Fox News ... Fair And Balanced ... Yeah Right

Typical Fox News. Finishes an interview with flip-flopping right-winger Newt Gingrich, bashes the Obama Administration for not coming on its network and then teases a segment with right-winger John McCain and Joe Lieberman, who has essentially become a right-wing politician.

Fox News showing how fair and balanced it is once again.

Bitter John McCain Still Attacking President Obama, And Weakly So

Sen. John McCain continues to look like a bitter and petty man any time President Obama's name comes out of his mouth.

This, from Think Progress, is another example of Sen. McCain attacking President Obama over the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" gays-in-the-military policy:

But McCain remained undeterred. He agreed that decisions about integration should not be held hostage to the opinions of servicemembers, but then insisted that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell doesn’t pose a problem for gay soldiers or the military. He also reiterated that the Service Chiefs — three of whom publicly endorsed the study last week — are still concerned about repeal:

CROWLEY: Doesn’t [Gates] have a point?

MCCAIN: Well, I think he certainly has a point. I would also certainly say that we should remember where this all started. There was no uprising in the military, there was no problems with Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. [...]

It wasn’t a problem because you didn’t have. It’s called ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ Okay? If you don’t ask somebody and they don’t tell and it’s an all volunteer force. [...] The fact is, this was a political promise made by an inexperienced President or candidate for Presidency of the United States. [...]

The fact is, that this system is working and I believe we need to assess the effect on the morale and battle effectiveness of those people, those young Marines and Army people I met.

But, the "inexperienced" line is nothing more than an irrational cheap shot on Sen. McCain's part. Bitter John McCain again shows that he is and was far from presidential and that he is little more than a typical partisan politician.

More from Think Progress:

McCain’s characterization of President Obama as “inexperienced” is particularly petty, however, since every Democratic president and presidential candidate since President Clinton has come out against the ban.

It's weak on McCain's part.

Think Progress:
http://thinkprogress.org/2010/11/28/mccain-dadt-letter/

Can't Blame It On Bush, But You Can Give Him Credit For Good Things

This is a quote from Sen. John McCain after a State of the Union address from President Barack Obama as documented by the Republican public relations firm, Fox News:

Sen John McCain, R-Ariz., countering a stinging political attack by President Obama on Monday that Republicans, led by President George W. Bush, are to blame for the recession having driven America's economic car into the proverbial ditch, told reporters Tuesday, "George Bush looks like a piker compared to what has taken place since President Obama has come into the presidency. He can keep 'B.I.O.B.' no matter what it is, 'Blame it on Bush' - he can keep that up. The American people are going to hold him accountable this November, not an administration that went out of power more than a year ago."

Blame it on Bush, said McCain, one of the leading B.I.O.B. whiners. You see, Republicans feel it's wrong to blame all the "bad" things (soaring deficits, war in Iraq, war in Afghanistan, a horrible economy, a damaged reputation for the United States, etc.) started during the previous administration on the former president.

On the other hand, McCain sees it differently when something is considered to have gone "well" that Bush started.

In John McCain's world, it's OK to celebrate President Bush's "accomplishments" from his eight years, but it's wrong to criticize him for the problems created during that same period.

You can't have it both ways Sen. McCain.

Arizona Is Now Home Of The Brown Codes (It's Called 'Immigration Reform' In Arizona)

This attempt to legalize harassment (some would say racism) of Hispanics in Arizona, in the name of battling illegal immigration, is causing quite a stir.

It all made me think of a class I took in college where we had a brief opportunity to study apartheid in South Africa. This guilty-until-proven innocent approach to battling illegal immigration made me think of "pass laws" in South Africa.

First, this foundation part from the Omaha World Herald:

The law, which both opponents and critics called the broadest and strictest immigration measure in the country, makes the failure to carry proof of citizenship or legal immigration status a crime. It also gives police broad powers to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. Opponents have decried it as an open invitation for harassment and discrimination against Hispanics, regardless of their citizenship status.

