Financial news of Wall Street meltdowns, Fed takeovers of big insurers and mortgage giants, and some serious death and destruction on the Texas coast from Hurricane Ike (which we’re finding out about piecemeal after 6 days of “Heckuva Job, Skeletor”), it has become more and more obvious that the country is in such terrible trouble that this will be one of the most important Presidential elections of our lifetimes.

So perhaps it’s not so surprising that both friends and enemies of Republican candidate John McCain are beginning to become alarmed at what appears to be some sort of serious mental decline that has taken hold and accelerating rapidly. What’s going on?

Since McCain – a 72-year old man who has survived four bouts with malignant melanoma – has refused to release the results of his most recent medical check-ups and testing, we aren’t likely to find out what’s actually wrong during this election cycle unless (God forbid) he suddenly becomes gravely ill. In which case it’ll still be All About Palin, since the ballots are already printed. John Ashcroft, it must be remembered, lost an election to a man who died during the campaign. So yes, that CAN happen in this country, on this level of politics.

Now, I don’t want to have to live through either a McCain or a Palin presidency. I think they’re both more dangerous than Junior Moron, and Palin’s definitely in line as heir to the Cheney “Imperial Vice-Presidency.” But I also don’t relish the thought of anything awful happening to any of the candidates, or having to watch as McCain painfully slides into some kind of overt dementia. This is a guy who really has had a long and storied career of public service, and who really has had a strong grasp of various foreign policy issues on a much higher level than merely being able to see Russia from the kitchen window. He’s looking sick, exhausted and is scarily losing his mental acumen – why have his handlers not checked him in for a few days of serious rest and medical attention?

It’s more than just not remembering how many houses and condos he and his heiress wife own. That can be understandable if you’re that rich and she’s got her own games going. It’s more than stupidly echoing failed Republican economic pablum on a day when the whole world suffered massive economic meltdown. Now McCain has lost touch so seriously he can’t remember who is running Spain – a NATO member and strong ally of the US – and even confuses things so badly that he thinks Spain is a South American dictatorship!

That’s just not right. And it’s not John McCain, who (in his younger days and in his right mind) knows all about Spain as a European country and NATO ally.

If it’s just jet lag and the stresses of hard campaigning, then he needs a few day’s R&R and nobody in his corner needs to apologize for it. If it’s more than that, they’re risking his very life forcing him to keep going in his obvious state of ill health and mental confusion.

Somebody please do the right thing. Help this man – whatever he loses by being out of the loop for a few days isn’t something that wouldn’t have been lost anyway if he keeps on demonstrating that he’s too old, sick and mentally unfit to be President. He deserves more just for having served so long. From his wife, his erstwhile “soul mate” in the Veep slot, his campaign lobbyists and his party.

Give him a rest. He obviously needs it.

The Democratic National Convention wrapped up last night with the most inspiring, detail-filled, well-delivered acceptance speech ever, and I can remember all the way back to Ike’s. Obama looked, as usual, cool and collected as he ran down the list of what needs doing, while hitting hard on the past 7+ years of failed leadership, insane paranoia of the American people, legalized torture, and their bid for a third term with Lt. Commander McMansions.

Presuming that readers wouldn’t have missed it for anything, the speech needs no quoting here. I’d just like to remind everyone that on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have A Dream speech, Barack Obama amply underlined his soaring rhetorical skills in front of 84,000 people in Mile High Stadium and millions worldwide. The Repuglicans are right to be afraid of him. The dream lives on, might even become a reality in November.

As if to attach yet another exclamation point to that piece of serious history, John McCain announced his Veep pick – it’s Alaska governor Sarah Palin. I know, I know. You’ve never heard of her, have you? She’s a real piece of work, probably chosen by McCain’s ‘handlers’ rather than he himself in a desperate bid for the PUMA plants, all dozen of ‘em having spent all week whining that the ‘Pug’s first opponent choice didn’t get the nomination. Who is this person, you ask? Well…

Palin is a 44-year old anti-choice Mom of five with a newborn son who has Downs Syndrome and another son soon being deployed to Iraq. That will probably work to blunt attacks on her wingnut positions, but she’s got another problem too. She is under current investigation by the Alaskan legislature’s Joint Legislative Council for abuse of power after she summarily fired Walt Monegan from his job as Public Safety Commissioner, apparently because he refused to fire Palin’s ex-brother in law Michael Wooten. Palin’s sister and Wooten had been through a “messy divorce,” and the Council is unanimous in its suspicion that the firing came as retribution.

