteafter Iowa voted
Barack has 707
and Hillary has 171
It ain't even close but the squawking heads on faux noise are claiming Hillary could still come back, damn are they DUMB!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteCause with Minnisotas vote the tally is
ReplyDeleteBarack 1206
Hillary 309
but the drooling fooles at faux noise thinks she can still win.
Senator Barack Obama nominated by acclamation .....
ReplyDeleteUnity is achieved ....
NOW McInsane trolls how are ya gonna try deceitfully to sow dissension?
BTW check out how Ron Paul's supporters in Milwaukee are gonna help with disunity by disgruntled republicans who have been thrown away by the right wingers and neo-cons.
Wanna bet the corporate owned MSM will forget to cover this much more real attempt to derail the McInsane coronation, then their dishonest PUMA right wing talking points of supposed disunity which NEVER happened in Denver.
Wanna see the billboards the DNC has put up in Milwaukee?
ReplyDeleteLook here
How about the bus stops?
ReplyDeleteOUCH
ReplyDeleteRear Admiral John Hutson, a life long republican and new democratic party member, is giving a great speech about why the republicans as a party are no longer grand just old.
Joe Biden's speech was phenomenal!
ReplyDeleteYou're right mike;
ReplyDeleteBeau, I love you. I am so proud of you. Proud of the son you are. Proud of the father you've become. And I'm so proud of my son Hunter, my daughter Ashley, and my wife Jill, the only one who leaves me breathless and speechless at the same time.
It is an honor to share this stage tonight with President Clinton. And last night, it was moving to watch Hillary, one of the great leaders of our party, a woman who has made history and will continue to make history: my colleague and my friend, Senator Hillary Clinton.
And I am honored to represent our first state — my state — Delaware.
Since I've never been called a man of few words, let me say this as simply as I can: Yes. Yes, I accept your nomination to run and serve alongside our next President of the United States of America, Barack Obama.
Let me make this pledge to you right here and now. For every American who is trying to do the right thing, for all those people in government who are honoring their pledge to uphold the law and respect our Constitution, no longer will the eight most dreaded words in the English language be: "The vice president's office is on the phone."
Barack Obama and I took very different journeys to this destination, but we share a common story. Mine began in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and then Wilmington, Delaware. With a dad who fell on hard economic times, but who always told me: "Champ, when you get knocked down, get up. Get up."
I wish that my dad was here tonight, but I am so grateful that my mom, Catherine Eugenia Finnegan Biden, is here. You know, she taught her children — all the children who flocked to our house — that you are defined by your sense of honor, and you are redeemed by your loyalty. She believes bravery lives in every heart and her expectation is that it will be summoned.
Failure at some point in everyone's life is inevitable, but giving up is unforgivable. As a child I stuttered, and she lovingly told me it was because I was so bright I couldn't get the thoughts out quickly enough. When I was not as well dressed as others, she told me how handsome she thought I was. When I got knocked down by guys bigger than me, she sent me back out and demanded that I bloody their nose so I could walk down that street the next day.
After the accident, she told me, "Joey, God sends no cross you cannot bear." And when I triumphed, she was quick to remind me it was because of others.
My mother's creed is the American creed: No one is better than you. You are everyone's equal, and everyone is equal to you.
My parents taught us to live our faith, and treasure our family. We learned the dignity of work, and we were told that anyone can make it if they try.
That was America's promise. For those of us who grew up in middle-class neighborhoods like Scranton and Wilmington, that was the American dream and we knew it.
But today that American dream feels as if it's slowly slipping away. I don't need to tell you that. You feel it every single day in your own lives.
I've never seen a time when Washington has watched so many people get knocked down without doing anything to help them get back up. Almost every night, I take the train home to Wilmington, sometimes very late. As I look out the window at the homes we pass, I can almost hear what they're talking about at the kitchen table after they put the kids to bed.
Like millions of Americans, they're asking questions as profound as they are ordinary. Questions they never thought they would have to ask: Should mom move in with us now that dad is gone?
Fifty, sixty, seventy dollars to fill up the car?
Winter's coming. How we gonna pay the heating bills?
Another year and no raise?
Did you hear the company may be cutting our health care?
Now, we owe more on the house than it's worth. How are we going to send the kids to college?
How are we gonna be able to retire?
That's the America that George Bush has left us, and that's the future John McCain will give us. These are not isolated discussions among families down on their luck. These are common stories among middle-class people who worked hard and played by the rules on the promise that their tomorrows would be better than their yesterdays.
That promise is the bedrock of America. It defines who we are as a people. And now it's in jeopardy. I know it. You know it. But John McCain doesn't get it. Barack Obama gets it. Like many of us, Barack worked his way up. His is a great American story.
You know, I believe the measure of a man isn't just the road he's traveled; it's the choices he's made along the way. Barack Obama could have done anything after he graduated from college. With all his talent and promise, he could have written his ticket to Wall Street. But that's not what he chose to do. He chose to go to Chicago. The South Side. There he met men and women who had lost their jobs. Their neighborhood was devastated when the local steel plant closed. Their dreams deferred. Their dignity shattered. Their self-esteem gone.
And he made their lives the work of his life. That's what you do when you've been raised by a single mom, who worked, went to school and raised two kids on her own. That's how you come to believe, to the very core of your being, that work is more than a paycheck. It's dignity. It's respect. It's about whether you can look your children in the eye and say: we're going to be OK.
Because Barack made that choice, 150,000 more children and parents have health care in Illinois. He fought to make that happen. And because Barack made that choice, working families in Illinois pay less taxes and more people have moved from welfare to the dignity of work. He got it done.
And when he came to Washington, I watched him hit the ground running, leading the fight to pass the most sweeping ethics reform in a generation. He reached across party lines to pass a law that helps keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists. And he moved Congress and the president to give our wounded veterans the care and dignity they deserve.
You can learn an awful lot about a man campaigning with him, debating him and seeing how he reacts under pressure. You learn about the strength of his mind, but even more importantly, you learn about the quality of his heart.
I watched how he touched people, how he inspired them, and I realized he has tapped into the oldest American belief of all: We don't have to accept a situation we cannot bear.
We have the power to change it. That's Barack Obama, and that's what he will do for this country. He'll change it.