This brings me back to the "pass laws" of apartheid South Africa. Here is a brief description of "pass laws" from Wikipedia:

Pass laws in South Africa were designed to segregate the population and limit severely the movements of the non-white populace. This legislation was one of the dominant features of the country's apartheid system. The Black population were required to carry these pass books with them when outside their compounds or designated areas. Failure to produce a pass often resulted in the person being arrested.

Seems there are similarities between the "pass laws" of apartheid South Africa and current immigration laws being pushed in present-day Arizona.

Here is an interesting piece of information:

By the time the increasingly expensive and ineffective pass laws were repealed in 1986, they had led to more than 17 million arrests.

It's so sad that people in our country, in Arizona, are doing something very similar to what oppressors and racists in South Africa were doing for centuries - up until 1986.

Then, it was black people as targets. Today, in Arizona, it's brown people in the crosshairs.

I'm not suggesting what is happening in Arizona is as bad as what happened in South Africa to black people under apartheid, but to not learn from that lesson is disturbing to say the least.

Arizona Has Still Not Learned Since Public Enemy Rapped 'By The Time I Get To Arizona'

What is the matter out there with some of these people in Arizona?

Years ago, when far too many people continued to inexplicably oppose the national holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the rap group Public Enemy made famous a song that targeted one such state that was in opposition to the King holiday. PE's song was titled, "By The Time I Get to Arizona."

I was reminded of this song when I read a blog today from Think Progress about what these crazy irrationally xenophobic birthers are attempting to accomplish in Arizona.

The Arizona House on Monday voted for a provision that would require President Barack Obama to show his birth certificate if he hopes to be on the state’s ballot when he runs for reelection. The House voted 31-22 to add the provision to a separate bill. The measure still faces a formal vote.

It would require U.S. presidential candidates who want to appear on the ballot in Arizona to submit documents proving they meet the constitutional requirements to be president. Phoenix Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema said the bill is one of several measures that are making Arizona “the laughing stock of the nation.” Mesa Republican Rep. Cecil Ash said he has no reason to doubt Obama’s citizenship but supports the measure because it could help end doubt.

Arizona has learned very little through all these years.

Once again, we see hostility coming from individuals in Arizona. Once again, the state seems to be striking back against people of color (disguised as battling illegal immigration and just wanting to see President Obama's birth certificates). It's issues related to race and partisan politics all revealing their ugly faces in all too familiar fashions.

From Wikipedia:

The group’s next release, Apocalypse '91...The Enemy Strikes Black, continued this trend, with songs like "Can't Truss It", which addressed the history of slavery and how the black community can fight back against oppression; "I Don't Wanna be Called Yo Nigga ", a track addresses on how the urban culture uses the word "Nigga" outside of its usual derogatory context. The album also included the controversial song and video "By the Time I Get to Arizona," which chronicled the black community's frustration that some States did not recognize Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a national holiday. The video featured members of Public Enemy taking out their frustrations on politicians in the States not recognizing the holiday.

By The Time I Get To Arizona (Public Enemy)

I'm countin' down to the day deservin'
Fittin' for a king
I'm waitin' for the time when I can
Get to Arizona
'Cause my money's spent on
The goddamn rent
Neither party is mine not the
Jackass or the elephant
20.000 nig niggy nigas in the corner
Of the cell block but they come
From California
Population none in the desert and sun
Wit' a gun cracker
Runnin' things under his thumb
Starin' hard at the postcards
Isn't it odd and unique?
Seein' people smile wild in the heat
120 degree
'Cause I wanna be free
What's a smilin' fact
When the whole state's racist
Why want a holiday F--k it 'cause I wanna
So what if I celebrate it standin' on a corner
I ain't drinkin' no 40
I B thinkin' time wit' a nine
Until we get some land
Call me the trigger man
Looki lookin' for the governor
Huh he ain't lovin' ya
But here to trouble ya
He's rubbin' ya wrong
Get the point come along
An he can get to the joint
I urinated on the state
While I was kickin' this song
Yeah, he appear to be fair
The cracker over there
He try to keep it yesteryear
The good ol' days
The same ol' ways
That kept us dyin'
Yes, you me myself and I'ndeed
What he need is a nosebleed

