John McCain yesterday, was caught in another lie, stating that the sale of the Alaskan government owned plane sold on eBay at a profit – not true.  But this a pattern of his, saying, doing whatever is politically expedient.  The man has a problem with telling the truth; in basic terms he is a lair! This goes directly to his flawed character and credibility. If he will lie about something so small and meaningless: What will he do on a more considerable issue? It seems to me that we have experienced what will happen demonstrated by his buddy, Bush’s administration, and the years of lies they inflicted upon this country. While McCain says he is different, a 90% level of agreement with Bush shows that the apple does not fall far from the tree………

I just want to take this opportunity to congratulate you on winning the Republican Presidential Nomination. I want to reassure you that Dick and me don’t have any hard feelings toward you for not wanting us at your big party in St. Paul last week. Little people don’t think much of me right now and my poll numbers are down. So, I understand how you feel.  

I know you and me haven’t seen eye-to-eye over the years, but Dick and me think you’re still a good old boy and we want you to continue the Republican tradition. As you know, we are putting all of our resources at your disposal. I still can’t believe I served two terms. All I can say is that our people are really good. So, don’t you worry about a thing. The 169 lobbyists we have on your team know what to do. Hell, look at the ideal selection our guys made with Sarah Palin. During Viet Nam, I was enjoying running women and having a goodtime and daddy told me to get involved with the armed forces because it would look good. The swift boat guys were hesitant to work with my campaign, but daddy talked to T. Boone and the rest is history. And if you think the swift boat fellas were affective for me, wait until you see what our people are going to come up with for you! 

I couldn’t say this around the guys, but if you do the right thing while you’re at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, you will be taken care of, in spite of Cindy’s money. And for the first time, you’ll be your own man. Dick’s people made a killing in Iraq. Right now, the vice president is not worried about a thing, except his ticker.  

I truly believe America is the greatest country in the world and the only way we can remain number one is to insure the dominance of the top tier. We finance technology and foster innovation. We state the course for success and the little people carry out our plan.  

Dick and me want to thank you for all of your support and we wish you and Sarah much success. Always remember that we take care of our own. 

God bless America! 

Sincerely,

George W. Bush

p.s. You, Sarah, Dick and me must get together and go moose hunting after the campaign. Don't worry, I'll make sure Dick's gun has blanks. 

See, presidential elections aren't about getting the most people to vote for you (just ask Al Gore).  It's about getting the most people in the right states to vote for you. It's about the map. The electoral map, of course.

Let's compare Bush/Gore in 2004 with McCain/Obama today using the Real Clear Politics (RCP) average of recent surveys. Based on their individual battleground state average polls, RCP has identified eight swing states up for grabs in 2008.

George W. Bush won seven out of eight of the current toss-up states in 2004, including Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada. Michigan and New Hampshire are the only swing states that voted for Kerry four years ago.

What does all of that mean? McCain's playing defense. Big time.

If Barack Obama can just hold Michigan, all he has to do is win North Carolina, Florida, or Ohio. If he can hold New Hampshire as well, you can add Virginia to that list.

Remember, Obama only has to win one of these states.

John McCain picked Sarah Palin for a number of reasons, but one of them was to change the campaign, energize the electorate, and ultimately, try to shake up the map.

Palin is McCain's Hail Mary pass.

This election is Obama's to lose.

Josh Cahan

Senior, American University

I'm an Independent.  I'm white, but I'm also Cherokee.  My great-grandmother was a full-blooded Cherokee Indian.  My husband's father and my father were both 20 year Marines.  We both grew up on military bases.  I was in the US Army.  I worked for the Army Corps of Engineers.  I helped run a small business (business mgr) until it was taken out by Katrina (MS, not NOLA).  I currently work for the Commonwealth of VA.  I have two sons, my oldest works and my youngest is in his 3rd year of college.  He is going through college on parent and student loans, not government grants, not scholarships (we haven't been able to find any that he qualifies for because of his chosen major and career path.)  I am a qualified and certified member of my local Community Emergency Response Team.  In fact, due to Hanna, I am on-call to respond in the event of an emergency this weekend, for both CERT and my job.  I have 5 people who I consider my absolutely dearest friends, two of them are black.  They both work hard every day and have raised wonderful families.