John McCain is my friend. We've known each other for three decades. We've traveled the world together. It's a friendship that goes beyond politics. And the personal courage and heroism John demonstrated still amaze me.
But I profoundly disagree with the direction that John wants to take the country. For example, John thinks that during the Bush years "we've made great progress economically." I think it's been abysmal.
And in the Senate, John sided with President Bush 95 percent of the time. Give me a break. When John McCain proposes $200 billion in new tax breaks for corporate America, $1 billion alone for just eight of the largest companies, but no relief for 100 million American families, that's not change; that's more of the same.
Even today, as oil companies post the biggest profits in history — a half trillion dollars in the last five years — he wants to give them another $4 billion in tax breaks. But he voted time and again against incentives for renewable energy: solar, wind, biofuels. That's not change; that's more of the same.
Millions of jobs have left our shores, yet John continues to support tax breaks for corporations that send them there. That's not change; that's more of the same.
He voted 19 times against raising the minimum wage. For people who are struggling just to get to the next day, that's not change; that's more of the same.
And when he says he will continue to spend $10 billion a month in Iraq when Iraq is sitting on a surplus of nearly $80 billion, that's not change; that's more of the same.
The choice in this election is clear. These times require more than a good soldier; they require a wise leader, a leader who can deliver change the change everybody knows we need.
Barack Obama will deliver that change. Barack Obama will reform our tax code. He'll cut taxes for 95 percent of the American people who draw a paycheck. That's the change we need.
Barack Obama will transform our economy by making alternative energy a genuine national priority, creating 5 million new jobs and finally freeing us from the grip of foreign oil. That's the change we need.
Barack Obama knows that any country that out teaches us today will out-compete us tomorrow. He'll invest in the next generation of teachers. He'll make college more affordable. That's the change we need.
Barack Obama will bring down health care costs by $2,500 for the typical family, and, at long last, deliver affordable, accessible health care for all Americans. That's the change we need.
Barack Obama will put more cops on the streets, put the "security" back in Social Security and never give up until we achieve equal pay for women. That's the change we need.
As we gather here tonight, our country is less secure and more isolated than at any time in recent history. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has dug us into a very deep hole with very few friends to help us climb out. For the last seven years, this administration has failed to face the biggest forces shaping this century: the emergence of Russia, China and India as great powers; the spread of lethal weapons; the shortage of secure supplies of energy, food and water; the challenge of climate change; and the resurgence of fundamentalism in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the real central front against terrorism.
In recent days, we've once again seen the consequences of this neglect with Russia's challenge to the free and democratic country of Georgia. Barack Obama and I will end this neglect. We will hold Russia accountable for its actions, and we'll help the people of Georgia rebuild.
I've been on the ground in Georgia, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and I can tell you in no uncertain terms: this administration's policy has been an abject failure. America cannot afford four more years of this.
Now, despite being complicit in this catastrophic foreign policy, John McCain says Barack Obama isn't ready to protect our national security. Now, let me ask you: whose judgment should we trust? Should we trust John McCain's judgment when he said only three years ago, "Afghanistan we don't read about it anymore because it's succeeded? Or should we trust Barack Obama, who more than a year ago called for sending two additional combat brigades to Afghanistan?
The fact is, al-Qaida and the Taliban — the people who actually attacked us on 9/11 — have regrouped in those mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan and are plotting new attacks. And the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff echoed Baracks call for more troops.
John McCain was wrong. Barack Obama was right.
Should we trust John McCain's judgment when he rejected talking with Iran and then asked: What is there to talk about? Or Barack Obama, who said we must talk and make it clear to Iran that its conduct must change.
Now, after seven years of denial, even the Bush administration recognizes that we should talk to Iran, because that's the best way to advance our security.
Again, John McCain was wrong. Barack Obama was right.
Should we trust John McCain's judgment when he says there can be no timelines to draw down our troops from Iraq that we must stay indefinitely? Or should we listen to Barack Obama, who says shift responsibility to the Iraqis and set a time to bring our combat troops home?
Now, after six long years, the Bush administration and the Iraqi government are on the verge of setting a date to bring our troops home.
John McCain was wrong. Barack Obama was right.
Again and again, on the most important national security issues of our time, John McCain was wrong, and Barack Obama was proven right.
Folks, remember when the world used to trust us? When they looked to us for leadership? With Barack Obama as our president, they'll look to us again, they'll trust us again, and we'll be able to lead again.
Jill and I are truly honored to join Barack and Michelle on this journey. When I look at their young children — and when I look at my grandchildren — I realize why I'm here. I'm here for their future.
And I am here for everyone I grew up with in Scranton and Wilmington. I am here for the cops and firefighters, the teachers and assembly line workers — the folks whose lives are the very measure of whether the American dream endures.
Our greatest presidents — from Abraham Lincoln to Franklin Roosevelt to John Kennedy — they all challenged us to embrace change. Now, it's our responsibility to meet that challenge.
Millions of Americans have been knocked down. And this is the time as Americans, together, we get back up. Our people are too good, our debt to our parents and grandparents too great, our obligation to our children is too sacred.
These are extraordinary times. This is an extraordinary election. The American people are ready. I'm ready. Barack Obama is ready. This is his time. This is our time. This is America's time.
May God bless America and protect our troops.
John Kerry didn't do to bad either;
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. Four years ago, you gave me the honor of fighting our fight. I was proud to stand with you then, and I am proud to stand with you now, to help elect Barack Obama as President of the United States.
In 2004, we came so close to victory. We are even closer now, and let me tell you, this time we're going to win. Today, the call for change is more powerful than ever, and with more seats in Congress, with more people with more passion engaged in our politics, and with a President Obama, we stand on the brink of the greatest opportunity of our generation to move this country forward.
The stakes could not be higher, because we do know what a McCain administration would look like: just like the past, just like George Bush. And this country can't afford a third Bush term. Just think: John McCain voted with George Bush 90 percent of the time. Ninety percent of George Bush is just more than we can take.
Never in modern history has an administration squandered American power so recklessly. Never has strategy been so replaced by ideology. Never has extremism so crowded out common sense and fundamental American values. Never has short-term partisan politics so depleted the strength of America's bipartisan foreign policy.
