When McCain's people called Obama an "elitist," the Obama campaign pointed out that the GOP man of the people isn't exactly living the life of your average middle-class American (let alone your average blue collar one). After all: eight houses? But some days the stupid is almost too thick to see through. "This is a guy who lived in one house for five and a half years -- … [Read more...] about It’s All About the Arugula
Australia’s “Greatest” Prime Minister….
Who has been the greatest prime minister of Australia? An academic who undertook this ambitious exercise says the verdict is: Robert Menzies (20 December 1894 – 15 May 1978). "Australia has had four great prime ministers and four failures. The other 18 have been successful (to a lesser or greater extent) without being great. That adds up to 26, the number of prime ministers … [Read more...] about Australia’s “Greatest” Prime Minister….
Could it REALLY be Romney?
McCain doesn't need to unveil his running mate until after Obama does (and he would be foolish to jump the gun indeed) but two sources are now saying that it's going to be Mitt Romney. Could this really be true? I can hardly imagine a better choice ... for Obama. (Well, in truth, Obama would likely have cheered even louder if it had been Rudy G.) I understand that Romney was … [Read more...] about Could it REALLY be Romney?
How many houses does John McCain have?
Via Amanda Marcotte, "That Feist song still makes me want to scrape my brain out with an icepick." Slate's John Dickerson on Hitting Him Where He Lives. … [Read more...] about How many houses does John McCain have?
Oh, What A Lovely Party!
Forget about Barack Obama's travails -- real or imagined -- for a moment. What does it say about the state of the Republican Party that the speakers on the opening night of its national convention are a president widely considered to be one of the worst in history, a vice president who may be culpable for war crimes, a serial adulterer who used public funds on his mistress, … [Read more...] about Oh, What A Lovely Party!
Let’s Stop Playing The “Who’s Really American” Game (Guest Voice)
Campaign 2008 is yet another campaign in which the issue of who is a "real" American and who isn't (or isn't as much of an American) has surfaced. In this Guest Voice, post frequent TMV commenter and blogger Hunter Hatfield puts the issue under the microscope. Let's Stop Playing The "Who's Really American" Game by Hunter Hatfield We Americans appear to have a favorite … [Read more...] about Let’s Stop Playing The “Who’s Really American” Game (Guest Voice)
Olympic City: Now Beyond Politics…
With the hormone levels peaking at the Beijing Olympics, what would the young participants from the world be up to when they mingle freely for the last time before heading home? Here is the peep show... … [Read more...] about Olympic City: Now Beyond Politics…
US & War: Whose Call?
Who in the USA decides whether the country should go to war or not? "In the United States, the decision to go to war rests with the elected representatives of those who will do the fighting and dying. It's one of the defining – and critical – elements of the republic," says the Christian Science Monitor. "That constitutional assignment of power to Congress has not always … [Read more...] about US & War: Whose Call?
Overseas News Roundup
While we here in the US are speculating over Presidential running mates a number of events unfold overseas. In Pakistan the death toll from the double suicide attack on an armaments plan continues to rise and may exceed 100. This attack was carried out by a Pakistani branch of the Taliban and is hardly helpful with the recent resignation of President Musharraf already an … [Read more...] about Overseas News Roundup
McCain Launching Multipronged Counterattack On Obama Response
If you thought you saw negative campaigning up till now, to use a phrase made famous in the 1980s by Ronald Reagan and in the 1920s by singer Al Jolson: "You ain't seen nothing yet." On a day when Republican John McCain got pounded in an ad by rival Democratic Senator Barack Obama for not knowing the number of houses he owned, the McCain campaign is sending out signals that … [Read more...] about McCain Launching Multipronged Counterattack On Obama Response
Pointless VP Predictions Number XXX
Well, since we've all been talking the issue up on the net and everyone else is doing it, I figure I might as well make my pointless predictions on Obama and McCain running mates. Something in my gut tells me that neither one is going to go with the supposed 'front runner choice'. Either he will go with one of the other leading contenders or he will go with someone … [Read more...] about Pointless VP Predictions Number XXX
Informed Predictions On McCain Obama Running Mates
Mitt Romney for McCain, Joe Biden for Obama... … [Read more...] about Informed Predictions On McCain Obama Running Mates
Is This the Right Policy Toward Russia?
One of the most important forces in Russian national history and one of the major keys to understanding Russia has been the country's enormous collective inferiority complex relative to the West. It explains why, three hundred years ago, with Russia's elite bent on mimicking Europe and being more engaged in the life of the West, Peter the Great moved his capital to Saint … [Read more...] about Is This the Right Policy Toward Russia?
Stephanie Tubbs Jones once tried to indict him…
...but former Cleveland Mayor Mike White says that he and the Congresswoman tragically felled by a brain aneurysm earlier this week remained friends. WKYC talked with White on his alpaca farm: EDITOR's NOTE: Due to a technical problem we had to remove this video. It will be put back at a later date and this post will be moved up to the top of TMV when this is corrected. I … [Read more...] about Stephanie Tubbs Jones once tried to indict him…
John L. Jackson Jr.’s Racial Paranoia
Cultural anthropologist John L. Jackson Jr., a Brainstorm blogger and author of three scholarly books on race issues, chose Racial Paranoia: The Unintended Consequences of Political Correctness for his first non-academic book. It's reviewed today in The Philadelphia Inquirer: Jackson...says African Americans live with the suspicion that they encounter racism constantly in … [Read more...] about John L. Jackson Jr.’s Racial Paranoia
Nepal & Pakistan: Lessons For The USA
Nepal and Pakistan provide good lessons in foreign policy to both Barack Obama and John McCain. The democratically-elected new Prime Minister of Nepal, Prachanda (photo above) who led a 10-year guerrilla war, now professes that his country's era of "capitalist democracy" has begun. He was sworn in by Nepal’s first president, Ram Baran Yadav. Lesson No. 1: The president or … [Read more...] about Nepal & Pakistan: Lessons For The USA
Another Look
Spencer Ackerman takes a fresh look at the New Republic/Scott Thomas Beauchamp controversy. When I read Franklin Foer's fact-check of the story, I remarked that it did not appear to me that the story needed to be retracted at all -- and certainly, nobody had done anything to justify the vitriol that had been heaped upon both writer and magazine by radical right-wing bloggers. … [Read more...] about Another Look
The New China, Just Like the Old China
In China, it seems, Olympics or no Olympics, capitalism or no capitalism, it's probably best not to protest, not to challenge the totalitarians who run and rape the place: BEIJING — Two elderly Chinese women have been sentenced to a year of "re-education through labor" after they repeatedly sought a permit to demonstrate in one of the official Olympic protest areas, … [Read more...] about The New China, Just Like the Old China
“You’re Out of Touch. No, You Are.”
Paybacks can be a...well, you know. John McCain should have known that the Obama team was just waiting to pounce after his "Celebrity" ad, and pounced they did after his gaffe on not knowing how many houses he owns. Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post notes how both parties try very hard to paint the other as out-of-touch with the common man. McCain and the GOP have … [Read more...] about “You’re Out of Touch. No, You Are.”
Replay of Bob Barr Conference Call
You can listen to the entire thing here. … [Read more...] about Replay of Bob Barr Conference Call