I am very proud of my family, my heritage, and my service to my country and the Commonwealth, and the people I have chosen to befriend. 

My husband and I are middle-class.  We work hard every day to earn the money we make.  We raised two very fine boys, they are polite, respectful, intelligent.

Apparently we're white trash.  When my oldest was 18, he and his 17 yr. old girlfriend got pregnant.  They used protection, but something went wrong.  They made the decision to keep the baby and they planned to get married.  But she lost the baby.  That was 5 years ago.  They are still together although they haven't married, and I'm not a grandmother.

I came to this website in July after browsing through looking for information on something I had heard on the news that morning.  I checked out the blogs just to see what kind of people blogged here.  It seemed like a pretty cool bunch, so I kept reading for a couple of days, and then decided to join up.

In the short time I've been here, the people have changed.  I am now seriously thinking of walking away from this site because a lot of the people are not really the kind of people they presented themselves as before politics reared its ugly head.

The things being said by so many bloggers here completely disgust me.

Accusations that if you are black and posting here you are slacking off from work, or are on welfare.

The statements that this site is racially motivated because of the myvoicedc.com section.

There is even more reverse racism going on such as:  

The Republicans are holding Klan Rallies

References to Race Wars if Obama loses

White people being killed off in the not too distant future when they become a minority

Rednecks

Honkies

White Trash

Trailer Park Trash

Hillbillies

One poster even went on to accuse Palin of being a Porn Chick which was totally uncalled for and unsubstantiated.

.

There is no room for racism in our world today.  If we continue fighting amongst ourselves the Presidential Candidates won't have to address the issues because  they know that everyone is too worked up over race to bother with anything else.

Together we need to force the candidates to address the issues that affect us instead of just talking.  Talk is cheap.  Both parties are doing it, and we are fighting about it.  Why is that?

It makes more sense to me to post what your candidate will do for America and ask questions about what each party brings to the table.  Instead of name calling, how about stating your position for your candidate and why, and try to make the other side see what you see?  You catch a lot more flies with honey.

Now that you know who I am, help me decide who to vote for.  The candidates aren't doing enough to persuade me to either side yet.  Though I know the issues, I agree with some from one party and others with the other party.

Why should I vote for Obama?

Why should I vote for McCain?

No name calling, just your opinions please.  If people can do that, then I will have found a reason to stay.

*note - I seem to be having a formatting problem in this blog.  Won't let me make paragraphs =/

SECURITY ALERT!! SECURITY ALERT!!

Andrew Halcro, a former legislator in Alaska state government who ran against Sarah Palin for the office of Alaska governor, has obtained a listing of some of the many e-mails that were sent to and from Gov. Palin during the period of January '08 to April '08. The listing shows that Palin allowed her husband, Todd [who is not the Palin that was elected to public office], to receive numerous "Deliberative/Executive Process Privilege" emails and several "Privacy/Personnel Privilege" e-mails to his personal e-mail account as part of a forwarding list of people who would receive those e-mails. Once he was added to the list of people to receive these e-mails, he would then receive all the emails having to do with that particular e-mail chain, whether they pertained to him or not. And since he is not the governor, but an unelected private citizen, they most likely did not pertain to him.

These government communications were clearly NOT meant to be released to anyone who was not part of the state government. In fact, the actual contents of these e-mails were not released to Halcro and, as of this writing, have still not been released to the public by the state government, citing the very same "Deliberative/Executive Process Privilege" and "Privacy/Personnel Privilege" restrictions. What has been released, however, are the subject headings of each email, which can give some indication as to what may have been in those e-mails. The subject headings show that at least some of those e-mails dealt with the Public Employees of Alaska, as well as legislation, including the Parental Consent Abortion Bill, though Halcro nor anyone else in the general public cannot know for sure what was in those e-mails. But Todd Palin knows.

