For the first time since the election, President-elect Barack Obama met with his former rival, Senator John McCain.

Senator John McCain has not answered questions from the audience since facing a belligerent crowd in Lakeville, Minnesota.

Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections, Barack Obama, John McCain, News

Proof that the McCain campaign is now running on fumes, the scare tactics continue to inexhaustibly be thrown around. Senator John McCain is banking on the fact that the American people will make the obvious association that Senator Barack Obama is in fact a socialist terrorist who either wants to spread American wealth or secretly gives passports to terrorists the world over.

With the semblance of any real issue being thrown out the window, this campaign has taken to being strategically xenophobic in it's approach to politics. It is despicable that this campaign continues to run on the notion that American public will put their hated of the outside ahead of their economic needs.

The newest strategy happens to be the sudden emergence of Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi, a supporter of Palestinian rights. The McCain campaign (alongside its other mouth pieces and cohorts) are demanding that the Los Angeles Times release a tape which supposedly shows Khalidi lavishing Obama with praise at a dinner with Bill Ayers present. ...

Despite Kalidi's past denial, McCain and Governor Palin have referred him as a former spokesman for the Palestine Liberation Organization. And although Khalidi has publicly criticized Israel, he and Obama have both said they hold very different views on Israel.

Welcome to the the return of the mysterious, scary, terrorist-friendly , Barack Obama that the McCain campaign would love for the American public to somehow eat up despite every other source outside of Fox News pointing to the contrary.

The Times contends that it in fact broke this story several months ago about Obama's connection to Khalidi, and will not revisit a story which it had already covered. In addition, the tape was given to them by an anonymous source under the conditions that they not release it to the public. Typical of this liberal media with it's journalistic integrity.

As is symptomatic of this campaign, McCain has ties to Khalidi which may lead you to believe that he has a thoroughly inept political team or that he believes that the American people have bought into his us against the media dynamic.

Back in the 1990's, while chairman of the International Republican Institute (IRI), McCain distributed grants to the Palestinian research center co-founded by Khalidi, with one being worth half a million dollars.

The relationship extends back as far as 1993, when John McCain joined IRI as chairman in January. Foreign Affairs noted in September of that year that IRI had helped fund several extensive studies in Palestine run by Khalidi's group, including over 30 public opinion polls and a study of "sociopolitical attitudes." --According to the Huffington Post.

Throughout this election season, the McCain campaign has been scrutinizing, bemoaning and attempting to manipulate the media when the issues haven't been able to stand up. For every Bill Ayers, there is a G. Gordon Liddy and for every cry of socialist, there is Palin saying to the New Yorker's Philip Gourevitch, "We're set up, unlike other states in the union, where it's collectively Alaskans own the resources. So we share in the wealth when the development of these resources occurs."

In the midst of his 2000 campaign, McCain went on MSNBC's 'Hardball' and was asked by a woman whether it was socialism that her father should be taxed more for being in a larger tax bracket, to which he responded, "Here's what I really believe: When you reach a certain level of comfort, there's nothing wrong with paying somewhat more.

Maybe it's that part of the American spirit that loves to see a good fight that has allowed McCain's attacks to go unmolested into the public drinking pool. Truth be told, Barack Obama has run such a near flawless campaign that he dominates on the issues. Win or lose, he will go down of one of the greatest political forces in history because of the tremendous power of this campaign.

The American people have heard accusations of betraying the troops, teaching kindergartners all about sex, putting lipstick on a pig, being a proponent of infanticide, wanting to spread American dollars and being a friend of terrorists and would still prefer a president with a level head, a strong plan for the economy, and who talks about issues... that they care about; go figure.

 

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A new report shows Sarah Palin's make-up artist is the highest paid member of Senator John McCain's presidential campaign, pulling in a rate of $547,200 a year.

Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections, John McCain, News

Senator John McCain accepted his party's nomination with an unusually personal speech that chronicled his time as a POW and featured the word "change" more than ten times. With this, McCain has seemingly abandoned his 'Straight Talk Express' to grab onto the caboose of the 'Change' train.

