The final presidential debate changed nothing. Yeah, good old Johhny POW McCain did his best to sock it to That One last night, but it seems no one was much impressed, not even his base:
Obama was repeatedly forced Wednesday night to explain himself. But he did not lose his cool under his opponent’s persistent criticism, parrying time and again with measured explanations designed to take the sting out of McCain’s charges with voters who may still be making up their minds.
This debate may have been McCain’s strongest performance of the three, but it was also an example of how Obama has used the encounters to try to show that he has not only the knowledge of the issues but also the temperament and the judgment that voters are looking for in a successor to President Bush.
Shorter WaPo: No game changer last night. McCain, like a losing fighter in the last rounds threw mad hay makers like crazy but didn’t rally land any. Obama was his 3C self: cool, calm and collected. McCain was just a simmering jerk. His phony bonhomie and exaggerated gestures were a thin veil for his rage at losing this race (to which he believes himself entitled) to a younger, better organized, more intelligent and more qualified African American opponent.
Which means that the ugliness of this campaign will get worse, and I don’t think McCain himself has any control over much of it. Sarah Palin has as much as indicated she’s not taking her marching orders from Commander Crash, and the rest of the right wing wurlitzer isn’t either. So, expect to hear a siren song of ACORN! ACORN! ACORN! and TERRORIST! TERRORIST! TERRORIST! TERRORIST! and much, much worse. To get a preview of how low into the sewer of racist fear mongering the right will go, one needs only listen to this foaming at the mouth, “Let’s burn some crosses boys” diatribe by the King of the Dittoheads:
Got it? Blacks are ANGRY. They are UNPATRIOTIC and UNAMERICAN. They’re LAZY. They’re WHINERS. They think they are SLAVES. And the liberals caused this (well, except for the angry, lazy part). A movement for THREE DECADES! A CONSPIRACY of White Lefty Hippy Terrorists, ACORN, Jeremiah Wright, Black Liberation Theology, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, Democrats in general, but especially OBAMA, to ruin the economy and makes blacks angry, mad as hell and out to steal white people’s money, burn down their homes and rape their purity ball daughters, led by that evil Magic Negro, Barack HUSSEIN! Obama.
Okay, Limbaugh didn’t specifically say that last part, but does anyone doubt that’s the message which he wanted his listeners to take away from his little putrid missive of hate and racism? The backed up sewers of the whacked out, Right Wing Hate Machine just overflowed, people. McCain can’t control the filth that’s gushing out, nor do I expect him to do anything about it. McCain was all over Obama about Congressman John Lewis’ legitimate concerns that McCain and Palin have been fostering a climate of hate and bigotry which portends frightening incidents of violence in our immediate future. Meanwhile, his right wing supporters like Limbaugh and Fox News, are pulling out all the stops to fan the flames of that racial hatred, division and fear. And all McCain could do last night was criticize Obama for not throwing John Lewis under the bus? Obama rightly pointed out that the McCain and Palin rallies are inspiring hate speech against him personally, such as shouts of “Terrorist!” and “Kill him!” and McCain had no real answer to those remarks. However, he sure didn’t condemn the people at those rallies. And he won’t condemn the Limbaughs and Sean Hannitys of the world either when they peddle this venomous message of Fear the Negro!.
No, John McCain has no honor left. He’s a small, mean spirited little man who can’t control himself, much less his followers. His angry temperament, which has made him one of the least liked members of the Senate, is now the sole basis of his campaign. He’s like Michael Douglas in the movie Falling Down the angry white guy whose life hasn’t turned out like he planned, so he goes into a rage, and in the end, ends up hurting not only himself, but everyone who comes into contact with him. By blaming everyone but himself for his failings he’s setting the stage for a very nasty election campaign over the next few weeks, and a return to the type of extreme right wing domestic violence and terrorism that erupted during the Clinton years.
Only this time it will be much worse, my friends. Clinton was a white, Southern, centrist President during a time of economic prosperity. If he wins, Obama will assume that high office on his Inauguration Day during a period of the most destructive, uncertain economic hard times since the Great Depression, all while we are conducting three costly and disastrous foreign wars (i.e., Afghanistan, Iraq and the eponymous “War on Terror”). FDR barely survived both an assassination attempt and a fascist plot to depose him. What do you think, Obama, our first African American President will face from all those angry, riled up right wing haters?
