September 2008 - Posts
Stunt McMan:
That a man cannot be in two places at once, one of the axioms of the universe. As a metaphor for opinion, a politician disproves it an average of once every six hours. John McCain today somehow managed to be in three places at once. Our fifth story on the Countdown: the Republican nominee with a metaphysical hat trick. He insisted again this is not the time to be allocating blame for the bailout failure. His campaign, a quarter of an hour later, releasing a commercial... blaming Obama for the bailout failure. And the Republican Party issued its own commercial that only showed up today... blaming Obama for the passage of the bailout -- the one that didn't pass. Senator McCain tonight... is in three places at once. CONTINUED >>
No Deal: Senator McCain and his advisers, who last Wednesday had warned that this nation would be in the midst of another Great Depression by today unless Congress passed bailout legislation...This morning, claiming credit for building a winning coalition of votes in the House to pass that bailout bill and, thus, save the American economy. Only one problem: The bailout bill failing in the House when 67% of Republicans voted against it... And the stock market promptly losing seven percent of its value. Senator McCain -- in our fifth story on the Countdown -- having led his party and his country... to Congressional chaos and an economy in crisis. Mission Accomplished! CONTINUED >>
Suspending Disbe: The bipartisan leadership of the Senate, this afternoon reaching "fundamental agreement" on principles for a bailout bill... Amid a financial crisis purportedly so "urgent"... the Republican nominee pretending to suspend his campaign to attend to it. Which he might have been able to do... had he not metaphorically **parachuted** into the Capitol as the agreement was already being announced. Our fifth story on the Countdown: Late this afternoon, House Republicans abandoning the agreement... to float an entirely new plan... starting over from scratch. The only urgency for House Republicans... the White House... and the McCain campaign concerning the bailout... is that Senator McCain be seen taking credit for it.
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The Politics of Pause: And when the story of that Presidential Election is written... These last ten days may be noted, as the time John McCain stopped running against Barack Obama, and started running against Freedom of the Press, the First Amendment, and reality. The New York Times revealed today that McCain's Campaign manager did not stop receiving payments of 15-thousand a month from the failed mortgage giant Freddie Mac years ago as McCain claimed... but only last month... so the campaign responded with the wrath of a thwarted child. Our fifth story on the Countdown: and with every poll and every measure of momentum against him, Senator McCain suddenly announced it was necessary for him to stop campaigning for a time so that the nation could focus on the economic crisis for which he has tried to blame Senator Obama, and, oh by the way, postpone Friday's presidential debate. Till when? December?
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All of you Late Night fans tuning in to see John McCain with David Letterman tonight will be in for a real treat. McCain canceled...and wouldn't cha know who they called and asked to fill in?
Debt Con Five: If the proposed bailout of the banking industry were a country -- It would be the 21st biggest country in the world. If it were a state -- It would be equal to three Ohios. If it were a conflict -- It would pay for three wars in Iraq (so far). In our fifth story on the Countdown: If you were spending 700-Billion dollars on something -- or 700-Billion dollars on this something -- Wouldn't you demand some answers about what, exactly, you were buying?
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Here's the article in Contingencies Magazine containing McCain's line, "Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation."
(Here's the corresponding Obama piece in the same publication.)
Progressive Accountability tallies McCain's pork.
Keith introduced Oddball on Friday with the note that it was the anniversary of the first Mary Tyler Moore show. Watch Episode 1, Season 1 on Hulu for free.
Panda Land at Adventure World, home of the two new panda cubs.
Here's the 1999 Christian Science Monitor article describing Thomas Muthee's "Mama Jane" witch hunting incident.
The Web site devoted to transparency in government as a result of the efforts Senators Coburn and Obama and with the support of Senator McCain is USASpending.gov.
And here's the "singing road" in Lancaster, California that is grooved to vibrate car tires to the tune of The William Tell Overture.
Health Care Deform: There is a man running for president who actually believes -- right now -- that deregulation has been a great thing for the U-S economy... He has surrounded himself with lobbyists who made millions pushing for the regulatory changes that facilitated the current crisis... And he thinks that deregulation of the banking industry has been so great... we should do the exact same thing with -- make that "to" -- health care. Naturally his campaign today conducted a conference call to announce the New York Times can no longer be considered a news organization... and when Politico-Dot-Com chronicles the factual errors the campaign makes during the conference call... the campaign declares the Politico writer is quote "in the tank." Our fifth story on the Countdown: The Political Implosion of John McCain.
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The Twitter account at Twitter.com/CountdownMSNBC is now set up to automatically deliver links to show clips, blog entries and even Keith’s Daily Kos posts.
It's the Economy Stupor: The Presidential candidate said if he were in office now, he'd respond to the financial crisis by firing the chairman of the SEC... evidently not knowing the president can't fire the chairman of the SEC. The Vice Presidential candidate responded by apparently demoting him... referring to an administration in which her name comes first. Our fifth story on the Countdown: Senator McCain and Governor Palin -- or Governor Palin and Senator McCain -- pretty much squeezed Senator Obama out of the headlines today. And with headlines like these... one would assume Obama's pretty happy with that.
