The Times They Are (Potentially) a-Changin'

Via the Sydney Morning Herald, Obama Grabs Big Leads in Key Battleground States.

Democrat Barack Obama is building widening leads in the three key battleground states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, new polls released on Wednesday show.

The latest figures show the Illinois senator is gaining momentum on Republican John McCain as the rivals dash back to Washington to vote on a $US700 billion ($882 billion) Wall Street bail-out package.

The Quinnipiac University study suggests Obama won Friday's presidential debate and that McCain's vice presidential running mate Sarah Palin is suffering from sliding popularity after a stunning initial impact on the race.

They also indicate that voters trust Obama more to handle the financial crisis rocking the US economy, and he seems to be convincing Americans he is ready to be president.

"It is difficult to find a modern competitive presidential race that has swung so dramatically, so quickly and so sharply this late in the campaign," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac polling institute.

The surveys show that in Pennsylvania, Obama leads McCain by a gaping 54 per cent to 39 per cent after the debate, compared with 49 per cent to 43 per cent before the debate.

He is up 51 per cent to 43 per cent in swing state Florida, compared to a 49 to 43 per cent lead before Friday's first of three high-stakes presidential debates.

And in Ohio, Obama is up eight points, 50 per cent to 42 per cent, after having led by 49 per cent to 42 per cent before the clash in Mississippi.

The trio of swing states - which have a history of going either Republican or Democrat and swinging presidential elections - are vital stepping stones to the White House on November 4. . .

DO EXACTLY WHAT WE SAY AND NOBODY WILL GET HURT

Yes, they're holding their gunses to our headses.

They're saying "Do exactly what we say about this financial crisis and nobody will get hurt."

They will pull the trigger on us anyway.

So what's at stake?

The Fate of the Nation


Just. Say. No.


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Yo, who dunnit? That would be -- Dirty Bush. The Breadcrumb Trail Passes through a SECRET POWER PLACE at The Out of Joint Times.

Clueless: The Vicious Mrs. (Palin) Waxes Eloquent On Her Foreign Policy Experience

Really, one just can't get enough of Mrs. Palin's hubris. One just can't.

One must play this tape again and again and again, deeply savoring her boundless egotism, going far beyond the borders and boundaries of them furrin' countries like Russia and Canada, understanding how important it is to be the chief executive of a state that furriner Vlad Putin sometimes flies over.

Breathtaking.

Everyone should have his or her very own empty-headed 21st-century sex object Trophy VEEP for whom ignorance is true bliss, should he or she not?

Oh, but wait.

Don't miss this reprise: Sarah Palin Drives Her Handlers Insane During the Couric Interview.

And via Jesus' General, the incomparable Tina Fey & Amy Poehler on SNL. But do watch the first two clips first.


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And lookee here, from Alaska Mudflats: McCain Camp Realizes Palin is Clueless. Has one not been calling her "clueless" for some time? One has. (And one has called it a hideous insult to all American women and all American man, of course.)
Plus, at Kos, I'm with litigatormom.
And via VastLeft, here's Arthur Silber on the current financial crisis, and more. Please send Arthur Silber some money. There's an Amazon box on his blog.

Obama Making Big Gains on McCain

Via Hominid Views.

Obama
95.8% probability of winning
Mean of 294 electoral votes

McCain
4.2% probability of winning
Mean of 244 electoral votes

Via The Sydney Morning Herald, Obama Up Nine Points on McCain.

Also via the Sydney Morning Herald, Debates, Round One: Obama Takes Narrow Lead.

CNN polls found that men scored the debate 46 to 42 per cent for Senator McCain, but 59 per cent of women thought Senator Obama had won, to 39 per cent for Senator McCain.

You go, girlz!

McCain Wins Debate He Chickened Out Of! (Then Chickened Back In To)

See, they do create their own reality!

Playing the Apocalypse Card

Official No Blood for Hubris' prognostication on Dirty Bush's upcoming financial disaster cash for trash speech.