You can see the e-mail list for yourself at:

http://www.andrewhalcro.com/uploads/Foia.pdf>

While the GOP spent all night trying to paint Barack Obama as an elitist, Cindy McCain's outfit cost more than the combined income of Michelle and Barack Obama in 2004. In fact it would take 10 years of saving for the average American to afford her outfit.

Cindy McCain
Oscar de la Renta dress: 3,000 Dollars
Chanel J12 White Ceramic Watch: 4,500 Dollars
Three-carat diamond earrings: 280,000 Dollars
Four-strand pearl necklace: 11,000–25,000 Dollars
Shoes, designer unknown: 600 Dollars
Total: Between 299,100 and 313,100 dollars

Being rich and out of touch with real Americans....Priceless

In an era when many Americans are having their houses foreclosed and cannot afford to pay for their kids college education, Cindy McCain was wearing the equivalent of a 5 bedroom house. Her outfit could have paid for 3 students to go to Harvard. Where are the Republicans who criticized John Edwards and John Kerry for their expensive outfits?

In contrast, Michelle Obama's outfit from her guest slot on The View cost 148 Dollars. That means Cindy McCain could have bought 2,000 of Michelle Obama's dresses, enough to give one to every woman over 25 in the town Sarah Palin was Mayor of.

Is Cindy McCain a modern day Marie Antoinette, living in extravagant luxury while her country suffers? How will the GOP spin their attacks on Obama being elitist and out of touch when Cindy McCain could feed a small African country for a week with her dress?

Source: By Casey Gane-McCalla

I was just surfing around and found this nice little gem. After clearing the tears of laughter from my eyes I thought I would share this. 

Kinda reminds me of some bloggers right here on this site.. 

Listen to the final statement in the video.

This was send to me:

This came from a Bryn Mawr  classmate via a friend.
>
>
> Dear classmates -
>
> As an Alaskan, I am writing to give all of you some information on
> Sarah Palin, Senator McCain's choice for VP. As an Alaska voter, I
> know more than most of you about her and, frankly, I am horrified that
> he picked her.
>
> The most accurate description of her is red neck. Her husband works in
> the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay and races snow mobiles. She is a life
> time member of the NRA and has worked tirelessly to allow
> indiscriminate hunting of wildlife in Alaska , particularly wolves and
> bears. She has spent millions of Alaska state dollars on aerial
> hunting of these predators from helicopters and airplanes, dollars
> that should have been spent, for example, on Alaska 's failing school
> system.We have the lowest rate of high school graduation in the
> country. Not all of you may think aerial predator hunting is so bad,
> but how anyone (other than Alaska wolf-haters, of which there are
> many, most without teeth), could think this use of funds is
> appropriate is beyond me. If you want to know more about the aerial
> hunting travesty, let me know and I will send some links to
> informative web sites.
>
> She has been a strong supporter of increased use of fossil fuels, yet
> the McCain campaign has the nerve to say she has "green" policies. The
> only thing green about Sarah Palin is her lack of experience. She has
> consistently supported drilling in ANWR, use of coal-burning power
> plants (as I write this, a new coal plant is being built in her home
> town of Wasilla ), strip mining, and almost anything else that will
> unnecessarily exploit the diminishing resources of Alaska and destroy
> its environment.
>
> Prior to her one year as governor of Alaska , she was mayor of Wasilla,
> a small red neck town outside Anchorage.The average maximum education
> level of parents of junior high school kids in Wasilla is 10th grade.
> Unfortunately, I have to go to Wasilla every week to get groceries and
> other supplies, so I have continual contact with the people who put
> Palin in office in the first place. I know what I'm talking about.
> These people don't have a concept of the world around them or of the
> serious issues facing the US . Furthermore, they don't care. So long as
> they can go out and hunt their moose every fall, kill wolves and bears
> and drive their snow mobiles and ATVs through every corner of the
> wilderness, they're happy. I wish I were exaggerating.
>
> Sarah Palin is currently involved in a political corruption scandal.
> She fired an individual in law enforcement here because she didn't
> like how he treated one of her relatives during a divorce. The man's
> performance and ability weren't considered; it was a totally personal
> firing and is currently under investigation. While the issue isn't
> close to the scandal of Ted Steven's corruption, it shows that Palin
> isn't "squeaky clean" and causes me to think there ay be more issues
> that could come to light. Clearly McCain doesn't care.
>
> When you line Palin up with Biden, the comparison would be laughable
> if it weren't so serious. Sarah Palin knows nothing of economics
> (admittedly a weak area for McCain), or of international affairs,
> knows nothing of national government, Social Security, unemployment,
> health care systems - you name it. The idea of her meeting with heads
> of foreign governments around the world truly frightens me.
>
> In an increasingly dangerous world, with the economy in shambles in
> the US , Sarah Palin is uniquely UNqualified to be vice president. John
> McCain is not a young man. Should something happen to him such that
> the vice president had to step in, it would destroy our country and
> possibly the world to have someone as inexperienced and inappropriate
> as Sarah Palin. The choice of Palin is a cheap shot by McCain to try
> to get Hillary supporters to vote for him. when McCain introduced her
> today, Palin had the nerve to compare herself with Hillary and
> Geraldine Ferraro. Sarah Palin, you are no Hillary Clinton.
>
> To those of you who, like me, supported Hilary and were upset that she
> did not get the nomination, please don't think that Sarah Palin is a
> worthy substitute. If you supported Hillary, regardless of what you
> think the media and the democratic party may have done to undermine
> her campaign, the person to support now is Obama, not Sarah Palin. To
> those of you who are independent or undecided, don't let the choice of
> Palin sway you in favor of McCain. Choosing her shows how unqualified
> McCain is to be president. To those of you who are conservative, I
> guess you have no choice for president. But please try to see how the
> poor choice of Palin tells us a great deal about McCain's judgment.
> While the political posturing inherent in the choice of Palin is
> obvious, the more serious issue is the fact that the VP is, literally,
> a heartbeat away from the presidency. Sarah Palin is totally and
> unequivocally unqualified to be vice president, let alone president.
>
> I know this is a lengthy and emotional email, but the stakes are high.
> I thought it might help for all of you, regardless of political
> affiliation, to know something about Palin from someone who has to
> live with her administration in Alaska on a daily basis.
>
> Jackie S.