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It's the Economy Stupid McCain campaign adviser Rick Davis declared the presidency would be decided on personalities and not the issues. Americans are tonight declaring otherwise. One issue, paramount: The Economy. Our fifth story on the Countdown: in heavy trading today, the Dow dropped four percent... and Senator John McCain... dropped seven.
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Trail Fix: Our sister network CNBC reporting that the Fed has agreed to extend an 85-billion dollar loan to the insurance giant AIG in exchange for an 80% stake in the company...Thus, tonight, as the Wall Street's Wild West Meltdown worsens -- Senator McCain having dinner with two families in Youngstown, Ohio... After economist and columnist Paul Kroogman compared his approach, and his language, to that of President Herbert Hoover at the start of the Great Depression... No word yet on whether the menu consisted of a chicken in every pot. Our fifth story on the Countdown: The Democratic Nominee rolled out a plan to try to address the crisis spreading outwards from the Mortgage Industry... The Republican Nominee admitted he had oversight of every part of the economy that has hemmorhaged... he called for a long-term study of some sort..
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Related, mostly primary source links to recent stories covered on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann:
A lot of people, including NY Times columnist Paul Krugman on Monday night's Countdown, are comparing John McCain's insistence that the economy is fundamentally strong with Herbert Hoover's insistence that the economy under his administration was fundamentally sound on the eve of the Great Depression. The actual Hoover quote is, "The fundamental business of the country, that is, the production and distribution of commodities, is on a very sound and prosperous basis." This remark came in a press conference on Friday, October 25th, following Black Thursday, and in advance of the big crash of "Tragic Tuesday," October 29th.
Talking Points Memo has assembled an efficient clip for those who need a reminder of McCain economic advisor Phil Gramm's July statements about a "mental recession" and America being a "nation of whiners."
National Constitution Center and Associated Press poll reveals American oppose giving the president more power.
The complete list of Shea Stadium items up for auction is here and if you plan on buying something you might consider joining the Shea Stadium "Premiere Club."
The place to find NBC's electoral map projections and make your own is on the msnbc.com Politics page.
Tune in to Countdown with Keith Olbermann tonight at 8p ET for our cable news exclusive interview with the author of "Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency", Barton Gellman. The Dick Armey story alone is worth tuning in for...we hope you'll join us.
Fundamental Error: The clang of the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange this morning... might as well have been the ringing of the first proverbial 3am phone call of the presidential campaign. In our fifth story on the Countdown: With an economy in crisis, on hold... The Republican nominee all but calling -- as did his chief economic adviser, Former Senator Phil Gramm -- anyone now complaining about, or worried by, the state of the nation's economy... a whiner.
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Thus tonight -- as promised -- a Special Comment about our sad anniversary tomorrow.
Or, more correctly, what our sad anniversary tomorrow has been turned into by the presidential administration, and the current Republican candidates for President and Vice President.
This is supposed to be a day of remembrance. Remembrance of the attack, remembrance of the national unity which followed it.
Most important of all, remembrance of the dead.
But 9/11 has become…... a brand name.
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Glossing Over: Psychology's word for it is "Projection." You take something you have done, about which you are guilty or ashamed, and you accuse somebody else of it -- you project it on to them. Our fifth story on the Countdown: to laugh-out-loud funny results, Senator McCain and his mouthpieces took violent umbrage at a phrase they falsely claimed Senator Obama had used in sexist fashion about Governor Sarah Palin... A phrase which Senator McCain himself had definitely, unquestionably, and proudly used... about Senator Hillary Clinton's health care proposal.
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The Palin Myth: If the Republican strategy behind the selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate was to distract voters from McCain's sell-outs and tone-deafness... it's working. Perhaps, however -- not in the way the GOP thought. The Governor again today claiming again, that she sold the jet on eBay... when she didn't sell the jet on eBay. Again today claiming... that she fired the chef... when she didn't fire the chef. Again today claiming... that she fought against Alaska's Bridge to Nowhere... when she was for... then against... then re-directed the money from that monumental piece of pork. Again today claiming... that she controlled spending... when, in a stunning example of self-interest over state interest... she actually billed Alaska nearly 17-thousand dollars for nights that she spent...in her very own home. Our fifth story on the Countdown: the myth of Sarah Palin... being revealed to be just that. A carefully constructed story of somebody whose existence is widely believed in, but who -- in reality -- is entirely fictitious.
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McMaverick: It might be time for an entirely new definition of "Maverick" No longer "someone who holds independent views"... Nor... "one who refuses to conform"... Rather, in our fifth story on the Countdown, the term -- as it applies to the Republican nominee, Senator McCain -- would seem increasingly to refer to the continued repetition of out and out lies... Including the Republican ticket's now daily assertion that Governor Palin has always been against the World-Record Pork-Barrel Project that was Alaska's "Bridge to Nowhere." Presently, my interview today with Senator Obama...
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