Where you left your keys ...Rick's Cafe Americain

I recently wrote a note on Facebook in which I ripped on McCain for having a transition team director that lobbied for Saddam Hussein, if slightly indirectly. That is not what I am apologizing for; it is a far worse connection than briefly sitting on a respected education policy board with a nutter who also happens to be dedicated to improving public education.

In response, an attorney who works at the firm that laid me off, along with all of the other temps, while I was on my honeymoon left a series of comments below the note. These are some the comments (I’ve omitted the ones that are merely rude or wrong, presenting only the truly obnoxious)::

This is specious… How can you compare aides whose former firms lobbied with a politician who DIRECTLY took money from them himself… in fact, in just 3 years was the second largest recipient of Fannie and Freddie money in the entire prior ten year period (quite a lot of catching up to due). Ayers is just one of many radical left wing buddies that Obama has had, and let’s not forget how entrenched he is with this lovely ACORN group, who has managed to not only be at the center of the sub-prime mortgage meltdown, but also rampant voter registration fraud in over a dozen states and counting. ...

Good to know your base… warms my heart to see the democrats care about the homeless for 12 hours once every four years, plying them with free cigarettes, shuttling them down to the voting booth, then dropping them back off on their sidewalks once they’ve served their purpose

Amazing what happens when a metropolitan area of 10 million people all try to share one brain… we get tales of not believing in dinosaurs, banning books that hadn’t even been written yet, forced rape kit payments, and whatever other internet fiction that is dreamed up by the left and lapped up by it’s rabid minions. Sad really...

In response to someone showing that Obama’s lead nationwide was larger than 5%:

Hahaha… love the sourcing, NY Times and CBS, both known for their objective, unbiased reporting… Hysterical! McCain is considered radical right on your planet? The most moderate republican in the Senate is a rightist but the most liberal democratic senator is embraced by the media as being somehow a moderate. I wonder if you can effectively run a country off of a teleprompter, god save us all if this buffoon is elected. In the meantime all the sheep please return to your grazing...

Yeah “Sarah Palin is Cun*” t-shirts that Osama’s fans have been wearing at his events and actually appeared on his campaign website are an eloquent expression of political views—but guess what—you sheep aren’t fed that reality by the liberal media, you just like living in your bizarro liberal world of nonsense. Pretty insane that the Clintons have had to complain about liberal bias in the media, lets you know how crazy-left you freaks have gotten.Electing an inexperienced, unqualified lightweight like Osama is so reckless, should this douche be elected, I want you all to look yourself in the mirror the morning that NYC is covered by a cloud of smoke and think “whups” but it will be too late. Hopefully Israel might still exist, but with a feckless effete dickwad who favors hamas who the hell knows. Isn’t it scary that Israel was pushing for a pre-election strike on Iran b/c they know that if Osama is elected they are on their own?? My god, at least elect a douchebag liberal who at least has some kind of track record or experience, and who doesn’t suppress his actual views.  So frigging sad, but sheep be sheep, elect this socialist douche, but when everything falls apart at least do us the favor and do the honorable Japanese thing...

At that point I decided that my slutty facebook-friend-accepting ways had gone too far and I dropped him.

In any event, here is my apology: since this is, to me, the rough equivalent of screaming “RETHUGLICAN CHIMPY MCHITLER BUSH”, as the right wing describes the last 8 years of liberal thought, if I have ever sounded like this guy (and I don’t think I have, but this is an AA-style apology for anything I MIGHT have done), I’m sorry. I’m sorry if I sounded even half as retarded as this guy. 

I’m surprised that so many people think McCain did well. Obama owned this debate if for no other reason than both candidates were talking about Barack Obama. Is there anything about McCain that you didn’t know before the debate that you know now? I can only think of one: he stutters when he is forcing out insincere bullshit in a desperate bid to become President. That is not a qualification for President.

McCain finally brought up Ayers in a debate and what happened? Obama owned it. First, by pointing out that his “connection” to Ayers is shared by the entire Chicago academic community and a Reagan Ambassador (who, Obama was kind enough not to mention, is listed on the McCain website as a supporter) and then by challenging the idea that when the sky is falling on Wall Street, that anyone really gives a fuck about an old hippie. His answer on ACORN wasn’t as powerful but I don’t think anyone but the total nutters on the right have a problem with ACORN anyway.

McCain interrupted and laughed maniacally a lot and some people I know wished that Obama had done the same. Obama made the right call. Obama didn’t interrupt or attack because Obama’s thing is being cool and collected. He never looked chastened or wounded by McCain’s attacks, just bemused. Obama’s smiling communicated “Can you believe he is still peddling this shit?” not “I’m going to let him walk all over me.” McCain’s laughter conveyed “I am angry and barely restraining myself from choking this guy.”

McCain was a bundle of twitches, stutters and barely remembered attack lines. What I saw when I watched Senator McCain was a very high likelihood of President Palin in 2010* if he wins, which would probably be enough by itself to give the election to Obama.

Update: I can’t believe that I’m going to do this, but for a great analysis of the debate, look at The Corner at National Review Online. Not surprisingly, I don’t agree with any of the author’s editorializing about the policies of the candidates or how Obama’s answers match (or don’t) his record, but I think his bullet points perfectly capture the way the candidates come across on television and why Obama is winning these debates so handily.

Toxic cloud passes, residents allowed home.

I was about to write my post-debate thoughts but then I read Nate Silver’s wrap-up at FiveThirtyEight and, well ... what he said. (Basically, Obama won this debate weeks, if not months ago. Also, McCain looked awkward and old and cranky. My friends.)

This morning, a judge ordered the release of 17 Chinese Uighur “terrorists" from Guantanamo. The 17 were released because they are admittedly noncombatants who pose no threat to the U.S. They have been held since 2004 because (a) the U.S. doesn’t want them and (b) China would almost certianly execute them for treason if they were repatriated.

Why is this a debate preview? Because I expect that tonight, McCain will accuse an “activist judge” of “ordering the release of 17 dangerous Muslim terrorists to the custody of William Ayers, as requested by Senator Obama.”

Biden was a little clunky but had a few excellent moments first, when he repeated the ways in which McCain will be exactly like Bush; second where he listed all the ways McCain was wrong about the war; third, where he listed the issues on which McCain is anything but a maverick. In a debate where I think very little will resonate, those points were made forcefully and, I hope, effectively.

Palin? Was the bar really set so low that this was considered an acceptable performance? When she didn’t like a question she babbled some nonsense about energy. When she decided to stay on topic she started every answer with a minute of folksy, empty throat-clearing riddled with homespun cliche. I get that she was going for a down-home attitude but I found it incredibly cloying and artificial.

The pundits seem to be giving this to Palin but as far as I can tell it is because they are grading on a curve. Biden was more on topic, was more substantive both on his own policies and the McCain policies that he opposes and was much more human than I think people expected of him.

These same experts completely whiffed on the analysis of the first Presidential debate and I suspect that they are now 0 for 2. I give the round to Biden.

Instant update: The CBS News flash poll that gave the first debate to Obama? It gives the second debate to Biden 46% - 21%.