I can't give the "full Palin" to John McCain's acceptance speech because a) he wasn't as interesting and b) I'm too exhausted. His story of his years in the Hanoi Hilton is a compelling saga of courage that anyone would belittle at their own risk, but I do wonder if that's what 30 million Americans were really tuning in to hear tonight. His call for "change" was shockingly light on detail -- could that be because his program of never-ending tax cuts, school choice, health care for Americans who can afford it, etc. -- wasn't so different from the two terms of the two words this maverick dare not utter, "George" and "Bush."
Reminder: I would have liked a lot more details from Obama, too. On the reality-based front, I'd give Obama a B- and McCain a C+. I hope the debates can fill in some of the blanks but I'm not holding my breath. America has too many problems that don't have bumper sticker solutions.
Stay tuned for one more important point about the man who was hailed on one poster as a "mavrick."
McCain gets a C+. Wow. Shocked you didnt flunk him for not being Obamaesque. Why are you so exhausted? Certainly not from writing your book,— shoeshineboy- I don't expect McCain to offer any details. He won't provide thoughtful answers in the debates. He'll provide soundbites - the media loves soundbites. Remember, what Rick Davis said: "This election is not about issues. This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates." They can't let it be about the issues because they don't have anything that's any different from Bush. And don't expect to learn anything from Palin. She's going to be controlled. According to Jim Carney in Time: "According to Nicole Wallace of the McCain campaign, the American people don't care whether Sarah Palin can answer specific questions about foreign and domestic policy. According to Wallace -- in an appearance I did with her this morning on Joe Scarborough's show -- the American people will learn all they need to know (and all they deserve to know) from Palin's scripted speeches and choreographed appearances on the campaign trail and in campaign ads." They are contemptuous of the American voters.— FauxReal
- The McCain campaign knows they can't win on the issues, so they have to make it personal.— SteveMG
- Election season always sees promises being made that cannot and will not be kept. Somehow Democrats always convince themselves that $800 billion in new tax revenue is going to walk through the door the instant they are sworn in. :)— bon
- "Somehow Democrats always convince themselves that $800 billion in new tax revenue is going to walk through the door the instant they are sworn in." bon, after Reagan lowered the insanely high taxes, he also overspent, resulting in deficits. Bush I and Clinton raised them again, and we end up witha balanced budget in the late 90's the only 2 years in the past 47 years that we've had one. of course, dubya cuts them, spends like nuts now the defict and debt are high again. whats your solution?— RG
- Give Obama a chance, with Biden by his side they are a win-win team. At least that is the basis of their campaign and not the smear attacks that the Repubicans are running. Stick with the issues that need attention now! Of course it won't happen automatically, but let's face it, if in the past 8 years nothing has gotten better, do you honestly think anyone linked to the Bush Administration can get it done? Obama is young and dedicated to get this country back in shape and, Biden is experienced, intelligent and knows the ins and outs of the political process. Their concerns are genuine and that is what we need. No more smear campaigns from the Republicans because that is the only way they know how to win. Undermine the intelligence of the voters with their scare tactics. Don't let it work this time, vote for the right ones for the job - Obama & Biden all of the way on 11/04/2008.— stillw8n4justis2win
- McCain had 26 years to "change" Washington and he didn't. Why should we believe he is suddenly going to do it in the next 4.— zenhen
- McCain looks so old and out of touch.His speech did nothing for me.Palin scares me.This country can not afford 4 more years of Dubya.— TomEBoy
- RG: I will not defend Bush's spending policies. (Reagan won us the cold war. I am willing to accept some deficit spending to avoid a third world war.) That is not really relevant, though. Obama is promising the better part of a trillion dollars in new spending and also trying to say he will not increase the tax burden in any meaningful way. It is gibberish. (McCain is promising to cut spending, though election year politics do dictate that he not map out where or when. Still, Obama's promises are far, far grander and far, far less believable.)— bon