Now that she’s the Veep nominee, though, we can all be reassured that the DOJ will probably move in to quash the investigation by late this afternoon. Here’s some juicy tidbits from a KTVA story dated Thursday [8-15] entitled Governor and staff’s latest explanations leave more questions. In the left hand sidebar are links to various documents pertinent to the investigation.

I suppose she’s lucky that John McCain has offered her another, better job just as this situation threatened to explode and end in her own summary firing by impeachment. Hahaha!!! Oh, my. Maybe there simply aren’t any honest Republicans to choose from. Sort of makes me feel a little sorry for McCain. This election is definitely not going to be close enough to steal.

I’ll admit I was a little worried that Bill’s baton-passing might be as empty of discernible passion as Hillary’s, or that he just might express his personal pique at Democrats’ rejection of his wife’s bid for power. So I was greatly relieved to once again experience Bill Clinton’s utter mastery of the art of political rhetoric – his legendary ease with the forum, his self-assured ability to speak his heart effectively, and his sometimes magical talent for drawing trust and confidence from his listeners. Best speech of the convention so far, though John Kerry hit some righteous points as well.

Here are some particularly good quotes from the speeches thus far that definitely should be replayed regularly in You Tube viral clips, in television and radio ads, and in print campaign literature through November…

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid:

“For over a quarter of a century, the Republicans have sold their magic beans with a promise of a giant beanstalk and gold over the horizon. Look what they’ve done to our country. Look what they’ve done to our planet.”

Pres. Bill Clinton:

“And so, my fellow Democrats, I say to you: Barack Obama is ready to lead America and to restore American leadership in the world. Barack Obama is ready to honor the oath, to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Barack Obama is ready to be president of the United States.”

“People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.”

Hillary Clinton:

“How to we give this country back to them? By following the example of a brave New Yorker, a woman who risked her life to bring slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad. On that path to freedom, Harriet Tubman had one piece of advice: ‘If you hear the dogs, keep going. If there’s shouting after you, keep going. Don’t ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.’”

Sen. John Kerry:

“…the flag doesn’t belong to any ideology. It doesn’t belong to any political party. It is an enduring symbol of our nation, and it belongs to all the American people. After all, patriotism is not love of power or some cheap trick to win votes; patriotism is love of country.”

Soon-to-be VP Joe Biden:

“Let me make this pledge to you right here and now. For every American who is trying to do the right thing, for all those people in government who are honoring their pledge to uphold the law and respect our Constitution, no longer will the eight most dreaded words in the English language be: ‘The Vice President’s office is on the phone.’”

Quite the nice build-up to tonight’s Big Speech in Invesco Stadium by Barack Obama. I’m expecting some especially great quotes to come from that one, so again, stay tuned!

It has continually struck me quite odd ever since the DNC started that the also-ran got so very much nervous attention. Why so many big-wigs worried about whether she’d actually help the party’s nominee in this very important election, or whether she’d stab him in the back in a fit of leftover pique over losing what she (and the entire Republican Establishment) believed was her “rightful due.” As if OUR country, OUR leadership somehow became during the 1990s a monarchy instead of the Democratic Republic the founding fathers established.

Sure, the Bush “dynasty” did make it seem just like that monarchy, and God knows George Junior certainly has treated the position as if he has some sort of divine right to rule in flagrant disregard for what the country wants or needs. Yet that’s precisely what Democrats are running AGAINST in this election, not something Dems need to affirm when their turn comes around again. Maybe it’s a creeping mental illness, a delusional state easy to fall prey to in an era of Bush family totalitarianism. But the Clintons were better than that.

Oh, she gave a strong, spirited speech. She repeated her support for Obama and Biden several times, and came down hard on why the country absolutely doesn’t need another Bush (disguised as John McCain). But I saw no warmth, no genuine enthusiasm, and too much playing with the power she supposedly wields over a bunch of Republican plants whose jobs were to get her the nomination because that’s who the Republicans were determined to run against – because that’s who they could beat.

So I did shed a few tears for what I didn’t see last night, what I didn’t hear in her speech. The torch truly has passed, and it got passed from the last of the old dynasty – Ted Kennedy – straight to the Obamas. Skipped the Clintons completely, and yes, I suppose they’re bitter about that too. I am so sick of bitter, spoiled, rich politicians of any variety. A pox on all their houses!