John McCain wrapped up the Republican convention tonight by reaching out beyond the party faithful to the independents who will determine in November whether he or Barack Obama is the next occupant of the White House.

After formally accepting the Republican presidential nomination, he used his prime-time speech to try to steal from his Democratic rival the theme of change, a potent message in an election year in which voters are disillusioned with the George Bush presidency, the Iraq war and the state of the economy.

"Let me offer an advance warning to the old, big spending, do nothing, me first, country second Washington crowd: change is coming," he said.

Warming to his theme of shaking up Washington, McCain appeared to borrow a phrase from the British prime minister John Major's last years in power saying he would take the Republican "back to basics".

Touching on another theme popular with independents, he promised to end the "constant partisan rancour" that has left Washington so often deadlocked.

McCain, the self-styled maverick who has so often angered his own party by bucking the party line, was given a five-minute standing ovation at the start of his 50-minute speech and again at the end, as confetti and 200,000 balloons floated from the ceiling, the traditional convention finish.

But, a poor orator who has made few - if any - memorable speeches in the past, he failed to match either the rhetoric of Obama in Denver last week or even the feisty, sarcastic delivery of his own running mate, Sarah Palin.

Some of the loudest cheers of the night were when Palin, the new darling of the Republican party, joined him at the end.

Although the organisers said the theme of the day was "peace," the tone of videos shown earlier in the night as well as in his speech and those of others was heavily militaristic. McCain devoted a large part of his speech to one of his biggest selling points, the period that turned him into an American hero, his five years in a Hanoi jail after his plane crashed on a bombing mission. As an admiral's son, he was offered the chance of early release but turned it down, refusing preferential treatment.

The passage on his prison years, which seldom fails to resonate with Americans, earned him four standing ovations, to chants of "USA, USA".

His time in jail, he said, turned him into a super-patriot. "I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else's … I was never the same again. I wasn't my own man anymore. I was my country's."

