Dirty Tricks

There are pictures circulating of Obama doing, well, what politicians do when they travel, dressing up in traditional garb. If this is what Obama's opponents have, well it's truly pathetic. Once Obama shrugs off all of these attacks by the Clintons, I suspect he'll be all that much more prepared for McCain.

Ron Paul

I don't imagine that I'd actually vote for Paul, but I want him to stay in the campaign if he's able to continue showing up McCain in this fashion:

Why one running mate will matter more than all others

There's a significantly better chance that McCain will die in office than any other candidate. It's macabre to say so, but inescapable all the same. Even if he lives through his hypothetical term(s), McCain must surely have the greatest risk of being otherwise incapacitated in office. Who McCain picks as a VP nominee will matter.

The Sleeper Issue of '08: 1980s Kitsch

If you had told me back in 1988 that the political endorsements that would make the news would be those of Chuck Norris, Hulk Hogan, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, I imagine that I would have said, "AWESOME!"

That's because I was a ten year-old boy in 1988.

Seriously, why are the fake superheroes of the 1980's so culturally relevant? Who will Sylvester Stallone endorse? How did McCain get Arnold's endorsement anyway? I imagine that there was a conference call that went something like this:

Arnold: This is good, but what is best in life?
Mitt Romney: The open steppe, fleet horse, falcons at your wrist, and the wind in your hair.
Arnold: Wrong! John McCain! What is best in life?
John McCain: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women.
Arnold: That is good! That is good.

Actually, that may have also been the conversation that earned McCain's Giuliani endorsement too. What about Obama and Hogan? Will Hogan offer to let Obama use this as his campaign song:

I can only hope so.

How bad it is in Iraq

The author of Baghdad Burning is leaving Baghdad. The post is worth reading as it gives you a sense of the agony that a soon-to-be refugee must feel about abandoning home.

Maybe she can rent out the family home to John McCain as a vacation spot. He can spend his downtime strolling the streets of Baghdad and taking in its markets. What do you say, senator?

Iraq is Safe Enough - For Photo Ops

The New York Times has an article on what went into McCain's little walkabout and what the locals thought about it. One Abu Samer saw through the whole thing:

“He is just using this visit for publicity. He is just using it for himself. They’ll just take a photo of him at our market and they will just show it in the United States. He will win in America and we will have nothing.”

Welcome to electoral politics, Mr. Samer.

McCain's Entourage

Apparently Baghdad is totally safe if you have one hundred US soldiers, three Blackhawks, and two Apaches guarding you. Oh yeah, and wear kevlar just in case. In broad daylight. One hour limit.

Who Are You Gonna Believe?

"Straight Talk" John McCain, or your own lying eyes? Digby has the exchange here. Money quotes from McCain:

"There are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods today."

And from CNN correspondent Michael Ware (who's actually in Baghdad):

"To suggest that there's any neighborhood in this city where an American can walk freely is beyond ludicrous. I'd love Senator McCain to tell me where that neighborhood is and he and I can go for a stroll."

Between this and the condom fiasco, I think McCain's Straight Talk Express has been revealed to anyone who cares to look as a total sham.