Read between the lines
Then you see the lie
Politically planned
But understand that's all she wrote
When we see the real side
That hide behind the vote
They can't understand why he the man
I'm singin' 'bout a king
They don't like it
When I decide to mike it
Wait I'm waitin' for the date
For the man who demands respect
'Cause he was great c'mon
I'm on the one mission
To get a politician
To honor or he's a gonner
By the time I get to Arizona

I got 25 days to do it
If a wall in the sky
Just watch me go thru it
'Cause I gotta do what I gotta do
PE number one
Gets the job done
When it's done and over
Was because I drove'er
Thru all the static
Not stick but automatic
That's the way it is
He gotta get his
Talin' MLK
Gonna find a way
Make the state pay
Lookin' for the day
Hard as it seems
This ain't no damn dream
Gotta know what I mean
It's team against team
Catch the light beam
So I pray
I pray everyday
I do and praise jah the maker
Lookin' for culture
I got but not here
From jah maker
Pushin' and shakin' the structure
Bringin' down the babylon
Hearin' the sucker
That make it hard for the brown
The hard Boulova
I need now
More than ever now
Who's sittin' on my freedah'
Opressor people beater
Piece of the pick
We picked a piece
Of land that we deservin' now
Reparation a piece of the nation
And damn he got the nerve
Another niga they say and classify
We want too much
My peep plus the whole nine is mine
Don't think I even double dutch
Here's a brother my attitude hit 'em
Hang 'em high
Blowin' up the 90s started tickin' 86
When the blind get a mind
Better start and earn while we sing it
Now
There will be the day we know those down and who will go

Fox News Attacks President Obama And McCain Continues To Become Another Partisan Hack

If you want additional evidence of how Fox News is little more than a far-right public relations firm for the GOP, check out this article:

Being a superpower ain't all that, at least according to President Obama.

In a little-noticed remark at the close of the two-day nuclear security summit in Washington, D.C., this week, President Obama suggested the United States is somehow burdened by its military might -- a comment that drew a stern rebuke from his former rival in the presidential campaign.

Obama was responding to a question Tuesday about how the summit would play into peace-making efforts in the Middle East when he addressed the downsides of -- by virtue of America's world stature -- being obligated to intervene in international conflicts.

"It is a vital national security interest of the United States to reduce these conflicts because whether we like it or not, we remain a dominant military superpower, and when conflicts break out, one way or another we get pulled into them," Obama said. "And that ends up costing us significantly in terms of both blood and treasure."

This is not journalism. This is another case of Fox News imposing its right-wing bias on its readers in an effort to mischaracterize President Obama's comments, twist his words and frame him in the worst possible way.

Later in the article, the increasingly irrelevant Sen. John McCain launched a blistering attack on the president to try and appease his hungry far-right base (a base that has become disenchanted with him as he is in an election with a far-right extremist, J.D. Hayworth).

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., slammed the leader of the free world Thursday, calling the remark a "direct contradiction to everything America believes in."

"That's one of the more incredible statements I've ever heard a president of the United States make in modern times," McCain, a Vietnam veteran and former prisoner of war, told Fox News. "We are the dominant superpower, and we're the greatest force for good in the history of this country, and I thank God every day that we are a dominant superpower."

What has happened to John McCain is sad, but not surprising. He was not a maverick when he ran for president in 2008. He might have been, once upon a time, but that time has passed.

Now, he is a shell of the great public servant he was once. These days, he is just another far-right political hack resorting to extremism to try and satisfy a far-right base that wants nothing to do with working with the president for a better United States of America.