It will say:

Be afraid!

Be verry afraid!

DO EXACTLY WHAT WE SAY AND NO ONE WILL GET HURT.

(Update: one was right! BUSH: Bailout Now or Suffer More Later.)



But I'm thinking -- sure, Preznit Toad-Exploder, that fear-hype worked oh so well after 9/11 when the national psyche had wicked bad PTSD -- numbing and avoidance; hyperarousal (anxiety panic hypervigilance irritability angry outbursts insomnia tantruming aggression); flashbacks and nightmares.

Ergo = Rush to War.

But that was seven years ago.

Now, I'm thinkin' we're ready, and that it's now more like -- fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, you can't get fooled again.

Eh?

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Here's a great catch via democommie on Mrs. Palin, Head of Skate.

McCain's Racist Comment On Obama

So I've been rl crazy busy and we're back to blogging lite, but I could not resist sharing my revulsion re: McCain's saying he is tired of "catching the spears" from Obama.

Really, John.

In America, it's fine to be openly sexist, but not openly racist, dude.

Who brought you up?

The Vicious Mrs. (Palin) -- Georgia On Her Mind?

It's hard not to be painfully amused when the increasingly desperate Repubs offer a set of idiotic photo-ops as proof positive of their featherweight Talibangelical Trophy VEEP candidate's foreign policy expertise.

It's gone beyond insulting.

It's hilarious.

You think this Palin skirt is a little light, do you?

B-b-but, she she's been photographed sitting in the very same same room with Karzai! She even asked him the name of his kid!! How diplomatic is that, eh? Wow!

“What is his name?” Ms. Palin was heard to ask, as she met with Mr. Karzai in the suite of a midtown hotel, according to a pool report.

“Mirwais,” Mr. Karzai replied. “Mirwais, which means, ‘The Light of the House.’”

“Oh nice,” Palin responded.

“He is the only one we have,” Mr. Karzai said.

You think this Palin broad is a bit braindead, do you?

B-b-but, she's been photographed sitting right next to [coughwarcriminalcough] Henry Kissinger!!

"As photographers were led in, Mr. Kissinger could be heard saying that he gave someone “a lot of credit for what he did in Georgia,” according to a reporter who was allowed to watch.

“Good, good,’’ Ms. Palin said. “And you’ll give me more insight on that, also, hunh? Good.”

The photographers were ushered out. When Ms. Palin emerged from the building, a news producer asked her how it went, and she mouthed the words, “It was great.”"

Hey, I'll give you some more insight on that, Sarah.

And it'll be great. Here goes: all your non-blinking loudmouth god-given ready-to-VEEP confidence is more like lipstick on a big fat hideous ego, hunh?

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This is fun. Campbell Brown calls on the McCain to stop its own sexist treatment of its Trophy VEEP: FREE SARAH PALIN!! I couldn't agree more.

A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall

Via the Sydney Morning Herald, Angry Voters Back Obama to Fix Crisis

Wall Street Gets Drunk, We Get the Hangover, from democommie at Polrant.

Imperial Presidency, Imperial Treasury & It's Still the Stupidity, Stupid

Why You Should Hate the Treasury Bailout Proposal at naked capitalism (hat-tip to reader A.T.).

Quelle Surprise! Traders Say Dollar May Be "Crushed" By Bailout Plan

Also at Kos, Stirling Newberry's The Way Forward, against the bailout.

Arthur Silber, Now Don't Go Slashing Your Wrists Or Nothing.

Explaining the repeal of Glass-Steagall (and quite properly blaming it all on the Republicans), we have Back to 1929 With John McSame and the Greedheads (And a warm welcome to blogtopia to The Out of Joint Times!)

Obama opposes blank check for errant fat cats.

Scarecrow at FDL via Jesus' General.

Not to mention, courtesy of the Sydney Morning Herald, and more probably courtesy of the crash and bailout, Obama Surges Ahead of McCain.

For anti-bailout action, FEDUP USA.