George Bush, with John McCain at his side, promised to spread freedom but delivered the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time. They misread the threat and misled the country. Instead of freedom, it's Hamas, Hezbollah, the Taliban and dictators everywhere that are on the march. North Korea has more bombs, and Iran is defiantly chasing one.
Our mission is to restore America's influence and position in the world. We must use all the weapons in our arsenal, above all, our values. President Obama and Vice President Biden will shut down Guantanamo, respect the Constitution, and make clear once and for all, the United States of America does not torture, not now, not ever.
We must listen and lead by example because even a nation as powerful as the United States needs some friends in this world. We need a leader who understands all our security challenges, not just bombs and guns, but global warming, global terror and global AIDS. And Barack Obama understands there is no way for America to be secure until we create clean energy here at home, not with a little more oil in five, 10 or 20 years, but with an energy revolution starting right now.
I have known and been friends with John McCain for almost 22 years. But every day now I learn something new about candidate McCain. To those who still believe in the myth of a maverick instead of the reality of a politician, I say, let's compare Senator McCain to candidate McCain.
Candidate McCain now supports the wartime tax cuts that Senator McCain once denounced as immoral. Candidate McCain criticizes Senator McCain's own climate change bill. Candidate McCain says he would now vote against the immigration bill that Senator McCain wrote. Are you kidding? Talk about being for it before you're against it.
Let me tell you, before he ever debates Barack Obama, John McCain should finish the debate with himself. And what's more, Senator McCain, who once railed against the smears of Karl Rove when he was the target, has morphed into candidate McCain who is using the same "Rove" tactics and the same "Rove" staff to repeat the same old politics of fear and smear. Well, not this year, not this time. The Rove-McCain tactics are old and outworn, and America will reject them in 2008.
So remember, when we choose a commander-in-chief this November, we are electing judgment and character, not years in the Senate or years on this earth. Time and again, Barack Obama has seen farther, thought harder, and listened better. And time and again, Barack Obama has been proven right.
When John McCain stood on the deck of an aircraft carrier just three months after 9/11 and proclaimed, "Next up, Baghdad!", Barack Obama saw, even then, "an occupation of "undetermined length, undetermined cost, undetermined consequences" that would "only fan the flames of the Middle East." Well, guess what? Mission accomplished.
So who can we trust to keep America safe? When Barack Obama promised to honor the best traditions of both parties and talk to our enemies, John McCain scoffed. George Bush called it "the soft comfort of appeasement." But today, Bush's diplomats are doing exactly what Obama said: talking with Iran.
So who can we trust to keep America safe? When democracy rolled out of Russia, and the tanks rolled into Georgia, we saw John McCain respond immediately with the outdated thinking of the Cold War. Barack Obama responded like a statesman of the 21st century.
So who can we trust to keep America safe? When we called for a timetable to make Iraqis stand up for Iraq and bring our heroes home, John McCain called it "cut and run." But today, even President Bush has seen the light. He and Prime Minister Maliki agree on - guess what? - a timetable.
So who can we trust to keep America safe? The McCain-Bush Republicans have been wrong again and again and again. And they know they will lose on the issues. So, the candidate who once promised a "contest of ideas," now has nothing left but personal attacks. How insulting to suggest that those who question the mission, question the troops. How pathetic to suggest that those who question a failed policy doubt America itself. How desperate to tell the son of a single mother who chose community service over money and privilege that he doesn't put America first.
No one can question Barack Obama's patriotism. Like all of us, he was taught what it means to be an American by his family: his grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line in World War II, his grandfather who marched in Patton's army, and his great uncle who enlisted in the army right out of high school at the height of the war. And on a spring day in 1945, he helped liberate one of the concentration camps at Buchenwald.
Ladies and gentlemen, Barack Obama's uncle is here with us tonight. Please join me in saluting this American hero, Charlie Payne. Charlie, your nephew, Barack Obama, will end this politics of distortion and division. He will be a president who seeks not to perfect the lies of Swift boating, but to end them once and for all.
This election is a chance for America to tell the merchants of fear and division: you don't decide who loves this country; you don't decide who is a patriot; you don't decide whose service counts and whose doesn't.
Four years ago I said, and I say it again tonight, that the flag doesn't belong to any ideology. It doesn't belong to any political party. It is an enduring symbol of our nation, and it belongs to all the American people. After all, patriotism is not love of power or some cheap trick to win votes; patriotism is love of country.
Years ago when we protested a war, people would weigh in against us saying, "My country right or wrong." Our answer? Absolutely, my country right or wrong. When right, keep it right. When wrong, make it right. Sometimes loving your country demands you must tell the truth to power.
This is one of those times, and Barack Obama is telling those truths.
In closing, let me say, I will always remember how we stood together in 2004, not just in a campaign, but for a cause. Now again we stand together in the ranks, ready to fight. The choice is clear; our cause is just; and now is our time to make Barack Obama the next President of the United States.
Get ready there is a hurricane named Gustav.
ReplyDeleteRight now it is south of Cuba, however by next week it could compete with the GOP convention for the news cycle, and might turn out to be related to Katrina in some ways.
Here is a map of it's projected path and the oil rigs it might affect. (BTW 120 hours is five days).
This is early as a slight wobble in the path now or even a stall can change things, however being prepared is better then not.
Well, I think we're in trouble with these Clintonites.
ReplyDeleteHave you guys been watching the convention coverage? I don't mean the speeches, I mean the sidelines.
All these Hilary people are FURIOUS!
They are saying they will vote AGAINST Obama out of spite!
If this is the best America has to offer, these people, then we are lost.
Hey Lydia, the conservotards keep trumpeting this frickin disunity crap, when the real disunity is in mcLOSER's party not our's.
ReplyDeleteThey are saying Ron Paul's convention has allready sold like 10,000 tickets, wouldnt it be a frickin hoot if his convention out did Bush's sidekick mcLOSER's convention by like 7000 people.
Ron Paul's 10,000 people vs the 3000 old geysers that'll prolly look more like a frickin funeral than a convention. Where's the real disunity again?
Hilary did the right thing by forgoing the role call, finally, but its something she should have conceeded to months ago, before doing all this damage to Obama.