Fox News:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/15/obama-america-superpower-like/

John McCain … Maverick In Name Only

Sen. John McCain always tried to portray himself as a so-called “maverick” while he was on the campaign trail. But, during and after Wednesday’s State of the Union address from President Obama, for former candidate for the White House proved that he is just another Washington insider playing the game of politics. In other words, Sen. John McCain is a politician like all the rest, as he proved again when he went on Sean Hannity’s far-right Fox News show and uttered the words below.

“What we’re hearing tonight is ‘BIOB’ — let’s call it that from now on. Blame it on Bush. Whatever has gone wrong, let’s blame it on Bush. I think the people of Massachusetts last Tuesday pretty well rejected that line of conversation.”

Voters rejected Sen. McCain’s message during the campaign and should reject it now. The campaign is over and John McCain has revealed his true self as a right-wing partisan who struggles to see any good from the other side and mistakes facts for blame.

John McCain (who wears his far-right cap when he goes on Fox News) must have missed the part where the president accepted the blame for the portion of the deficit he claimed responsibility for last night.

Also, Sen. McCain is misguided. Massachusetts voters likely rejected that Democrats have not done enough to bring the radical change they expected (we’re still in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Democrats are not standing firm on health care, etc.).

Is Sen. McCain crazy enough to think that Massachusetts are troubled by Democrats holding President Bush (whose approval ratings where somewhere around the high 20s to low 30s when he left office) accountable for what happened on his watch? Come on, now!

Think Progress:
http://thinkprogress.org/2010/01/27/mccain-sotu-obama/

Biased Bill O’Reilly Takes Cheap Shot Over Sen. Al Franken

On Friday’s edition of The O’Reilly Factor, Fox News right-wing commentator Bill O’Reilly cried more than a spoiled kid in Toys R Us hearing “NO” for the first time. So, what was O’Reilly crying about: his old archenemy Sen. Al Franken. O’Reilly has been waging a war against Franken since before the man became a senator from the state of Minnesota. Franken has been one to stand up to Bully O’Reilly and not take his crap and that is something O’Reilly can’t stand. Like a true bully, O’Reilly depends on intimidation and fear as his weapons of choice.

This all brings me to the nontroversy involving Sen. Franken cutting off Sen. Joe Lieberman who had used up his 10 minutes of time. Sen. Franken, by several reports, merely was following the rules as he was made aware. O’Reilly, however, since blood in the water and once again used his platform to wage a personal battle (think back to previous personal attacks he has made against Boyce Watkins, Jesse Jackson, Ward Churchill, NBC, GE, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Dr. George Tiller … to name a VERY FEW). When O’Reilly got word of the incident (one that even Sen. Lieberman laughed off) he went nuts and used it as provocation to attack Sen. Franken.

O’REILLY: Yesterday on the Senate floor, Joe Lieberman was talking about the health care bill and politely asked for an extension to wrap up his remarks. He didn’t even wait for verbal approval because it is almost always given. But not yesterday. That’s because Senator Al Franken, who was in a rotation presiding over the Senate, objected to Lieberman continuing his remarks in a stunning display of disrespect.

This shouldn’t surprise anyone – Franken is a hater and always has been. But it illuminated why the far-left is despised by most Americans. Franken’s actions were mean, petty, and disrespectful. That’s what we often get from the far-left – just look at their web sites and the savages spewing venom on cable television. It’s true that the right does some of that stuff as well, but not nearly as much.

In the end, Franken’s behavior is self-defeating. It’s incredible that the man is even in the Senate, and now he’s alienated most of the country. Does the far-left really think it’s going to get the support of most Americans using tactics like that?

This shows how nutty O’Reilly really has become and how his sanity is slipping through his greasy fingers. It also, once again, puts on display his right-wing hatred for anything that he perceived to be to the left of the political mainstream. It was not a display of disrespect. Sen. Franken politely told Sen. Lieberman that he had used his time up and there would be no extensions granted. It’s not like he said, “Bitch, sit your punk ass down and be quiet.”