They Want My Vote. And Yet: Just How Offensive Can They Get? Answer: Very

Are these people deliberately trying to be offensive? Or are they just working for Karl Rove?

How To Scam the Skanky Bitches into Voting for BO.

Feh.

(Spits.)

--
hat tip to VastLeft

More On the Palin-Dominionist Theocrat Connection

Must-read from dogemperor of DailyKos.

From Salon, an article called "Sarah Palin, Faith-Based Mayor," which details Palin's support of a very creepy Talibangelical social infiltration campaign, which includes teaching innocent Americans to submit unquestioningly to authorities. Sound familiar? It sure did to me. (And no, I'm not making this up. I don't have to. I never have to.)

Official No Blood for Hubris Mental Health Interlude

I THINK YOU'RE THE FATHER OF ONE OF MY KIDS

A guy goes to the supermarket and notices a very attractive woman waving at him. She says, "Hello!" He's rather taken aback because he can't place where he knows her from. So he says, "Do you know me?" To which she replies, "I think you're the father of one of my kids.'" Now his mind travels back to the one and only time he has ever been unfaithful to his wife and asks, "Are you the stripper from the bachelor party that I made love to on the pool table with all my buddies watching while your partner whipped my butt with wet celery???" She looks deep into his eyes and says calmly, "No, I'm your son's teacher."

Black Comic Introduces McCain

Jonathan Bines at the New York Observer.

Protect your keyboards!

Bushist Fascists Have Scaredy-Cat DNA

They just can't help it.

Vote with your fear: the politics of DNA

LOS ANGELES: Diehard liberals and conservatives aren't made; they're born. It's in their DNA.

That's the suggestion of a study by a group of researchers who wanted to see if there was a biological basis for people's political attitudes.

They found that opinions on contentious issues such as gun control, pacifism and capital punishment are strongly associated with physiological traits that are probably present at birth.

The key is the differing levels of fear that people naturally feel.

The researchers, whose findings were published yesterday in the journal Science, looked at 46 people who fell into two camps: liberals who supported foreign aid, immigration, pacifism and gun control; and conservatives who advocated defence spending, capital punishment, patriotism and the Iraq war.

Subjects were shown a series of images that included a bloody face, maggots in a wound and a spider on a frightened face. A device measured the electrical conductance of their skin, a physiological reaction that indicates fear.

In a second experiment, researchers measured blinks - another indicator of fear - as subjects responded to blasts of noise.

People with strongly conservative views were three times more fearful than staunch liberals.

Witch Hunter Who Prayed Paliin Into Office Returns to Wasilla

It's Pastor Muthee!

He's a real witch-hunter. No, really. He is.

He's a real witch-hunter and he's into theocracy! No, really. He is.

Story from Alaska Mudflats.

The official vision statement of Muthee’s church (taken directly from the website) is…are you ready? …

"Touching lives for total community transformation, thereby taking cities and nations."

Taking cities and nations? Most of us would like our cities and nation to stay just where they are, thankyouverymuch.

Haha.

Damn Furriners: Whats In a Name?

Probably John McCain could see Spain from his POW hut?

GOP Group Pushes Anti-Obama Push-Polling in Five Swing States

More and more deja vu all over again, again, this time in Michigan.

And the wider push-poll story.

We've all been plagued at home by calls from telemarketers. Worse, however, is when a research firm, working at the behest of an unidentified political organization, rings you up for the ostensible purpose of conducting a poll, but actually with the intention of circulating half-truths and rumors about a targeted candidate.

Which is precisely what happened earlier this week, when 750 Jewish voters in five key states - Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio and Michigan - picked up their phones to discover that a firm called Research Strategies was on the line and eager to gauge the voters' feelings about Barack Obama. The first bunch of questions were fairly innocuous, but, as the minutes passed, some of the voters became so upset by the questions - and suspicious of the questioner - that they began to take careful notes. Unfortunately for Research Strategies, some of the note-takers shared their findings yesterday with journalists. Also unfortunately for Research Strategies, one of those note-takers happened to be Jonathan Cohn, a frequent contributor to The New Republic.

