Chart: Almost Every Obama Conspiracy Theory Ever

From Mother Jones 
Yeah, I know there's an atteribution to Mother Jones and I don't take credit for it, but some people are so stupid that if you don't attribute something in a way that is so obvious, they will accuse you of plagiarism.

The Absolutely Stunning First Lady Michelle Obama

This may be the greatest political speech I've ever heard - the poise and sincerity, the substantive issues mentioned, her smile, the delivery. Before I predicted that Obama would win by a landslide against Romney, now I'm adding something else: Michelle Obama in 2016.

Obama Derangement Syndrome

I just became aware of this. One of the characterisitcs is an inability to distinguish Hawaii from Kenya--not that septics were any good at geography and how that might impact them anyway...



Kevin drum from Mother Jones points out that one of the key things that's long convinced me that Obama Derangement Syndrome is way stronger than Bush Derangement Syndrome ever was is the disparate treatment of their wives. I occasionally saw some snotty comments about Laura Bush in various precincts of the blogosphere and the partisan media, but nothing either serious or sustained. But Michelle Obama? Holy cow. There are times when you'd think she was the antichrist. The poor woman decides to make childhood obesity one of her focuses — about as First-Ladyish a subject as you can possibly imagine — and gets hammered by the wingnut brigade for supposedly being the vanguard of Stalinesque Big Government rules decreeing exactly what all of us will and won't be allowed to eat in the future. And that's just for promoting the idea of better nutrition and more exercise for kids!

Simon Maloy has more, treating us today to a dissection of a new column from Joe Curl that's headlined — in unwitting Dr. Seuss style — "The very angry first lady Michelle Obama." The First Lady, says Curl, is back, "and she's madder than ever," "ready to spew her bilious disgust with America on the campaign trail," blah blah blah.

I mean, it's comical in a way, but weirdly revealing in another. The level of blind, lick-spittled rage it takes to produce this stuff is pretty remarkable. And presumably there's a ready audience for it. You could almost understand where this came from in the case of Hillary Clinton: a feminist child of the counterculture who was deeply involved in policy creation was always bound to get under the skin of a certain type of social conservative. But Michelle Obama? Sure, she's a liberal and she supports her husband's initiatives, but her own work has centered on military families, childhood obesity, national service, arts education, and cultivating her organic garden. How traditional do you have to be to get the right-wing crazies to calm down?

The Keating 5 Scandal

Over at the wonderfully informative blog called Hullabaloo, Digby wrote a post entitled They've Been Listening, which makes reference to a poll indicating that "By a 2-to-1 ratio, Americans blame Republicans over Democrats for the financial crisis that has swept across the country the past few weeks."

I find this extremely gratifying because all too often in this campaign things that I've concluded and surmised seem to go unnoticed. For example, the idea that Palin was qualified for the office of Vice President seemed to be accepted by many of the same people who berated Obama's qualifications. In spite of this apparent contradiction, the Republicans seemed to receive the breath of life from her candidature. Thank goodness that's subsiding now.

I became aware of the Keating 5 scandal some months ago via another site I like very much, Opinione. In the Digby piece, there's a concise explanation of McCain's role.

McCain's role in that scandal was very specific: he pressured regulators into going easy on his friend Charlie's savings and loan.

The Wikipedia article on the Keating 5 says this:

Senators John Glenn and John McCain were cleared of having acted improperly but were criticized for having exercised "poor judgment".

What's your opinion? Do you think "poor judgment" is a euphemism for "criminal behaviour but we're giving you a break this time?"

Gustav, Another Katrina?

The evacuation of New Orleans is in full swing, as reported by CNN. Having learned so much from Katrina three years ago, today's evacuation numbers are impressive.

About 1.9 million of Louisiana's 2 million coastal residents had fled ahead of Hurricane Gustav by Sunday evening in the largest evacuation in state history, Louisiana's governor said.

The Republican National Convention activities in Minneapolis for Monday have been mainly suspended. But I wonder if anyone really believes McCain is talking straight. Isn't he just concerned that the country will associate the John McCain folks with the ineptitude that tainted the Bush administration three years ago?