Bill O’Reilly calling anyone a hater is laughable and hilarious considering how much he hates Sen. Franken. So, in other words, he was being directly hypocritical.

In the second paragraph of O’Reilly’s above comments you see his right-wing bias spring to the surface. The last sentence of the second paragraph again illustrates his bias and ignorance. He gives you the boilerplate “the other side does it too.” Only problem is O’Reilly almost never talks about anything negative related to Republicans and when he does it is usually minimized.

The first sentence of the third paragraph shows just how ridiculous O’Reilly is as most people could care less about the exchange. Most people understand that you have rules and you follow them without complaining because you don’t get an exception.

Once again, Bill O’Reilly uses his Fox News-granted platform to fight his personal battle with Sen. Al Franken.

While Sen. Franken has worked hard and is fighting for people, Bill O’Reilly is making lots of money by waging personal vendettas on the airwaves of Fox News.

Media Matters for America:
http://mediamatters.org/research/200912180053

Fox News:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/17/franken-shuts-lieberman-senate-floor/

Think Progress:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/12/17/franken-lieberman-minute/

The O’Reilly Sucks Blog:
http://www.oreilly-sucks.com/

Don Imus Is Back And Already Taking A Nasty Shot At President Obama

It didn’t take controversial new Fox Business Network host Don Imus long to make his first controversial statement with yet another piss-poor attempt at humor (you’d think he’d have learned something from his situation with the women’s basketball team of Rutgers a few years back). But, the I-Man is still old school, stubborn and with a distinct inability to avoid making idiotic and controversial statements. Imus hosted Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain (arguably the most media-hyped presidential campaign loser in United States of America history) on his show and the two men shared a joke (one in very poor taste in light of how much conservatives whine about comments about former President George W. Bush’s involvement in 9/11). Apparently, Sen. McCain was quite amused by a joke comparing President Obama to the 9/11 attacks:

“Ha ha,” she added dryly, when I told her that Imus, in a discussion with another first-day guest, Sen. John McCain, repeated a “joke” that after 9/11 “President Obama was the second attack on America.” (McCain, on the phone, laughed more heartily.)

As Think Progress points out, Imus must have had his conscience return (if he has one) after making telling the “joke” on the air as he tried to walk back from the comment and weakly offered about the joke that it was “an idiotic thing to say.”

Rep. Joe Wilson Is A Disgrace For His Lack Of Self Control And Outright Disrespect … And More

South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson disgraced himself with an appalling display during President Obama’s speech to Congress about health care. I wonder how proud his state must be feeling of this man right now. As if one of the state’s eyes wasn’t blackened enough with the scandal of the governor, this man comes in and disgraces his state on national television and in front of the world with a shocking lack of self control, respect and discipline. It was a truly stunning display that left both Democrats and Republicans nearly paralyzed with shock.

Here is part of a CNN story that describes what happened:

A Republican House member shouted, “You lie” during President Obama’s health care speech to Congress on Wednesday, and members of both parties condemned the heckling.

After the speech, South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson issued a statement apologizing for his outburst.

“This evening, I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the president’s remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill,” the statement said. “While I disagree with the president’s statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the president for this lack of civility.”

Wilson also called the White House to apologize and spoke with Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

The outburst came when Obama denied that proposed health care legislation would provide free health coverage for illegal immigrants. Immediately, Wilson shouted, “You lie!” Watch the outburst and the chamber’s response »

The outburst caused Obama to stop and look toward the heckler. “That’s not true,” the president responded.

Once again, I think this shows the irrational hatred that some on the far right have for this particular president. It also shows that some of what is coming from the far right is less ideal oriented and more hate driven. For this man to lose control (as he did) in this forum speaks to out-of-control, irrational anger and a lack of basic discipline and civility.

This man, Joe Wilson, has disgraced Congress, our country, his state, his constituents and himself.