I fight to restore the pride and principles of our party. We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us. We lost the trust of the American people when some Republicans gave in to the temptations of corruption. We lost their trust when rather than reform government, both parties made it bigger. We lost their trust when instead of freeing ourselves from a dangerous dependence on foreign oil, both parties and Senator Obama passed another corporate welfare bill for oil companies. We lost their trust, when we valued our power over our principles.

We're going to change that. We're going to recover the people's trust by standing up again for the values Americans admire. The party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan is going to get back to basics.
We believe everyone has something to contribute and deserves the opportunity to reach their God-given potential from the boy whose descendents arrived on the Mayflower to the Latina daughter of migrant workers. We're all God's children and we're all Americans.

McCain's emphasis on the bipartisan nature of the change our country needs stood in stark contrast to his Vice-Presidential pick's divisive tirade the night before. And McCain's own Republican supporters "booed" at the point when McCain offered praise for "Barack Obama and his supporters." It is just hard to reconcile this John McCain, who gave a genuine and solid, President worthy speech, is the same man who would make such an erratic and overtly political decision to pluck a dogmatic, social ultra-conservative out of Alaska and place her, barely vetted, a breath away from the Presidency.

The constant partisan rancor that stops us from solving these problems isn't a cause, it's a symptom. It's what happens when people go to Washington to work for themselves and not you.

Again and again, I've worked with members of both parties to fix problems that need to be fixed. That's how I will govern as President. I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again. I have that record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not.

Instead of rejecting good ideas because we didn't think of them first, let's use the best ideas from both sides. Instead of fighting over who gets the credit, let's try sharing it. This amazing country can do anything we put our minds to. I will ask Democrats and Independents to serve with me. And my administration will set a new standard for transparency and accountability.

We're going to finally start getting things done for the people who are counting on us, and I won't care who gets the credit.

Perhaps it's this kind of reasonable record and thinking about our way forward that has the Republican base more enthusiastic about Sarah Palin than John McCain.

 

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Whatever choices young Bristol Palin, her boyfriend, and their families make are their own business. But the policy choices Senator McCain and Gov. Palin make are everybody's business.

 

Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections, John McCain

As expected, President George W. Bush, applauded Senator John McCain's "readiness" to take on the position of Commander-in-Chief. It was a full endorsement of the Republican candidate. Bush's speech although straightforward was considerably less than rousing.

I know what it takes to be president. In these past eight years, I've sat at the Resolute desk and reviewed the daily intelligence briefings, the threat assessments, and reports from our commanders on the front lines. I've stood in the ruins of buildings knocked down by killers, and promised the survivors I would never let them down. I know the hard choices that fall solely to a president. John McCain's life has prepared him to make those choices. He is ready to lead this nation.

Bush's speech endorsing McCain focused heavily on the perils facing a post 9/11 America and McCain's history as a soldier. Bush pointed to American fear and McCain's strength in Foreign Policy.

My fellow citizens, we live in a dangerous world. And we need a president who understands the lessons of September the 11th, 2001: that to protect America, we must stay on the offense, stop attacks before they happen, and not wait to be hit again. The man we need is John McCain.

What Bush did not offer was a detailed endorsement that McCain would be the right leader to guide us through the domestic problems our country must deal with. Bush made only an overarching reference to domestic issues:

We've seen McCain's commitment to principle in our nation's capital. John is a steadfast opponent of wasteful spending. As president, he will stand up to the high tax crowd in Congress, and make the tax relief permanent. He will invest in the energy technologies of tomorrow - and lift the ban on drilling for America's offshore oil today.

For me, President Bush's speech would have been more effective if he had described in greater detail why he believes in Senator McCain's ability to guide us in fixing domestic problems like: creating new ways to solve the public education mess or fixing health care. I found the omission of details pretty glaring.

I would not begin to guess why Bush chose talk so little and so broadly about McCain's readiness to solve our domestic issues. Maybe Bush decided to only focus on McCain's perceived strengths.

 

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Senator John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin to be his running mate is the desperate ploy of a failing candidate trying to stay competitive in a losing race.

 

Senator John McCain has chosen Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate, a move that may be seen as an effort to pick off disaffected Hillary Clinton Democrats.

Senator McCain has chosen his running mate and the person will be notified on Thursday, a senior aide said.