"This is a time when we have to do away with our party politics and we have to act as Americans. We have to join the 300 million other Americans on behalf of our fellow citizens. It's a time for action. So, we're going to suspend most of our activities tomorrow except for those absolutely necessary," said McCain, speaking from St. Louis, Missouri.

And it seems even Bush himself has learned something from the past mistakes. This time he's acting even before the devastation.

The president ordered federal aid to supplement state and local efforts in the areas in the forecast path of Hurricane Gustav. Bush and his administration were heavily criticized in 2005 for not moving fast enough to send federal help to the Gulf Coast when Hurricane Katrina hit.

Over at The Riff Blog there's a very entertaining series of articles entitled, "God Understands Irony." The story includes a link to the hysterical speech, although he was seriously trying to make his conservative point, by Stuart Shepard encouraging people to pray for rain to drown out Obama's speech. It's really funny that the very type of rain he was describing for Obama, is actually interfering with the Republican activities. That's irony and schadenfreude all rolled into one.

McCain's Girl

A lot of people were surprised at John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as running mate. CNN Reports that the Alaska governor was not really on anyone's radar screen.

"She's got the grit, integrity, good sense and fierce devotion to the common good that is exactly what we need in Washington today," McCain said.

One of the obvious advantages to this choice is that the Republicans might pick up some of those Hillary Clinton supporters who, supposedly quite numerous, were not placated by Hillary's overtures to vote for Obama. But could those women actually bring themselves to vote for a staunchly pro-life ticket?

Gov. Palin shares John McCain's commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade.

It's certainly going to be interesting.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Democratic National Convention

I wasn't going to write about this. God knows there's been enough written over the last few days, much of it by true experts. But after finally watching the speeches last night I couldn't resist. If you haven't seen them or would like another listen, please go ahead, courtesy of the New York Times. Kudos to them, by the way, for providing the extremely user-friendly videos and scrolling transcripts.

My impression was that Michelle started out a bit overboard with the family bit, but as the speech went on I became hypnotized by her beauty and poise and credibility. It was while watching her interview with Larry King some months ago that it became clear in my mind that I support Obama for president. She will be the best First Lady since Jackie Kennedy.

Michelle Obama's Speech at the Democratic National Convention


I usually don't find Hillary completely believable. Something in her inflections reminds me of fingernails on a blackboard. Nevertheless, she made a good powerful speech. If there was any envy or bitterness in her mind, it didn't show at all on her face. She was absolutely glowing.

Hillary Rodham Clinton's Speech at the Democratic National Convention


It's impossible for me to see Ted Kennedy without thinking of the 1969 death of Mary Jo Kopechne. I was a teenager at the time. Younger people probably think there was a massive cover-up and the powerful Kennedys blocked due process from taking place. That may be true to some extent, but the fact that in my recollection, the name Kopechne is inseparable from that of the senior senator's, says something. Hers became a household name just like his. I always ask myself, when Ted Kennedy makes public appearances, if all the others have forgotten about the incident. Then I wonder if it really was just a tragic accident; the fact that he hasn't done it again in 40 years must mean something. Isn't that the hallmark of a true criminal: repeat offences? The whole business partially poisons me to anything good he might have to say, such as in this speech supporting Obama. My friend Weer'd Beard certainly doesn't pull any punches.


Edward M. Kennedy's Speech at the Democratic National Convention


While watching these three speeches, I wondered if there might not have been millions of fence-sitters won over by the Convention coverage. I think Michelle Obama could do that.



But, why am I beating around the bush. What I'm really saying is might there not have been millions of WHITE fence-sitters won over by the Convention coverage. That is the real issue, in my opinion, but in these days on political correctness it cannot be spoken. Can the average middle-American white guy or gal really bring themselves to vote for a black man? I have a nightmare vision that on election day, those millions will go to the polls intent on voting for "change," but in the critical moment their hands will waver and they'll end up voting for McCain in an almost involuntary gesture of inertia and fear.