Here is what some are saying:

• Sen. Dick Durbin (Democrat): It was crude and disrespectful. I think the person who said it will pay a price.
• Sen. Bob Corker, (Republican): Certainly, I respect the office of the president, and I think that’s not the kind of thing that is appropriate in that kind of setting especially/. I don’t know who said it, but my sense is most people don’t think it was a good idea it occurred. And I happen to be one of those.
• Sen. John McCain (Republican): (Wilson) should apologize for it immediately.
• Rob Miller (Democrat who is challenging Wilson): Rep. Wilson’s behavior tonight exemplifies everything that is wrong in Washington. Instead of engaging in childish name-calling and disrespecting our commander-in-chief, Joe Wilson should be working towards a bipartisan solution that makes quality, affordable health care available to each and every South Carolinian.
• South Carolina Democratic party chairwoman Carol Fowler: Once again a South Carolina Republican has embarrassed our state. Never has any member of Congress shown such disrespect for the president during a speech.
• Erick Erickson (conservative for RedState.com: (Wilson is a) “great American hero.
• Sen. Patrick Leahy (Democrat): I’ve never seen anything like it. I talked to a number of my Republican friends on the way out who were mortified and angry that someone would do that.
• Sen. Claire McCaskill (Democrat): Biggest disappointment of evening, the total lack of respect shown by one member for the President. Never acceptable to behave like a jerk.

Wilson shamed himself, his state and his country.

This was cited by Huffington Post:

The non-partisan organization FactCheck.org has debunked the claim that health care reform would mandate coverage for illegal immigrants.

CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/09/joe.wilson/

Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/09/gop-rep-wilson-yells-out_n_281480.html

The Hill:
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/58035-you-lie-mccain-calls-on-wilson-to-apologize

Sen. John McCain And Former Vice President Dick Cheney Are At Odds

I don’t always agree with Sen. John McCain, but he is far more credible and a far more respectable individual than Dick Cheney, the former vice president could ever dream of being. Certainly, Sen. McCain (based on his well-documented personal history and his willingness to be more objectively educated on the topic) is far more credible than Cheney on issues having to do with torture.

Here is what Sen. McCain recently had to say as written by Sam Stein, a writer for Huffington Post:

In a strong pushback against claims made by former Vice President Dick Cheney, Sen. John McCain insisted on Sunday that the use of torture on terrorism suspects violated international law, didn’t work, and actually helped al Qaeda recruit additional members.

“I think the interrogations were in violation of the Geneva Conventions and the convention against torture that we ratified under President Reagan,” said the Arizona Republican. “I think these interrogations, once publicized, helped al Qaeda recruit. I got that from an al Qaeda operative in a prison camp in Iraq… I think that the ability of us to work with our allies was harmed. And I believe that information, according go the FBI and others, could have been gained through other members.”

The senator, appearing on CBS’ Face the Nation, offered his assessment just hours after Cheney defended the use of torture during an interview with Fox News Sunday.

Cheney, a long-time torture advocate, is definitely at odds with Sen. McCain, but considering Cheney’s dubious history I think it’s better to side with John McCain.

Sarah Palin Quits As Alaska Governor

Sarah Palin quitting as governor of Alaska is probably not a really big surprise. The timing, however, is a little surprising to me.

Think Progress reads:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) announced this morning from her home in Wasilla that she will not be seeking re-election and that she will be stepping down in a few weeks. Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell will be inaugurated as Alaska’s governor on July 25.

So, there are some questions we’re left to ponder: 1. Is Sarah Palin gearing up to make a run for the presidency in 2012? 2. Is there some scandal forcing her out? 3. Is she simply tired of politics and the media? Time will answer those questions and others. Indeed, there are probably a lot more questions, but those are some that come to mind at first thought.

Here’s another question: Is Palin a serious candidate for the presidency?

Personally, I just can’t see how she can be taken seriously as a presidential candidate. Republicans would be unbelievably stupid to nominate her for the presidency in 2012 (unless they want to put her up as a sacrificial lamb thinking President Obama could be unbeatable).