You think they will just peacefully go away? You think their anger and bile will not seek an outlet? You think that they will take the “react with violence” option off the table? You think there aren’t more Timothy McVeighs and Eric Rudolphs and abortion provider murderers out there ready, willing and able to wreak havoc? You think angry, racist white people don’t riot? Or kill racial minorities for the hell of it? Hell, a professor at a Christian college is practically predicting a white backlash if Obama wins.
I think we are in for a very, very dangerous time for our republic. And John McCain and Sarah Palin and all the vile, contemptuous religious, political and media creatures on the right are to blame for whatever evil befalls us in the days ahead.
Anybody catch this last night? It really just shows the entire lack of respect McCain has.
That wasn’t photoshopped? Wow. I mean just WOW. I have no words.
It wasn’t Photoshopped. It was McCain’s reaction to not knowing which way to walk on the stage at the end of the debate. I don’t believe that it is a face that he is making towards Obama.
I think I’ve had enough of Presidents who make funny faces in public.
O come on, Steven. That guy was never president.
No wonder so many in the rest of the world think Americans are stupid.
Can’t believe this wasn’t Photoshopped, Toni. There’s a wave around the guy’s head that resembles a typical P’shop adjustment (unless it’s actually the Holy Nimbus of Prickly Ego).
In any case, the guy’s clearly unstable. No need for a virtual adjustment when the real item works so well.
He made some goofy face at the end of the debate when they were headed towards the front of the stage. Was it this severe? I don’t know, but I remember thinking why is he making that face.
Wow. The very image of the elder statesman. So dignified! Like a cat with a hairball.
My cats resent that comparison. They are far too dignified to cough up a hairball in from of us. It always happens at night when we can’t see 🙂
My two Siamese guys are insulted. Be respectful.
That picture gives the One heart beat away new meaning…Sarah Palin and her beauty pageant slash and Tina Fey glasses waiting to be Prez.
My most sincere & humble apologies are extended to any of our feline overlords — uh, companions — who might be offended.
Nay, let us say that McCain properly resembles a dog with a hairball. Usually someone else’s.
you just dug yourself a deeper hole.
Dogs have family. Cats have staff…so we’re not overlords. We’re always on call…and we’re grateful we’re permitted to live with them.
‘A deeper hole’? I see. So that makes me a dog-bone, which cats will have nothing to do with. Or else I’m a kitty-turd.
I wallow in shame — tho’ I did say that they are overlords, not we.
But hey, I know how it is. One causes grave offense & there’s no going back.
Yeh my cats too are pissed but I havent laughed so hard in months when I read wilderness wench’s original post and then went back and looked at the picture. Thanks people for the laugh we really need a laugh right now and thanks also to Stephan for “telling it like it is” I dont think it is a question of whether there will be an attempt on Obama’s life but when. The hatred now thats been stirred up by nutcakes like Rush Limpballs and others is way worse than when Dr. King was assasinated. If Dr King was alive and Obama wins he would be very proud but he would tell Obama to be very careful.
Dark days are coming….
Read this commentary here…
http://m.cnn.com/cnn/ne/politics/detail/183115;jsessionid=56B85F8FD8376D3A1610DF5D92D0310D
Lastly sometimes it pays to be old.
I am 67 and currently drawing $800 a month SSI. My wife who will turn 62 Sunday but still works and wants to until she turns 66. We live 40 miles from Mexico and have checked out a lot of places to retire there. Cheap housing, great cheap medical care cheap car insurance the list goes on.
If things get really bad she can draw $1500 a month and we will pack up what little shit we really need with our two cats and live very comfortably in Mexico for way less than the $2300 we will be getting from SSI.
Thats our plan for whats coming.
BTW we currently rent so we wont have to unload a house that is underwater.
I wish you luck in any decision you make, keyman.
I know a gentleman in his 60s who’s retired on Social Security in Lima. He’s been living very well, although as of late a changed attitude toward Americans is apparent among his neighbors.
The only thing I am wondering is if someone photoshopped it to move the two of them closer together.
The picture from the other angle made it look like they were 15 feet apart. This one makes it look like McCain is trying to grab Obama’s ass..