The speech was a high point for McCain, aged 72, who was watched by his mother, Roberta, aged 96, and comes a year after he almost had to pull out of the Republican nomination with his campaign close to bankruptcy.

McCain, ignoring the sustained personal - and frequently misleading - attacks on Obama at the convention, chose to present himself as above such tactics, saying he admired his Democratic rival for his achievement in winning his party's nomination. "Despite our differences, much more unites us than divides us," he said, to applause. "We are fellow Americans, an association that means more to me than any other."

McCain, aware of his limitations as a speaker, attempted to recreate the intimacy of the townhall meetings with which he is more comfortable by placing the podium in the middle of the audience, but it was a failed experiment, with his delivery as deadening as ever.

The start of his speech was briefly marred by protesters, including one from military veterans opposed to him.

He used the convention to try to win over the millions watching at home with his promise of a bipartisan approach to politics, saying he had a proven record of working with Democrats in the Senate, often in the face of anger from fellow Republicans. "I have the record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not," McCain said.

He is friends with many Democratic senators and has sponsored various bipartisan initiatives in the Senate, including a bill to ease illegal immigration along with the Democrat Ted Kennedy, angering Republicans.

Forseeing a McCain presidency he said: "I will ask Democrats and Independents to serve with me. And my administration will set a new standard for transparency and accountability."

But pointing to other differences with the Democratic nominee, he said there was a gap between them on tax cuts, foreign policy - particularly Iraq - and drilling for oil in US waters.

He issued a warning to Russia over the conflict in Georgia. "We can't turn a blind eye to aggression and international lawlessness that threatens the peace and stability of the world and the security of the American people," he said.

One of the loudest ovations he received all night was when he spoke about Palin. "I can't wait until I introduce her to Washington. And let me offer an advance warning to the old, big spending, do nothing, me first, country second Washington crowd: change is coming," McCain said.

*Article Source: Guardian Unlimited

The Republican Presidential Nominee, John McCain, a historically boring speaker, went deeper than I have ever seen him go to present himself as the man he wants us to choose as the next President of the United States. 

Inspirationally, the senator never had the ability to move me and perhaps never will. But, I did come away with a better understanding of his POW experience in Viet Nam. He stated, again, that he was self-centered and did not really have a sense of patriotism until he was at his lowest and then received assistance from fellow POWs. Hmmm, how dare other folks confess such sentiments? 

Obviously, Viet Nam is the senator’s strongest life experience. But, o.k. how many more times are we going to have to endure this experience with him? The sign of true humility is to hush about life-altering episodes and allow others to sing your praises. If you are blessed to live long enough, you too, will experience tough times.  

Senator McCain did bash the abuses of the Bush Administration, but did not offer substantive solutions. Drill, drill, drill should not be the mantra for energy independence. Bomb Iran, bomb Iran should not be a McCain Administration theme song because these slogans suggest the continuation of the Bush legacy. After twenty five years of being entrenched in the political system in Washington, surrounding yourself with lobbyist/handlers and bear-hugging George W. Bush is not the best way to extricate yourself as the change agent you want to be. Is that why the “Maverick” leans on Governor Palin so much?  

Yesterday evening was Senator John Sidney McCain’s attempt at giving a most passionate swan song.

I watched as much of the Republican National Convention as I could stomach before becoming physically ill and turning off the telly.  I watched and watched for a real attempt of inclusion and diversity but it never came. I saw, of the hundreds of folks there maybe, just maybe, 30 African Americans. It was evident when the cameras focused and refocused on this one black man about seven times that they were having a hard time with the numbers (or lack thereof) of African Americans. I saw a group of Native Alaskans when they nominated the lady with all the experience from that large metropolitan town (population, 300+) for VP but after that, nothing. I once saw a Klan rally in Maryland in 1963 and the only difference I could determine is that, in 1963 they wore hoods. McCain talks about getting back on the road to prosperity and peace but someone should remind him that it was the Republican party leadership that put us on the road to poverty and war in the first place with lies and deceit about Weapons of Mass Destruction which were never found. I, for one, can never understand how any right-thinking American, can vote for more of the same messes that fell out of the "Bush" (George), over the last eight years. Here is a vision of the future under John McCain.  Gasoline at $12.00 a gallon, an Iraqi war that continues to cost more than $10 billion a month, jobs that will continue to be outsourced to foreign soil while unemployment continues to rise, the gulf between rich and poor continue to widen and as for diversity, well, a vote for McCain will set this country back 50 years and Martin Luther King, Jr's dream will turn out to be just that, a dream.  Americans will find themselves (as we have for the last eight years), in this continuing American nightmare. 