ReplyDeleteWhen Obama first won the primaries, he had a 70/30 lead over McCain. Now, with Hilary and her fans help, that lead has been not just dwindled, but deleted.
It's now 50/50, according to the pollsters, who hopefully are wrong.
But whatever it is, one things for sure. Hilary and company eroded the lead to basically nothing, and now we could actually lose in November, because of her and her followers.
It just goes to show how utterly shallow so many Americans really are.
sara said...
ReplyDeleteHey Lydia, the conservotards keep trumpeting this frickin disunity crap, when the real disunity is in mcLOSER's party not our's
It's not just the "conservatards" who are aware of the disunity.
Did you WATCH the convention coverage this afternoon?
There were THOUSANDS of them.
THOUSAND chanting they would vote against Obama.
And what about on Jon Stewart tonight? He is a "conservatard" too?
Because he did a segment showing literally thousands of pro Hilary fans who were not happy.
THOUSANDS! At the convention!
It was ugly. Very very ugly.
If you want to do some good, you can start by getting your heads out of the clouds and admitting the struggle you have ahead of you over the next two months, and admitting that there is a huge block of democrats who are willing to sabotage the election just out of spite.
I don't know what to do, but you guys better think of something, quick.
And stop pretending it's not real.
Happy thoughts won't make these people go away.
Nor their votes.
Mike, Clif, you two above all should remember my constant warnings on the "RUSSIAN\CHINESE ALLIANCE"
ReplyDeleteI have spoken on this topic for the past several years over and over. I often referred to it as the RUSSO\SINO Alliance.
Well, look at this breaking news.
-------
Russia calls on Asian alliance for support
CNN
(CNN) -- Russia has appealed to an Asian security alliance to support its actions in Georgia.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sought support from the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) at a summit Thursday in the Central Asian nation of Tajikistan, The Associated Press reported.
Medvedev told the group, which includes China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, that support for Russia would serve as a "serious signal for those are trying to justify the aggression."
The move comes as Russia tries to counterbalance mounting pressure from the West over its military action in Georgia and its recognition of two breakaway regions -- Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir will talk about the crisis in an exclusive interview with CNN's Matthew Chance at 11am (GMT, 6amET
I hope everyone is paying attention to the words being used here.
ReplyDeleteIt is now a "CRISIS" according to Vladimir Putin, who is addressing the United States tomorrow morning.
This is serious stuff, and that they are now calling for the Asian Alliance, as I have predicted they would for 3 years now, it looks bad.
Who knows?
Maybe I'm a prophet after all.
It's important to point out that this was no chairperson of the alliance meeting with govt repts.
ReplyDeleteIt was Russian President Dmitry Medvedev meeting directly with Chinese President Hu Jintao.
Let's hope, for all our sakes, I am not a prophet.
Listen Live! to the BashamandCornell.com show or in the archives to FUN coverage of the DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, including soundbites and highlights from the Clinton-Biden-Kerry speeches!!
ReplyDeleteWe have the best coverage!
Mitt Romney said the following;
ReplyDelete"I don’t want the guys who ran the Katrina cleanup running my health care, I can tell you that,”
So Mitt Romney doesn't want major donors to the republican party running his health care.
Sort of a gaffe if you think about the party he is in.
the MSM response?
*crickets*
If a democrat had made a gaffe like this it would be breaking news 24-7
Might this be why Mittens don't want people connected with the republican party running HIS health care?
ReplyDeleteMcCain Adviser Sums Up Health Plan In 2 Words: Emergency Room
John Goodman, who helped craft McCain's health policy, has an easy solution to the problem of the uninsured: simply stop categorizing them as uninsured since they have access to emergency care.
Somebody should tell this clown that health care is more then trips to the emergency room when the medical condition had deteriorated THAT bad.
ReplyDeleteHealth care is about preventing the condition to deteriorate to a severe life threatening condition.
Oh and about the media created unity thingy;
ReplyDeleteWhy have they REFUSED to admit the republicans have at least as bad a problem?
In opening remarks before Romney took the stage, a Nevada legislator made a strategic error — or at least overestimated the unity in the room.
In trying to rev up the crowd, state Assemblyman Lynn Stewart asked whether there were any Republicans in the auditorium, and received a strong response. But when he asked if there were any McCain Republicans out there, boos filtered back through the cheers. He quickly followed by asking about Romney Republicans, and then brought the crowd to its feet by asking whether there were any McCain-Romney Republicans out there.
They hunt down and give prime time exposure to every crack pot who CLAIMS to be a Hillary supporter, but NOTHING about the dissatisfied Ron Paul supporters who are going to hold a counter convention, Hillary's supposed supporters never did that, and NOTHING about the boos McCain gets when his name is mentioned in republican staged events.
Liberal media MY ASS
In 1963, 200,000 people participated in a peaceful civil rights rally in Washington, D.C., where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
ReplyDelete45 years later part of that dream becomes reality.
Russia (Aug. 28) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of orchestrating the conflict in Georgia to benefit one of its presidential election candidates.
ReplyDeleteIn an exclusive interview with CNN's Matthew Chance in the Black Sea city of Sochi Thursday, Putin said the U.S. had encouraged Georgia to attack the autonomous region of South Ossetia.
Gee, I WONDER which candidate Putin is accusing the Bush administration of trying to support.............It couldnt be his sidekick McSame could it?
ReplyDeleteWell mike, one of Dick Cheney's senior advisers was in Georgia BEFORE they attacked South Otessia and massacred 1500 people, and killed Russian peace keepers.
ReplyDeleteWanna bet that little jewel of info is never mentioned by the McCain supporting corporate owned MSM.
That is exactly right! She did a great speech as did Bill, Biden and the rest but I think Kucinich's was by far the superior one. Awesome! You know, I was thinking about those Hillary supporters being wined and dined by McCain knowing he os scheduled to finish us off. I may be slow but I guess those people only supported her because she was a woman and not because of her Politics.
ReplyDeleteConvention Bounce? Gallup Shows Obama Up 48-42
ReplyDeleteThat is BEFORE Barack even speaks
Is all not so sweet in goperdom?