- zenhen: McCain has written reform, uncovered corruption and, effectively, put Washington crooks in prison. This is all a Senator can do, in the end. As President, McCain will finally be able to clean up Washington. (Obama, by contrast, touts his reform credentials from being one of 96 senators to vote in favor of an ethics bill that was far less expansive and comprehensive than McCain wanted. Obama has to do that, of course. That is all he has "done" and it isn't much. There is nothing else to backup Obama's claim that he is a reformer.)— bon
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
- bon, Obama has worked on various ethics and budget reform bills. Coburn-Obama, Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Federal Spending , and Honest Leadership and Open Government Act. He also pushed for support of an ethics bill in the IL Senate.— RG
- Bon: You can't be preaching "change" when you've been hugging & kissing this administration for 8 years. The same party doesn't have the ability to make the change. "Change" is new & different...not the same. McCain has made good decisions durig his time in office(not recently Palin) and I respect his commitment to this country, but I can't give this party another 4 years of my life...I can't afford it.— zenhen
- Bon, this is from a report published by the Tax Policy Center...."(Under Obama), middle-income taxpayers would see their after-tax income rise by about 5 percent, or nearly $2,200 annually....McCain would lift after-tax incomes an average of about 3 percent, or $1,400 annually, for middle-income taxpayers by 2012." But, in sharp contrast to Obama, he would cut taxes for those in the top 1% by more than $125,000, raising their after-tax income an average 9.5 percent.— Captain Awesome
22 comments | View All Comments | View All By Latest
View comments: 1
|
2
About Will Bunch
Will's new book: Learn about it here and purchase it here.
Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.
Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.
E-mail Will by clicking here.
PLEASE COMMENT WITH PASSION...
...but not with racial slurs, potentially libelous allegations, obscenities or other juvenile noise. Such comments will, at our discretion, be deleted in their entirety, and repeat offenders will be blocked from commenting. ALSO: Any commenter advocating killing any government official will be immediately banned.
Thanks.
- Atrios
- Kiko's House
- Suburban Guerilla
- Booman Tribune
- All-Spin Zone
- Philly (Dragonballyee)
- Afro-Netizen
- Rowhouse Logic
- MyDD
- Bad Attitudes
- Billmon
- iFlipFlop
- CorrenteWire
- upyernoz
- Tattered Coat
- Fables of the Reconstruction
- Slacktivist
- Citizen Mom
- The Next Mayor
- Philly Future
- Philadelphia Will Do
- Philebrity
- Young Philly Politics
- Phillyblog
- Welcome to Phillyville
- Phawker
- A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago
- Keystone Blog
- Philadelphia - America's Hometown
- BlankBaby
- Above Average Jane
- Phillyist
- Metroblogging Philadelphia
- The Clog
- Josh Marshall
- Daily Kos
- Juan Cole
- Oliver Willis
- Andy Borowitz
- War and Piece
- Wonkette
- BuzzFlash
- Raw Story
- Cursor
- Crooks and Liars
- Swing State Project
- Kevin Drum
- Talk Left
- AmericaBlog
- Hullabaloo
- Mad Kane
- Think Progress
- Jesus' General
- The Carpetbagger Report
- Majikthise
- Echidne of the Snakes
- David Sirota
- Glenn Greenwald
- TBogg
- Fire Dog Lake
- Taylor Marsh
- Matthew Yglesias
- Jon Swift
- Drudge Report
- Beer Leaguer
- The 700 Level
- Dick Polman
- Balls, Sticks and Stuff
- Shallow Center
- Philling Station
- Phillies Nation
- A Citizen's Blog
- The Good Phight
- Romenesko
- Editor and Publisher
- Pressthink
- Buzzmachine
- The Inksniffer
- Media Bloodhound
- Eat the Press
- Mickey Kaus
- Media (Huffington Post)
- Blinq
- The Corner
- Instapundit
- Andrew Sullivan
- Free Republic
- James Taranto
- Blonde Sagacity
- ScrappleFace
- Blogorrhea
Blog Roll
Get it now
- February
- January
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- January 2008
Archives
Philly.com Promotions
- News | Sports | Business | What's Happening | Restaurants & Food | Entertainment | Living | Marketplace | Jobs
Site Services:
Classifieds:
Partners:
Local Services:
