Writing on the wall

Not that the Spectator has a clue, but this is interesting:

Some former Romney aides were behind the recent leaks to media, including CNN, that Governor Sarah Palin was a “diva” and was going off message intentionally. The former and current Romney supporters further are pushing Romney supporters for key Republican jobs, including head of the Republican National Committee.

Hm….posturing for 2012 is already well under way.

A neat voting story

Great story out of central Texas.

Amanda Jones, 109, the daughter of a man born into slavery, has lived a life long enough to touch three centuries. And after voting consistently as a Democrat for 70 years, she has voted early for the country’s first black presidential nominee.

The middle child of 13, Jones, who is African American, is part of a family that has lived in Republican-leaning Bastrop County for five generations. The family has remained a fixture in Cedar Creek and other parts of the county, even when its members had to eat at segregated barbecue dives and walk through the back door while white customers walked through the front, said Amanda Jones’ 68-year-old daughter, Joyce Jones.

May we all be voting at 109.

Day 81

I saw a poll that said the right track/wrong track in Iraq was better than here in America. It’s pretty darn strong. I mean, the people see a better future.

DC, 2004

Sir Robin, he bravely ran away, he bravely ran away…

It seems Senator Norm Coleman, he of unsavory acquaintance, is loath to answer questions from pesky media types.

The loss of a maverick

Ezra Klein on the irony of McCain’s impending loss:

It’s easy enough to imagine an alternate election where every voter in America knew of McCain’s accomplishments, and they were deployed to make Obama’s record seem small indeed. That may have worked, or it may have failed. But if Obama began this cycle as a leader without much of a record of leadership, McCain ended it as a leader who’d disavowed his own history of achievement. A leader who chose to stop leading. That he will lose as a generic Republican, rather than as John McCain, is an odd outcome indeed.

Multiple Choice Mitt still drawing ire on the right

It seems the wingnut caucus isn’t fond of his criticisms of Palin.

Recently, an influential conservative blogger (name withheld) outlined for me the reasons why the Romney 2008 campaign faltered.  One factor was the ”go nuclear” approach the campaign took with the competing GOP candidates.  The Romney campaign angered supporters of the other candidates to such a degree that their second choice for nominee was, “anyone but Romney”.

I had expected that the CEO of the SLC Olympics had learned from the mistakes of his campaign, but history seems to be repeating itself.  Romney has never ceased his campaign for President of the United States and although he has campaigned hard for John McCain, it appears as if this display of teamwork has been entirely for self-promoting reasons.  Romney and his supporters are now targeting their only serious 2012 challenger, Governor Sarah Palin.

NRCC using racist images in Minnesota

The poor GOP, trying to defend two vulnerable seats in Minnesota this go around.

Screwing over the Twin Cities

Well, it’s official.  The Department of Justice has blessed the Northwest/Delta merger and the Twin Cities has lost a fortune 500 headquarters.

I expect the MAC to hold Delta fully accountable for the hundreds of millions of dollars owed the state for breach of contract in moving the corporate headquarters away from Minnesota – that was a condition of a state funded bailout.  A good faith effort could have been made to have dual headquarters, especially given the complexity and lack of overlap in their new footprint, it’s an opportunity lost for Delta.

I am saddened by the inevitable increase in local airfares which is sure to result.  Northwest’s service had its problems but they would play ball in the fare wars.  With Delta, the prices will go upward sharply and that’s too bad.  The good news is next spring Southwest is finally coming into town, and will offer service connecting through Chicago.  One hopes that will offer some competition, especially with Sun Country how in jeopardy due to the Tom Petters case.

GOP talking points vs. action points

Great piece at HuffPo on the demise of the GOP moderates and the perceptions leading them to abandon the party.

Vote NO on Prop 8

Have you seen the latest off the deep end whack job commentary on how the gays are going to destroy the world?

There is no rational response to such hysterical idiocy.  These asshats deserve to lose, and to lose big.

Obama’s infomercial

And perhaps the most revelatory thing, it’s not about why you shouldn’t vote for McCain, it’s about why you should vote for Obama.

There’s a message there.

Read more about how the right wingnuts are missing the point by John Cole.

Consequences finally?

Rumor has it the rumblings are for Joe Lieberman to lose his committee chairmanship.  It’s about time.

Speaking of pork

What kind of moron builds a lab dealing with deadly diseases in the path of hurricanes?

Much of the University of Texas medical school on this island suffered flood damage during Hurricane Ike, except for one gleaming new building, a national biological defense laboratory that will soon house some of the most deadly diseases in the world.

How a laboratory where scientists plan to study viruses like Ebola and Marburg ended up on a barrier island where hurricanes regularly wreak havoc puzzles some environmentalists and community leaders…

Built atop concrete pylons driven 120 feet into the ground, the seven-floor laboratory was designed to stand up to 140-mile-an-hour winds. Its backup generators and high-security laboratories are 30 feet above sea level.

The laboratory will do research into some of the nastiest diseases on the planet, among them Ebola, anthrax, tularemia, West Nile virus, drug-resistant tuberculosis, bubonic plague, avian influenza and typhus.

Obama on TDS

more about “Obama on TDS“, posted with vodpod

Day 82

I think it’s very important for the American President to mean what he says. That’s why I understand that the enemy could misread what I say. That’s why I try to be as clearly I can.

DC, 2004