This is from Fox News right-wing (I know, it’s kind of redundant)contributor Charles Krauthammer as quoted by POLITICO:

Now, as to Palin, I agree entirely with what Mara said. She is — she has star power without any doubt. She has an extremely devoted following. But she is not a serious candidate for the presidency.

She had to go home and study and spend a lot of time on issues in which she was not adept last year, and she hasn’t. She has to stop speaking in clichés and platitudes. It won’t work.

It could work for eight weeks if you’re the number two candidate, as she was last year. But even so, she got singed a lot in that campaign. You cannot sustain a campaign of platitudes and clichés over a year and a half if you’re running for the presidency.

Palin can’t be taken seriously as a candidate for the presidency. If she was even going to attempt to be taken more seriously she would be better advised to take on a role as a senator or congresswoman. She was severely lacking on the national stage beyond one-dimensional popularity among hardcore right wingers who were pleased to see someone other than an old white guy become popular with the big “R” by their name.

Sarah Palin went out on the Alaskan stage the way she stepped onto (and off of) the national stage: Crying relentlessly about the media (an easy target), singing her own praises (the ones she could muster) and vomiting one-dimensional Republican talking points.

Palin would be best served to go home and chill out since “only dead fish go with the flow.”

It’s better than sleeping with the political fishes in 2012.

Meghan McCain Is A Little Misguided About Double Standard Argument

As many of you may know, I actually like Meghan McCain and think she is good for Republicans (if they would be smart enough and follow the lead of her and other moderates in the party). That being said, I kind of shook my head in a bit of disappointment when I read the following comments (among others in a recent blog) from Meghan on a post at The Daily Beast.

However, there seems to be such an aggressive double standard for Republican women as opposed to Democrat women. Would David Letterman ever make such a joke about President Obama’s daughters (or for that matter Al Gore’s, or substitute another high-profile Democrat politician)? President Obama’s daughter Malia is not much younger than Willow, and I am certain that David Letterman would never make a joke about Malia being raped by Eliot Spitzer or refer to the first lady as looking “slutty.” Why is it funny to make fun of a 14-year-old girl, no matter who her mother is, let alone that of one of the most prominent female politicians in the country?

Meghan’s dad, Sen. John McCain, made a very nasty comment about Chelsea Clinton and the Clinton family (that included an attack on former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno) 11 years ago. It’s a shame Meghan McCain dragged President Obama’s daughter into the discussion, but I suppose it should not be a big surprise. Children of presidents and prominent politicians have been attacked in the past (even though Republicans try to act like Sarah Palin’s daughter is the first victim ever).

Remember this from a Republican dinner in June 1998:

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno.

Wasn’t that (in addition to a shot at Chelsea Clinton) a sexist slam against Janet Reno who, apparently, did not fit Sen. McCain’s vision of what a woman is supposed to look like?

John McCain Understands The Torture Issue

Sen. John McCain, perhaps as much as anyone, understands what torture issue is all about (even if you take the approach of former Vice President Dick Cheney and distract from the seriousness by using the words “enhanced interrogation” to describe torture). Vice President Cheney has been on this Save-My-Legacy Tour, but has mostly done nothing but damage to his own party.

MCCAIN: When you have a majority of Americans, seventy-something percent, saying we shouldn’t torture, then I’m not sure it helps for the Vice President to go out and continue to espouse that position. But look, he’s free to talk. He’s a former Vice President of the United States. I just don’t see where it helps.

Sen. McCain also seems to take issue with the sugarcoating of torture:

MCCAIN: (Cheney) believes that waterboarding doesn’t fall under the Geneva Conventions and that it’s not a form of torture. But you know, it goes back to the Spanish Inquisition.

Someone needs to tell Dick Cheney that it’s over, his time is up and he should go chill out somewhere.

Think Progress:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/05/22/mccain-cheney-torture/