How is it the media's fault that Sarah Palin has drama in her life.

The media did not get her 17 year old daughter pregnant. The media did not post that profane language on Levi's website. The media didn't tell Levi to post he didn't  want to be a father. The media didn't  investigate her for  fireing the public safety commissioner ( who claimed he was fired because he would not fire her ex brother in law state trooper Mike wooten who was in a custody battle with her sister.)  The RNC then turns around and says the fact that this she has a 17 year old daughter who is pregnant  is family business.  Yet when Bill Clinton ran for office,  the media trotted out all his  extra marital women. They trotted out White water. Then they trotted out  the Monica scandal. Remember all that money Ken Starr spent.  During the Bush years, they talked about his military service, the Bush twins etc. Yet for some reason, people want to now say its unfair to talk about drama in a Vice Presidential candidate's home life.

 I sat there and watch Sarah Palin's speech at the RNC. She comes out taking shots at Obama. Thats expected . She started talking about her experience. Thats interesting considering the fact that she has not even completed a full term as governor. The fact is took office in December 2006. She was mayor of a town of about 10,000 people from 1996-2002. before then she was on the city council  from 1992-1996. 

Meanwhile Obama was working with  people in his community trying to help people who had lost their jobs. Fighting for the little man. After school he turned down wall street to go do this. He passed on the money. This was before he went to the senate. Yet Palin doesn't think that was a big deal.   Wasn't it community activist who fought for the people in need DURING THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT?

I am a working MOM and I love Sara Palin!! She is exactly what America needs in the White House! Every mom I spoke with today agreed that she is a great choice!

What does “No thanks” mean?

Text from Gov. Sarah Palin’s speech Wednesday night.

“I told the Congress "thanks, but no thanks," for that Bridge to Nowhere.

If our state wanted a bridge, we'd build it ourselves. When oil and gas prices went up dramatically, and filled up the state treasury, I sent a large share of that revenue back where it belonged - directly to the people of Alaska.”

Like many of her statements, this was met with thunderous applause by the GOP loyalists in the convention hall.

When you hear this do you think she is against earmarks? Do you think she takes a thoughtful look on discretionary spending and gave the money back?

Or do you think, as Taxpayers for Common Sense investigated, that she decided not to build a bridge that was getting bad national press but kept the money for Alaska anyway?  The federal funding was instead used for other Alaska roadway projects, said Roger Wetherell, spokesman for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.

To me, the lesson here is there is always more behind the sound bite than the spin misters would lead you to believe. The way they use every words must be carefully dissected.  They are always in search of the catchy one liner that the public (and the “pundits”) will learn and repeat until it sounds like the truth.

It is important for all voters to examine what both campaigns are saying. And research the back story of the sound bite.    Check out our Campaign U web page as we try to help you make sense of what is being said.

Rich Murphy
Sr. Web Producer, myfoxdc

Yes, it is true that her 17 year is having a baby, she conceived at the age of 16.  What bothers me about this situation is.

1.  Before the news hit that she was having a baby, she used her little brother to cover her stomach.

2.  Once the news hit, she is now all of a sudden engaged. (No ring nowhere in sight)

3.  The guy really looked as if he wanted to be somewhere else last night.

4.  Due to her mother being in the spotlight, it is causing them to PUSH them into a marriage, that neither one of them is ready for.  (Pay close attention to the young mans expression on TV)

5.  She is already FIVE months, if he was going to marry her, it would have already came out before any of this.