Methinks that is just a function of photography.
Picturing two side-by-side subjects from the side, rather than the front, makes them appear closer together. ‘Foreshortening’, I think it’s called.
The concept of a ‘healing crisis’ comes to mind for me, yet again: as illness worsens to a critical point, the body makes a final effort against death; all of its defenses come into play, pushing toxic symptomology to the surface. It ain’t pretty, but the moment is critical. Either the body cleanses itself & recovers its integrity or it dies.
This, IMO, is where we’re at. The poisons at the base of our collective national consciousness are being drawn to the surface as the nation’s cohesion, the ‘American idea’ (its ‘selfhood’, so to speak), deteriorates, beginning to die.
Either the nation recovers itself & this ‘idea’ manifests more fully, or the poisons now rising from the depths of its character will overcome it totally, destroying it completely.
The seeds of deathly corruption — this poisonous ignorance, hatred, violence, the thirst for wealth & blood — were sewn in its birth. It comes forth because it’s there, not because we are innocent.
There is another online forum that I read which has a couple of Rethuglicans who frequently post. The thing I find interesting is that they are baffled as to why their attacks are failing. They keep repeating “socialist”, “acorn”, “terrorist”, etc, and the mainstream ignores them. They conclude that the reason these attacks aren’t working is because they aren’t frequent or loud enough, so they try and kick it up another notch in hopes that that will finally do the trick.
Sounds like the plan for victory in Iraq ..
War on Drugs. I was once asked early on how I thought the war on terror would go. “Oh about as well as the war on drugs,” I said. “Oh, that’s not so good,” was the response.
Here’s the same pic from another angle.
TPM has the image of Virginia GOP Mailer Depicts Dems — And Obama? — As Appeasers Of Terrorists
I agree that there are dark times again. McCain/Palin and the rest of the rightwing and media wurlitzer have done a helluva job weaponizing the ignorance of a lot of people against Obama.
Even though there’soverwhelmoing public perspective that Obama won this, and all the other, debates, this in no way means all those same people will vote for him.
The public has been quite effectively conditioned to vote against their own best interests for years.
McCain would clearly rather destroy what’s left of our country than lose the election.
I hope that this marks the end of racialism in America. However, on June 11, 1994 OJ Simpson was the most beloved, most trusted black man in white America. I am not saying that Obama is a homicidal murderer who will kill white women and Jews. In fact, the autopsies and the coroner’s investigator’s report suggest that Simpson was not the killer at all. Rather, I am referring to what can be accomplished when the entire media bands together to demonize someone. That was pretty much the gameplan with Bill Clinton, and I suspect that will be the gameplan with Obama.
A question: since mainstream media is, IMO, a means to deliver bodies into corporate service, what’s the purpose of media feeding-frenzy?
I figure it’s either A) entertaininment (the delivery) or B) an effort to form public opinion against disruptive influence (a delivery hang-up).
Since I don’t really see Obama as a threat to the basic set-up & we already have some very compelling entertainment in the widespread collapse of neocapitalism (in the same way that murder mysteries are entertainment), what reason to demonize Obama?
He’s black.
Ah yes. Black and immensely successful. That’s entertainment.
In the meantime, keep those photos of McCain coming. Now we know how he keeps Cindy happy. Bonus, she doesn’t have to look at his face.
No doubt several trust fund enriched Richard Mellon Scaife types will fund more Arkansas Projects because they are deluded enough to believe their taxes should always go down and never up no matter what happens in the world or the US economy. Of course they never think of their efforts to keep taxes on capital gains, stock dividends and large inheritances below the tax rates on wages and benefits as class warfare. Only the advocates of the poor and middle class do class warfare, not them.
The race baiting theme has already surfaced as a way to divert blame in the credit liquidity crisis, blaming Jimmy Carter and minority home buyers for ‘forcing’ banks to lend to unqualified borrowers. The lie has spread around right wing media and politicians faster than a cold virus at a grade school picnic. The Bear Stearns and UBS sorts who arranged to have credit default swaps unregulated ($60 trillion sold in the last 8 years) and the lenders too eager to resell their debt to do a competent credit review are not to blame at all,oh no not them.
Pity another house of cards hasn’t fooled most voters.