In other words, the firm got busted for doing something that was supposed to stay under the radar. And the firm's confidential client - whose identity will be revealed shortly - got busted as well. It's worth examining this episode, because this is how hardball is played, far away from the stump speeches and TV ads.

Here's Ben Smith of Politico on the GOP group behind anti-Obama push-polling.

Here's A Fun Story on How Bushist Fascism Brought Us Not Only Moral Bankruptcy But Fiscal Bankruptcy As Well

Tum-ti-tum-ti-tum.

Some call it deregulation.

Some call it lawlessness.

But hey, greed is good.

The Vicious Mrs. (Palin) On Hubris At No Blood for Hubris

Yes, one is so sorry, one can't currently figure out how to post this here, here, but here's the best one can currently do.

; )

Wilson Research Strategies, Fox News Link to Push Polls -- Plus More Push-Polling

Curiouser and curiouser.

Gregg Chadwick continues our little homespun push-poll story . . . . positing a link to the Republican-connected Wilson Research Strategies, and to Fox News political analyst Chris Wilson who is oh well, you know, what a surprise, also the founder and CEO of Wilson Research Strategies! Hmm.

Meanwhile, Ben Smith at Politico has been gathering more push-poll complaints, including that of surprised & careful note-taking push-poll-ee Jonathan Cohn of the New Republic.

They really do think we're stupid, do they not?

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P.S. I hear that my original source for the original push-poll story will appear on NBC News tomorrow (Thursday) night.
Well, "w00t!", blogtopia!! (Yup, Skippy coined it).

Clueless: Lying About Iraq, Lying About Troopergate

From the Irish Times, McCain Campaign Admits Palin Never Visited Iraq.

And here's the Troopergate guy saying that the vicious Mrs. Palin is lying about that, too.

And from Salon, a little about book-banning, which Palin said she didn't do but others say otherwise, oh and about her pro-government-forced-maternity activities and anti-gay and pro-creationism in public schools kinda stuff.

From the Sydney Morning Herald, Press Picks Over Litter of Lies on the Palin trail.

And here's the vicious Mrs. (Palin) admitting that she will not cooperate in the Troopergate ethics probe, although previously she had said that she would. Hmm.

Roveian Push-Poll Targets FL Voters to Smear Obama

It is deja vu all over again, again.

PT Key West resident Dr. Joelna Marcus received a phone call today. She was asked if she is Jewish, and she replied in the affirmative.

She was asked if she was religious.

She was then asked if her opinion of Barack Obama would change if she knew that Obama had given lots and lots of money to the PLO.


Sounds like liar John McCain's Smear-Talk Express, not unlike Ol' Man River, just keeps rollin' along.


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Update: Another FL voter (from Gainesville) has revealed he too received a similar push-poll call.
And here's a push-poll recipient from PA. (Scroll down).

Oh, lookee, it's us and our very own story re-told at HuffPo! But they don't say it's our story. ; ( Alas. Ah well. One must practice non-attachment, must one not? This is, after all, a buddhist blog! ; )

Clueless: Making Rape Survivors Pay --- For Their Rape Kits

The vicious Mrs. Palin strikes again.

Yeah, let's re-victimize rape victims. Why not?



Oh, and here's the vicious Mrs. Palin hiring unqualified friends for plum positions while firing her political opponents.

Hat tip to democommie, ALASKA WOMEN REJECT PALIN RALLY IS HUGE.

Here's Tina Fey as Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live.

Sex is McCain's Political Weapon.

Clueless: NO BLINKING

Yes, Trophy VEEP Sarah Palin, you've got that right.

The most important qualifications to be the leader of the free world are:

1. NO BLINKING

2. Repetition of meaningless catch phrases.

3. Shameless lying.



Someone at the Sydney Morning Herald thinks that the vicious Mrs. Palin will become our Fearless Leader.