I spotted the large Obama sign in front of the confederate flag on my way to U.S. Representative Rick Boucher's luncheon in Pearisburg, Virginia, Saturday. As a longtime resident of Giles County, I am accustomed to seeing confederate signs dotting the countryside. One store has confederate flag pillows prominently displayed outside every summer. But, I must admit I was surprised to see the Obama sign with a confederate flag behind it so I stopped to ask about it.
Obama/Biden sign with Confederate flag behind it.
Pete Martin, Obama Supporter
"Well, it's about time for a change, don't you think?" asked Pete Martin, the owner of the store where the sign was prominently displayed. Pete sells produce, camouflage clothing, and of course, confederate flags. I answered "Yes, it is" while I inquired about the apples for sale, $7 for a bushel! I purchased my apples and drove into Pearisburg for the luncheon.
When I arrived, I encountered Willi Dean, a local African-American, who asked if I could get more large Obama/Biden signs. I have been ferrying carloads of these signs, just like the one in front of Pete's store, for several weeks for people to put up all around the county. Willi had been delivering them to African-American families but some were afraid to put up the large signs. "We don't want no trouble" Willi said. But, now, it seemed it was alright since many large signs were sprouting up all over the county.
Which of Liddy's "principles and philosophies" was McCain referring to? Liddy's advocacy of break-ins? Firebombings? Assassinations? Kidnappings? Taking target practice with figures nicknamed Bill and Hillary?Seriously. How about some uproar and outrage over McCain's refusal to be candid with the American people about his relationship with a convicted felon and unrepentant terrorist? One whose support, we should remember, Sen. McCain actively sought.
During the same period that Bill Ayers was a member of the Weather Underground, Gordon Liddy was making plans to firebomb a Washington think tank, assassinate a prominent journalist, undertake the Watergate burglary, break into the office of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist, and kidnap anti-war protesters at the 1972 Republican convention.
Re: Liddy's "continued success and adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great:" Did McCain mean to include Liddy's instructions to listeners of his radio show in 1994 (around the time Ayres and Obama were on a board together discussing education programs and other plots) on how to shoot Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agents (aim for the head)?
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and his top aides took credit for building a winning bailout coalition – hours before the vote failed and stocks tanked.John. Please. For the love of God. Stop now.
The rush to claim he had engineered a victory now looks like a strategic blunder that will prolong the McCain’s campaign’s difficulty in finding a winning message on the economy.
Shortly before the vote, McCain had bragged about his involvement and mocked Sen. Barack Obama for staying on the sidelines.
“I've never been afraid of stepping in to solve problems for the American people, and I'm not going to stop now,” McCain told a rally in Columbus, Ohio. “Senator Obama took a very different approach to the crisis our country faced. At first he didn't want to get involved. Then he was monitoring the situation.”
McCain, grinning, flashed a sarcastic thumbs-up.
David Letterman tells audience that McCain called him today to tell him he had to rush back to DC to deal with the economy.Indeed. McCain can't focus on more than one thing at once, hardly the quality we'd want for the man who would have arguably one of the most demanding and complex jobs on the planet.
Then in the middle of the taping Dave got word that McCain was, in fact just down the street being interviewed by Katie Couric. Dave even cut over to the live video of the interview, and said, "Hey Senator, can I give you a ride home?"
Earlier in the show, Dave kept saying, "You don't suspend your campaign. This doesn't smell right. This isn't the way a tested hero behaves." And he joked: "I think someone's putting something in his metamucil."
"He can't run the campaign because the economy is cratering? Fine, put in your second string quarterback, Sarah Palin. Where is she?"
"What are you going to do if you're elected and things get tough? Suspend being president? We've got a guy like that now!"
The debate simply is going to have to address on the economy, at least in part.
So fine -- let's change the focus of the debate to the economy. It would be a fine opportunity to see what the candidates can do without weeks of advance preparation with surrogates, talking points, and the like -- what better test of candidates then to simply ask them about these issues, and let them talk. Such a debate would be exactly what many of us have been waiting for, including, purportedly, John McCain himself -- a chance for a true spontaneous debate between the two candidates.
I don't think it should require much to just switch the topic of the debate and be done with it. John McCain has been in the Senate for 26 years. If he's not ready to talk about the economy now, he isn't ever going to be.
America's First Reaction: Friday's McCain-Obama Debate Should Still Be Held On Friday, But Perhaps with New Focus
Immediately after John McCain's announcement 3 pm ET today, Wednesday 09/24/08, that he was suspending his campaign and seeking to postpone Friday's schedule presidential debate, SurveyUSA interviewed 1,000 adults nationwide. Key findings:
A majority of Americans say the debate should be held. Just 10% say the debate should be postponed. A sizable percentage of Americans, 36%, think the focus of the debate should be modified to focus more on the economy. 3 of 4 Americans say the presidential campaign should continue. Just 14% say the presidential campaign should be suspended. If Friday's debate does not take place 46%, of Americans say that would be bad for America.
Posts
All Comments