Yeah, I’ll watch Bill’s speech, but it’s going to have me cringing right from the start. He can make this right if he really wants to. I get the feeling that making things right isn’t the Clinton’s true goal. That’s a shame, but politics has never been an honest game. The American people don’t need a king (or a queen). We don’t need more repression and a lower standard of living. We don’t need a savior either, so I’m hoping Obama doesn’t give in to his own hype either. I’m jaded, but probably not as jaded as Bill and Hill.

In lighter news, and related to my brief note about Dallying Dems, one of the better, most realistic sustained attacks on John McCain at the convention has been coming from Planned Parenthood, which is distributing pink condoms to the attendees labeled “Protect Yourself from John McCain” and which come in a series of 10 “fun facts” about McCain’s positions on women’s health issues. I predict these will become one of the most valuable of 2008 political memorabilia in the future, so I’ve gotta order me a set!

Posts to the DNC Series:

Stoopid Network Tricks and Dallying Dems
Assassination Plot Busted, Teddy’s Speech
Hard-Hearted Hillary Made Me Cry
Bill Is Still The Godfather

…and Michelle Obama’s home run to the nosebleed seats. Wow. What a way to start a convention!

In a bizarre twist, the DailyKos blogging team – DKos is the official host of the “Big Tent” blogger-space attached to the Denver Convention Center – somehow got bumped from their posh hotel suites at the last moment and ended up having to spend the night before the convention at a hotel in Glendale (where the Newsweek convention crew was also ensconced) before arranging better accommodations for the rest of the convention. But during that first night there was some big excitement when the entire Denver SWAT team staged a big meth bust of a room across the hall, rousting the crew and leaving them witness to some very exciting police action.

…only to find out that they had been bumped right smack dab into the very midst of serious political intrigue when it was announced that the bust was part of a possible Obama assassination plot! The SS, ATF and FBI are all involved in investigations of the busted conspirators, apparently a small group of wackos from the White Supremecist corner of the hard-right wingnut end of the spectrum. Updates state that “at least” four people are under arrest in connection with the plot

Day one didn’t go off without any hitches, but it sure got exciting right out of the starting gate! The Teddy Kennedy cry-fest didn’t bring as many tears as expected from this blogger, but his own personal appearance and strong speech full of Kennedy fire that lasted a good 20 minutes was deeply, deeply gratifying. It may be the last of the great speeches from the storied Kennedy brothers, that generation of inspired public servants who fought so hard and paid too high a price to give back to the American society some of the privilege they had enjoyed. That the youngest would have lived the longest, and still be so strong and determined as he faces his own end, may be one of the greatest legends of political dynasty ever lived or written. The Bushes and Clintons are babes in the woods compared to those brothers!

So yeah, when the speech was over and poor Teddy wandered from one side of the stage to the other not sure where he should go and what he should do, the tears finally came. Wow. God bless you and keep you, Uncle Teddy.

It was a hard act to follow, for sure. What we got was Michelle Obama, who pointed her well-manicured finger toward the skybox nosebleed seats and promptly hit the ball so hard its leather cover came right off before it soared over the top. Now the only question is how Barack will best use the considerable smarts on Michelle’s side of the family to make HIM a better president! Check out the CSPAN videos of her speech here, bottom of diary.

This afternoon the Republican platform committee starts its business [CSPAN2], hoping to craft a platform that doesn’t look quite as banal as the last 8 years of “we do what we want.” And tonight we get to see Hillary and Bill finally get over their misplaced sense of absolute privilege and acknowledge that they are not personally the sum total of the Democratic Party. It’s about damned time.

Stay tuned! It’s going to be an exciting week for sure…

Posts to the DNC Series:

Stoopid Network Tricks and Dallying Dems
Assassination Plot Busted, Teddy’s Speech
Hard-Hearted Hillary Made Me Cry
Bill Is Still The Godfather

I got that pesky text message in the middle of the darned night, and it wouldn’t stop beeping. At first I thought it was the alarm going off despite not being set to go off in the middle of the darned night. Then disturbing thoughts about grandson at his aunt’s house, and daughter who is in another state packing to leave the country tomorrow morning, so I reluctantly got out of bed to see what’s up. Joe Biden was up! As if that was somehow supposed to get me excited at that ungodly hour. But hey, I did manage a nod to myself. All is well with Obama, though he still seems to be operating on Maui time.