ReplyDeleteComing from 'NYT' on Sunday: Bush and McCain Have Not Spoken Since May
money quote;
Baker also reveals: "One former Bush aide who spends his days publicly bashing Barack Obama sat down for lunch with me recently and before the appetizers even arrived lamented that the Democrat will probably crush McCain. He ruefully called Obama one of the three three most talented political figures of his lifetime," along with JFK and Reagan.
Think we have problems here in America;
ReplyDeleteHow bad does it have to get for a government to say this?
Food crisis? Try rats, says Indian state government
- A state government in eastern Indian is encouraging people to eat rats in an effort to battle soaring food prices and save grain stocks.
Authorities in Bihar, one of India's poorest states, are asking rich and poor alike to switch to eating rats in a bid to reduce the dependence on rice. They even plan to offer rats on restaurant menus.
"Eating of rats will serve twin purposes -- it will save grains from being eaten away by rats and will simultaneously increase our grain stock," Vijay Prakash, an official from the state's welfare department, told Reuters.
Officials say almost 50 percent of India's food grains stocks are eaten away by rodents in fields or warehouses.
Jitan Ram Manjhi, Bihar's caste and tribe welfare minister, said rat meat was a healthy alternative to expensive rice or grains, and should be eaten by one and all.
"We are very serious to implement this project since the food crisis is turning serious day by day," Manjhi, who has eaten rats, told Reuters.
In Bihar, rat meat is already eaten by Mushars, a group of lower caste Hindus, as well as poorer sections of society.
I do have one question, in republican circles wouldn't that be a kin to cannibalism?
Good NEWS! (at last)
ReplyDeleteI am not a prophet, making Bartlebee inc, a "non prophet" organization.
:D
AP is reporting this afternoon that the Asian Alliance is REJECTING Russia's petition for support.
:D
Very good news.
:D
This has been a "non-prophet" announcement.
Clif said..
ReplyDeleteI do have one question, in republican circles wouldn't that be a kin to cannibalism?
Clif, you've developed a keen wit over the past few years of blogging.
Funny is good.
I've learned a bit from you
ReplyDeleteBTW bart, here are two names who are gonna disrupt the RNC convention,
ReplyDeleteGustav and Hana,
Can you see the split screen
with a white haired wrinkly old guy bloviating about the triumphs of Bush ET Al and Mother Nature reminding everyone of the complete failures of bush ET Al during Katrina? (and the second, Hana setting it’s sights on Southern Florida).
Do you think the republicans are going to get the message god isn't in their political party?
It is interesting, a right wing preacher asked for rain on the democrats and mother Nature responds with something which just might rain all over the political coverage on the MSM.
The only thing missing,
Where’s Brownie………………………………………
Clif said..
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting, a right wing preacher asked for rain on the democrats
I find it interesting that any preacher or church member calling themselves Christian would presume to pray for the misfortune of others.
This is the Anti-Thesis of the Christian doctrine.
:|
Sort of an "Anti-Christ" if you will.
Great quote from one of the real American people Barack invited to speak for him;
ReplyDelete"Einstein said the definition of 'insane' is,
doing the same thing over and over and over again,
and expecting a different result.
If we elect McCain, we are surely insane."
The place McCain's appearing tomorrow is called the "Nutter Center"?
ReplyDeleteHow perfect is that?
Another great quote from an average American named Barney Smith;
ReplyDeleteWe need a President who will put Barney Smith ahead of Smith Barney
Susan Eisenhower Prepared Remarks
ReplyDeleteRemarks as Prepared for Delivery
I stand before you tonight not as a Republican or a Democrat, but as an American.
The Eisenhowers came to this great country in the 18th century, settling first amid the hills of Pennsylvania and later on the plains of Kansas. Like many of your ancestors, they built our nation and served it in times of national crisis and war.
I grew up in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where my parents and grandparents, Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower, chose to live after Ike’s retirement as supreme commander, Europe, during World War II and as President of the United States. It was also where Abraham Lincoln gave his historic address. On the killing fields of Pickett’s charge, our country came of age and assured for all time that our nation would survive as one.
Yet, today the divisions in our country are deep and wide. Our cohesiveness as a nation is strained by multiple crises in finance and credit, energy and health care. These problems, which threaten American prosperity and well-being, are as relevant to our national security as any conflict overseas.
At the same time, we have knowingly saddled our children and grandchildren with a staggering debt. This is a moral failing, not just a financial one.
Overseas, our credibility is at an all-time low. We urgently need to restore our international leadership position and the leverage that goes with it to address urgent problems before they become crises.
We must advance a new and compelling vision for the 21st century. But rather than focus on these critical strategic issues, our national discourse has turned into a petty squabble.
Too many people in power have failed us. Belligerence has been a substitute for strength; stubbornness for leadership; and impulsive action has replaced measured and thoughtful response.
Once during the Eisenhower administration, Ike was under fire from his critics for moving too slowly in responding to political pressure. After a visit to the oval office by Robert Frost, the famous American poet sent the president a note: “the strong,” he wrote, “are saying nothing until they see.”
I believe that Barack Obama has the energy and the temperament to lead this country. He knows that we can either advance on the distant hills of hope or retreat to the garrisons of fear. As our standard bearer, he can mobilize a demoralized America and inspire all of us to show up for duty. Discipline will be required, as will compromise, flexibility and quiet strength.
Barack Obama has already articulated a powerful vision for our nation’s future and our standing in the world.
The task before our next president will be overwhelming. But no undertaking will be more critical than bringing about a sense of national unity and purpose, built on mutual respect and bi-partisanship.
Unless we squarely face our challenges, as Americans together, we risk losing the priceless heritage bestowed on us by the sweat and the sacrifice of our forbearers. If we do not pull together, we could lose the America that has been an inspiration to the world.
On December 1, 1862, in his annual message to Congress, Abraham Lincoln immortalized this thought when he said: “We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.”
Let us respond this November to President Lincoln’s challenge.
Let us restore the hope and bring the change that our nation so desperately needs.
Thank you.
MSNBC Leaks McCain Vice-Presidential Pick
ReplyDeleteMSNBC is reporting that John McCain has finally picked his running mate, and that it will be former Republican presidential nominee Robert Dole.
Concern about his image as an older candidate helped solidify McCain's choice. "He wanted a vice-president that would make him look young and robust," said a top McCain adviser who wished to remain anonymous because he had not yet been authorized to announce the Republican nominee's pick.
The McCain Camp is believe to have chosen a new slogan for the campaign: "McCain/Dole 2008: 150 Years of Experience!"
Said another adviser, "With McCain and Dole speaking together with one voice, terrorists will know America is serious when it says, 'Get off my lawn!'"
Found this at 538,com
ReplyDeleteHearing fairly strong rumors that Pawlenty is McCain's choice.
Pawlenty did cut out of Denver today to get back to Milwaukee, maybe to hide the fact the Secret Service was surrounding him.
Here is the speech by which Barack Obama laid down the gauntlet for the election;
ReplyDeleteObama's Historic Speech
To Chairman Dean and my great friend Dick Durbin; and to all my fellow citizens of this great nation;
With profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States.
Let me express my thanks to the historic slate of candidates who accompanied me on this journey, and especially the one who traveled the farthest -- a champion for working Americans and an inspiration to my daughters and to yours -- Hillary Rodham Clinton. To President Clinton, who last night made the case for change as only he can make it; to Ted Kennedy, who embodies the spirit of service; and to the next Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, I thank you. I am grateful to finish this journey with one of the finest statesmen of our time, a man at ease with everyone from world leaders to the conductors on the Amtrak train he still takes home every night.
To the love of my life, our next First Lady, Michelle Obama, and to Sasha and Malia -- I love you so much, and I'm so proud of all of you.
Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story -- of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren't well-off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to.
It is that promise that has always set this country apart -- that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well.
That's why I stand here tonight. Because for two hundred and thirty two years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women - students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors -- found the courage to keep it alive.
We meet at one of those defining moments - a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more.
Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can't afford to drive, credit card bills you can't afford to pay, and tuition that's beyond your reach.
These challenges are not all of government's making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush.
America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.
This country is more decent than one where a woman in Ohio, on the brink of retirement, finds herself one illness away from disaster after a lifetime of hard work.
This country is more generous than one where a man in Indiana has to pack up the equipment he's worked on for twenty years and watch it shipped off to China, and then chokes up as he explains how he felt like a failure when he went home to tell his family the news.
We are more compassionate than a government that lets veterans sleep on our streets and families slide into poverty; that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes.
Tonight, I say to the American people, to Democrats and Republicans and Independents across this great land - enough! This moment - this election - is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive. Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third. And we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look like the last eight. On November 4th, we must stand up and say: "Eight is enough."
Now let there be no doubt. The Republican nominee, John McCain, has worn the uniform of our country with bravery and distinction, and for that we owe him our gratitude and respect. And next week, we'll also hear about those occasions when he's broken with his party as evidence that he can deliver the change that we need.
But the record's clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush ninety percent of the time. Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than ninety percent of the time? I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to take a ten percent chance on change.
The truth is, on issue after issue that would make a difference in your lives - on health care and education and the economy - Senator McCain has been anything but independent. He said that our economy has made "great progress" under this President. He said that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. And when one of his chief advisors - the man who wrote his economic plan - was talking about the anxiety Americans are feeling, he said that we were just suffering from a "mental recession," and that we've become, and I quote, "a nation of whiners."
A nation of whiners? Tell that to the proud auto workers at a Michigan plant who, after they found out it was closing, kept showing up every day and working as hard as ever, because they knew there were people who counted on the brakes that they made. Tell that to the military families who shoulder their burdens silently as they watch their loved ones leave for their third or fourth or fifth tour of duty. These are not whiners. They work hard and give back and keep going without complaint. These are the Americans that I know.
Now, I don't believe that Senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of Americans. I just think he doesn't know. Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under five million dollars a year? How else could he propose hundreds of billions in tax breaks for big corporations and oil companies but not one penny of tax relief to more than one hundred million Americans? How else could he offer a health care plan that would actually tax people's benefits, or an education plan that would do nothing to help families pay for college, or a plan that would privatize Social Security and gamble your retirement?
It's not because John McCain doesn't care. It's because John McCain doesn't get it.
For over two decades, he's subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy - give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is - you're on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps - even if you don't have boots. You're on your own.
Well it's time for them to own their failure. It's time for us to change America.
You see, we Democrats have a very different measure of what constitutes progress in this country.
We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage; whether you can put a little extra money away at the end of each month so you can someday watch your child receive her college diploma. We measure progress in the 23 million new jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was President - when the average American family saw its income go up $7,500 instead of down $2,000 like it has under George Bush.
We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job - an economy that honors the dignity of work.
The fundamentals we use to measure economic strength are whether we are living up to that fundamental promise that has made this country great - a promise that is the only reason I am standing here tonight.
Because in the faces of those young veterans who come back from Iraq and Afghanistan, I see my grandfather, who signed up after Pearl Harbor, marched in Patton's Army, and was rewarded by a grateful nation with the chance to go to college on the GI Bill.
In the face of that young student who sleeps just three hours before working the night shift, I think about my mom, who raised my sister and me on her own while she worked and earned her degree; who once turned to food stamps but was still able to send us to the best schools in the country with the help of student loans and scholarships.
When I listen to another worker tell me that his factory has shut down, I remember all those men and women on the South Side of Chicago who I stood by and fought for two decades ago after the local steel plant closed.
And when I hear a woman talk about the difficulties of starting her own business, I think about my grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle-management, despite years of being passed over for promotions because she was a woman. She's the one who taught me about hard work. She's the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me. And although she can no longer travel, I know that she's watching tonight, and that tonight is her night as well.
I don't know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine. These are my heroes. Theirs are the stories that shaped me. And it is on their behalf that I intend to win this election and keep our promise alive as President of the United States.
What is that promise?
It's a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect.
It's a promise that says the market should reward drive and innovation and generate growth, but that businesses should live up to their responsibilities to create American jobs, look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road.
Ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves - protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology.
Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who's willing to work.
That's the promise of America - the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper.
That's the promise we need to keep. That's the change we need right now. So let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am President.
.
Change means a tax code that doesn't reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it.
Unlike John McCain, I will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America.
I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.
I will cut taxes - cut taxes - for 95% of all working families. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class.
And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as President: in ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.
Washington's been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of them. In that time, he's said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, we import triple the amount of oil as the day that Senator McCain took office.
Now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand that drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution. Not even close.
As President, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I'll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I'll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I'll invest 150 billion dollars over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy - wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced.
America, now is not the time for small plans.
Now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy. Michelle and I are only here tonight because we were given a chance at an education. And I will not settle for an America where some kids don't have that chance. I'll invest in early childhood education. I'll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries and give them more support. And in exchange, I'll ask for higher standards and more accountability. And we will keep our promise to every young American - if you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford a college education.
Now is the time to finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American. If you have health care, my plan will lower your premiums. If you don't, you'll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves. And as someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies while she lay in bed dying of cancer, I will make certain those companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most.
Now is the time to help families with paid sick days and better family leave, because nobody in America should have to choose between keeping their jobs and caring for a sick child or ailing parent.
Now is the time to change our bankruptcy laws, so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses; and the time to protect Social Security for future generations.
And now is the time to keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day's work, because I want my daughters to have exactly the same opportunities as your sons.
Now, many of these plans will cost money, which is why I've laid out how I'll pay for every dime - by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens that don't help America grow. But I will also go through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less - because we cannot meet twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century bureaucracy.
And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America's promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our "intellectual and moral strength." Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can't replace parents; that government can't turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need.
Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility - that's the essence of America's promise.
And just as we keep our keep our promise to the next generation here at home, so must we keep America's promise abroad. If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next Commander-in-Chief, that's a debate I'm ready to have.
For while Senator McCain was turning his sights to Iraq just days after 9/11, I stood up and opposed this war, knowing that it would distract us from the real threats we face. When John McCain said we could just "muddle through" in Afghanistan, I argued for more resources and more troops to finish the fight against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made clear that we must take out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants if we have them in our sights. John McCain likes to say that he'll follow bin Laden to the Gates of Hell - but he won't even go to the cave where he lives.
And today, as my call for a time frame to remove our troops from Iraq has been echoed by the Iraqi government and even the Bush Administration, even after we learned that Iraq has a $79 billion surplus while we're wallowing in deficits, John McCain stands alone in his stubborn refusal to end a misguided war.
That's not the judgment we need. That won't keep America safe. We need a President who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past.
You don't defeat a terrorist network that operates in eighty countries by occupying Iraq. You don't protect Israel and deter Iran just by talking tough in Washington. You can't truly stand up for Georgia when you've strained our oldest alliances. If John McCain wants to follow George Bush with more tough talk and bad strategy, that is his choice - but it is not the change we need.
We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country. Don't tell me that Democrats won't keep us safe. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans -- Democrats and Republicans - have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.
As Commander-in-Chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.
I will end this war in Iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts. But I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression. I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. And I will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.
These are the policies I will pursue. And in the weeks ahead, I look forward to debating them with John McCain.
But what I will not do is suggest that the Senator takes his positions for political purposes. Because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other's character and patriotism.
The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America.
So I've got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first.
America, our work will not be easy. The challenges we face require tough choices, and Democrats as well as Republicans will need to cast off the worn-out ideas and politics of the past. For part of what has been lost these past eight years can't just be measured by lost wages or bigger trade deficits. What has also been lost is our sense of common purpose - our sense of higher purpose. And that's what we have to restore.
We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don't know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This too is part of America's promise - the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.
I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan Horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values. And that's to be expected. Because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from.
You make a big election about small things.
And you know what - it's worked before. Because it feeds into the cynicism we all have about government. When Washington doesn't work, all its promises seem empty. If your hopes have been dashed again and again, then it's best to stop hoping, and settle for what you already know.
I get it. I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office. I don't fit the typical pedigree, and I haven't spent my career in the halls of Washington.
But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the nay-sayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me. It's been about you.
For eighteen long months, you have stood up, one by one, and said enough to the politics of the past. You understand that in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect a different result. You have shown what history teaches us - that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it - because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time.
America, this is one of those moments.
I believe that as hard as it will be, the change we need is coming. Because I've seen it. Because I've lived it. I've seen it in Illinois, when we provided health care to more children and moved more families from welfare to work. I've seen it in Washington, when we worked across party lines to open up government and hold lobbyists more accountable, to give better care for our veterans and keep nuclear weapons out of terrorist hands.
And I've seen it in this campaign. In the young people who voted for the first time, and in those who got involved again after a very long time. In the Republicans who never thought they'd pick up a Democratic ballot, but did. I've seen it in the workers who would rather cut their hours back a day than see their friends lose their jobs, in the soldiers who re-enlist after losing a limb, in the good neighbors who take a stranger in when a hurricane strikes and the floodwaters rise.
This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that's not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores.
Instead, it is that American spirit - that American promise - that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend.
That promise is our greatest inheritance. It's a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours - a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot.
And it is that promise that forty five years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln's Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream.
The men and women who gathered there could've heard many things. They could've heard words of anger and discord. They could've been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred.
But what the people heard instead - people of every creed and color, from every walk of life - is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one.
"We cannot walk alone," the preacher cried. "And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back."
America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise - that American promise - and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.
Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless the United States of America.
Any body who claims Hillary was a better choice is not dealing with the real world.
ReplyDeleteI was in a local bar/gril with about 40 other Obama volunteers watching the speech.
ReplyDeleteIt was an incredible speech -- plain and simple.
Bart, Russia is raising the fight to a new level;
ReplyDeleteRussia may cut off oil flow to the West
Fears are mounting that Russia may restrict oil deliveries to Western Europe over coming days, in response to the threat of EU sanctions and Nato naval actions in the Black Sea.
Any such move would be a dramatic escalation of the Georgia crisis and play havoc with the oil markets.
Reports have begun to circulate in Moscow that Russian oil companies are under orders from the Kremlin to prepare for a supply cut to Germany and Poland through the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline. It is believed that executives from lead-producer LUKoil have been put on weekend alert.
"They have been told to be ready to cut off supplies as soon as Monday," claimed a high-level business source, speaking to The Daily Telegraph. Any move would be timed to coincide with an emergency EU summit in Brussels, where possible sanctions against Russia are on the agenda.