Good choice, Barack! I’ve enough coffee in me now to be perusing the blogs and getting the details, looking forward to the afternoon’s rally and next week’s convention – there should be plenty to post about. So do stay tuned!

We should know by Friday (or, Thursday when the Obama camp promises to ‘leak’ the choice to selected bloggers who will immediately ‘leak’ it to the rest of us). Who will it be? Will we be surprised? Disgusted? Outraged? Glad?

Don’t know if I have a favorite in this beauty contest. I’ve heard a lot of things, and thought about others. I’ve heard Hillary is out of the running, but she sure seems to still feel it’s her ‘right’ to be on the ticket. And given that she got half the votes cast, she may have a point. But how effective could Obama’s leadership be if he had a 2-fer on the Veep end that worked constantly against his policies and hogging the spotlight? So no, I wouldn’t be happy to see Hillary’s name drawn.

I’ve heard Richardson is out, but darned if I can figure out why. He’s plenty of admin and foreign policy experience, and would appear to lend strong National Security credentials. I think he’d be a good choice. I also think Biden is a good choice, though he himself says he’s out of the contest. I don’t know why on that one either.

My previous fave would have been Edwards, who could be kept plenty busy working on health care and poverty during Barack’s Presidency. Of course, the recent-ness of his revealed sexual infidelity means he’s not a serious consideration, even though John McCain has long been quite proud of his own sexual infidelities. Go figure.

It’s probably not going to be Dennis Kucinich, since he wouldn’t lend any mainstream clout to an Obama administration. Nor will it be that weird Libertarian-leaning guy with the beef against the Fed. Governor Sebelius could be an interesting choice, capable as well as female. But Hillary’s Hoards would never tolerate that.

General Wesley Clark? Might be good for the whole wartime NS situation given Obama’s lack of experience in those areas. Plus, Clark could run a tight JCS and probably get along with the various commanders on a militaristic level. Tom Daschle? Jim Webb? Evan Bayh?

Oh, well. We sit on pins and needles awaiting the official word, and the Convention awaits. I’ll certainly ‘leak’ the news the moment it gets ‘leaked’ to us, then do some background on the candidate. Let’s all hope it’s the best of all good choices!

Getty

Time Magazine informs us that the Debate Monitors for the upcoming (and never too soon) Presidential debates have been announced. Now we can look forward to more one-on-one between Barack Obama and John McCain without having to roll our eyes on campaign surrogate gaffes enough to go blind.

For the first debate on Friday, September 26 at the University of Mississippi in Oxford the moderator will be Jim Lehrer, executive editor and anchor of the PBS NewsHour. Always a delightful presence, calming influence and rational analyst.

The second debate will be between Vice-Presidential candidates – whoever those turn out to be – on Thursday, October 2 at Washington University in St. Louis. Gwen Ifill, senior correspondent for the NewsHour and managing editor of PBS’s Washington Week will preside. Another excellent choice.

The second debate between Obama and McCain is a Town Meeting format on Tuesday, October 7 at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Our fave Tom Brokaw of NBC News will officiate. Should be fun!

The third and last Presidential debate (and you thought McCain was serious when he offered to do Town Meetings every week back in the day, didn’t you?) will be held on Wednesday, October 15 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York with Bob Sheiffer presiding. Sheiffer, CBS News chief Washington correspondent and host of the weekly Face the Nation broadcast, is a bit more partisan than the others, but should turn in a good performance at that very late stage of the campaign.

Anybody want to offer odds on what the point spread will be by October 15th?

Berlin

Jerusalem

Now, THAT’s how you woo the world! Our erstwhile allies are all pretty darned tired of being bullied. Maybe it’s not too farfetched to hope that Americans might finally get tired of being bullied too.

The Bushies (including John McCain) reacted to Obamapalooza just as everyone paying attention would expect. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice issued orders the night before Obama left to State Department employees in all the scheduled tour stops that they must not attend any speeches or events or aid Obama (or the other two US Senators on the tour) in any way when they’re in-country. But since assisting US leaders – or even arranging their events, as has been done for McCain’s travels – when they’re in-country is part of the diplomatic corps’ job description, most pointedly ignored the orders.

This is going to be a fun election.

So, just to get us started focusing on what needs to be focused on, here’s Johnny McCain telling us why it’s “not too important” to get our troops out of Iraq any time soon…