They are putting Europe on notice.
Europe can't survive economically if they lack the energy resources or if the price rises too high.
This will also to raise the price of oil which they must know will place further strain on Western economies which are struggling with the credit crunch and sub prime meltdown.
They are letting us all know they have more then military weapons to use to force us to recognize them as equals on this planet.
Something Bush, McCain and the old school neo-cons will never do.
Add to their cut off of oil supplies with the looming Hurricane taking aim at Louisiana and Texas early next week, and we could very well face a crisis this country has never faced in modern times.
a small excerpt from a news piece about post-convention poll boosts ... whomever is in charge of scheduling the RNC convention speeches must have been another inept crony.
ReplyDelete"And McCain's acceptance speech next Thursday night will have to compete with the nationally televised opening game of the NFL season, featuring the Super Bowl champion New York Giants."
MCH, NBC, the NFL and the RNC have reached an agreement to start the game early,
ReplyDeleteIsn't it nice how corporate America gets along so well,
Hopefully it will go into over time, double over time maybe?
I just posted this at my site, but I thought it appropriate to add to the conversation:
ReplyDeleteMany of us who watched Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at Denver’s Invesco Field, either sat stunned at the beauty of his words or jumped up and cheered. Here was a man who was not only laying out a plan for us - and future generations - he was also warning us to stop looking to the past for our solutions. The world we live in today is far from the world our grandparents experienced during the ’30s and ’40s under FDR. This is not the land o’ plenty our parents took their opportunities from in the ’50s and ’60s. This is a country that started forming under Richard Nixon and was brought to an anti-fruition under the failed policies of George W. Bush.
We must come together as a nation against the transparent goal of world domination from organizations like PNAC. It will take educating all of our American brothers and sisters. It will take those brothers and sisters opening their ears to our teachings. But anyone who listened to that tall lanky man from Illinois address the more than 75,000 people gathered in the Mile High City to see the embodiment of hope and change will have a head start on the rest.
Barack Obama challenged all of us to be better. He challenged the entire country to change from a course charted in the direction of destruction to a path toward betterment. He actually gave us a challenge. He channeled the spirit of John F. Kennedy by giving us a decade to wean ourselves from the dependence of foreign oil and limited resources. A new Apollo challenge awaits us. All we have to do is make the correct choice in November.
Standing in the way of our amelioration is a barricade of generations of bigotry and distrust; a bulwark of spin and obfuscation; a fortification of avarice and rapaciousness by men and women of power. This will not be easy. The Karl Roves and Randy Scheunemanns of this country will will attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of the average voter. They will endeavor to paint a picture of Barack Obama as a weak and inexperienced Pollyanna with his head in the clouds and his feet in quicksand. They will sit in their country clubs and try to delineate him as an ostentatious elitist. They will hope the voters in this country fail to notice the irony of their vignette.
It is far too easy to fall into the trap of despair, especially when you see the great odds against us, but if history has taught us anything about this country, it is that indomitable spirit that lurks somewhere beneath the surface of all real Americans. A dogged determination to find the courage and wisdom to do the right thing, even when faced with overwhelming odds. We were supposed to lose to the British. There was no way we could ever bring the Confederacy back into the union. The depression and dust bowl of the ’30s spelled the death kneel of the United States of America. The Nazis were an unstoppable juggernaut and we were told that the Japanese would never surrender. Yet, even in the face of these insurmountable barriers, we were able to reach deep inside ourselves and find a way. That way is within reach today, but it is up to us to have the courage to fight for it. We must not be armchair quarterbacks in the fight to put Barack Obama into the White House. We must put ourselves into the game and take to the field.
As Senator Obama has told us time and again, this campaign is not about him, it is about us. But it is not simply about us. It is about this country, it is about our children and our future, it is about time we change course and avoid hitting the icebergs set afloat by those people and events that stand in the way of us completing our journey.
Vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden!
How's this for family values?
ReplyDeleteCindy McCain's Half Sister: "I'm Voting for Barack Obama"
Cindy McCain's half sister is planning on voting for Barack Obama, she tells Usmagazine.com.
"I'm not voting for McCain," Kathleen Hensley Portalski tells Us. "I have a different political standpoint.
"I'm voting for Obama," the Phoenix resident says. "I think his proposals to improve the country are more positive and I'm not a big war believer."
Portalski, 65, and the potential first lady, 54, have the same father: Jim Hensley, the founder of the beer distributor Hensley and Co. that Cindy McCain now chairs.
In an interview with NPR News' All Things Considered last week, Portalski said she felt "like a non-person" after Cindy McCain described herself as an "only child."
Portalski's mother is Hensley's first wife; Cindy McCain's mother, Marguerite Hensley, also had another daughter from her first marriage.
"She's kinda cool, standoffish," Portalski tells Us of her half sister.
Portalski also doesn't expect Cindy McCain to make an effort to reconcile their relationship.
"She never has, and I doubt that she ever will," she tells Us.
Portalski's son Nathan, a 45-year-old aerospace machinist, is also backing Obama.
"I wouldn't vote for John McCain if he was a Democrat," he tells Us. "I would not vote at all before I'd vote for him.
"I question whether Cindy is someone I'd want to see in the White House as first lady," he adds.
BARTLEBEE said...
ReplyDeleteGood NEWS! (at last)
I am not a prophet, making Bartlebee inc, a "non prophet" organization.
:D
AP is reporting this afternoon that the Asian Alliance is REJECTING Russia's petition for support."
Well I might be...........I said 20-30 times now that "IF" Europe sides with America AGAINST Russia, that Russia would turn off the Natural Gas and possibly oil spigot to Europe and thats EXACTLY what Putin threatened to do.
Europe WILL NOT bite the hand that feeds them and side against Russia.
On a brighter Not, Obama's speech was AMAZING.......the Demacratic Convention was a huge success.
ReplyDeleteMike
ReplyDeleteWhat a surprise! Do you think it was a coincidence that China was just given a $3 Billion 20 year oil deal in Iraq?
PALE AND PALIN
ReplyDeletePOW AND THE MILF
Please check out the new blog post and please leave comments in the NEW thread.
Thank you!