Nightmare on Elm Street Pennsylvania Ave…?

In this clip, Jim Cafferty is laying out a potentially nightmarish scenario; should a certain Governor from Alaska become our new Vice President:

But I have to roll with him on this one. This is a very scary possibility. Perhaps even scarier than this:

In a little over a month from now, this post will either be a humorous memoria on how the American people almost voted for a laughable maverick and his hot but clueless sidekick, or a frightening glimpse into the future. America, it’s your call. This election is more than just the opportunity to put people like this in the office; it’s also a referendum on you.

- ACL

Full circle comedy

In this clip from 2006, Peter Schiff; president of Euro Pacific Capital and Ron Paul advisor is on Fox News warning about an impending mortgage crisis.

…and the FNC analysts all laughed at him:

It’s not so funny anymore, is it?

- ACL

Uh…Define “Elitist”

Perhaps it’s just me, but each time I hear the accusation that Obama is an elitist, I want to go ballastic on somebody. So imagine my frustraion when I heard it YET AGAIN after the first presidential debate. What started off as a pretty ill-informed comment during the Democratic primaries has turned into an accusation that has come to define much of the opposition the Senator from Illinois has received during his run for the White House. It boggles my mind on how this notion has gone uncontested by anybody in the media up to date.

Fortunately for Sen. Obama, I’m here to do the dirty work the media has failed to do.

In its simplest form: elitists are members of a small but powerful class of privileged socialites. These elites were often made up of people whose status was not necessarily obtained meritously, but rather though lineage. Simply put, they were born into their status. The rules and social order of the day are usually dictated by that same small and affluent group. Yet, some of Obama’s earned characteristics have someone added him to this group.

Contrary to opinion, being an ‘elitist’ isn’t positing that you are somehow more intelligent than everyone else (though I can’t recall a time where Obama has even hinted this). There is another word for that: narcissistic. Similarly, isn’t just thinking that you’re smarter than you may actually be. We refer to those types of people as haughty. It’s not using lofty (and occasionally obscure) language to make a point. No. We call that being ostentatious. Having confidence in your abilities to run the country is…well…just that: it’s confidence; confidence which, by the way, was shared by every single candidate who have ever run for President.

That being the case, I would hardly call Sen. Obama an elitist. I can, however, think of a few modern-day folks; none of whom are named Obama; who split that bill.   

For starters, we can turn our attention to our current leader: one George W. Bush. Following his family tree will take you through an entire directory of wealth, prominence, and legacy. From his good ole rich daddy, President Bush the first, to Senator and Wall Street banker Prescott Bush (grandfather), to his wealthy industrialist great-grandfather Sam Prescott Bush; to his other wealthy great-grandfather (through marriage) George Herbert Walker; Dubya’s blood is rich with legacy. But how often is he brought into the discussion about being elitist?

When we think about elitists serving in the political arena, few names come to mind quicker than “Kennedy”. Similarly to Dubya, Senator Ted is a product of a long and prominent family. His father Joseph was a powerful businessman and political force. Immediately preceding him was Ted’s grandfather, P.J. Kennedy; yet another powerful player. Incidentally, P.J.’s rise to prominence was a little more merit-based, but still paved the way for his descendants.

Then, we come to Senator John McCain. His trail of elitism starts from high ranking father Admiral John S. McCain, Jr.; who made it possible for Johnny Mac to get into the Naval Academy. But this wasn’t before another powerful McCain, John Sr. used his influence to provide for McCain Jr. Going a little further down the line, we have the original John Sidney McCain; plantation owner. Of course, if we felt so inclined we could also take a climb up Cindy’s richer family tree.

The point of this post is not to villify affluent families. This is simply a challenge for people to reexamine who they label elitist. Though it defeats people’s claims, Sen. Obama did not have his life set to cruise control the moment he was conceived. Being raised as a single child, only meeting his immigrant father once, and living on welfare hardly constitute an elitist life. Even if his Ivy-League education is brought into the discussion, his attendance at Columbia and Harvard wasn’t the product of a back-room arrangement or established by a legacy of powerful people. Once he obtained his Ivy League education, he didn’t head toward Wall Street, the elite capitol of the world. He headed to the courtroom to represent some of the poorest people in Chicago as a civil rights attorney. He did community organizing work in Chicago. You remember: the same work that a certain Alaskan Governor and her GOP minions mocked? As an “elitist”, he did some of the dirtiest, most non-elitist work one can imagine.

To refer to Obama as an “elitist” is more than just a harmless opinion. It is complete misunderstanding of what makes an elitist and is a complete dismissal of those who truly wear that badge. Although I’ve only cited three in this post, the list of affluent families and their heirs dating back to the 200+ years is pretty long. Nowhere on that list will you see the Obama family.

For the sake of this presidential campaign: in the one corner,  we have a man who grew up in a low-middle class household, struggled with racial identiy for most of his life, and abandoned the opportunity to land a high-profile corporate life. In the other corner, we have a wealthy man (with thirteen cars, seven homes, and a private jet) who came from a slave owner. Remind me again: which one should be in the center of the elitist conversation again?

- ACL

Presidential Debates, Part I

I’m clearly biased here. I know this. That being the case, it’s difficult for this humble narrator to offer an assessment of the first presidential debate without sounding too subjective. But in a word, John McCain was OWNED this time around. To be sure, Obama’s performance wasn’t enough to deliver a knockout blow; especially considering that he’s got his own serious problems to contend with during this election. Nevertheless, I truly believe that Obama took home the door prize of the evening and won this first debate.

Click here to read the transcripts.

All throughout the evening, Senator Obama appeared calm, collected, and confident (which I’m sure people will translate as “uppity“). Meanwhile Senator McCain came across as uncomfortable and confused. He seemed a little desperate to toss out smears that have become a staple of his campaign, but was unable to deal with the volleys that came from Obama. There were a couple of instances where McCain was successful in being the aggressor. But ultimately, he was left bloodied by Obama attacks which – up to this point – were virtually lightweight. For example, I don’t think McCain anticipated Obama actually interrupting him as a lie or exaggeration was being told. It caught him off guard, thus making it hard for him to punctuate the point.

Now, I ain’t gon even lie: Obama contributed to the “No I didn’t. Yes you did.” school yard argument when the issue of tax breaks for oil companies emerged. Still, he did a great job overall — especially when you compare his performance to McCain’s.

A few of Obama’s best shots came when he took on McCain directly:

…when the war started, you said it was going to be quick and easy. You said you knew where the weapons of mass destruction were – and you were wrong. You said we were going to be greeted as liberators – you were wrong. You said that there was no history of violence between Shi’a and Sunni, and you were wrong. …if the question is, who is best equipped as the next president to make good decisions about how we use our military, how we make sure we are prepared and ready for the next conflict, then I think we can take a look at our judgment.

Ouch!

Then, there was this slap; undoubtedly the line of year for me:

It’s been your president who you said agreed with 90% of the time who supported this orgy of spending.

And for good measure:

…presidents have to be prudent in what they say. But, coming from you, who…you know, in the past, threatened extinction for North Korea and sung songs about bombing Iran…I don’t know how credible that is.

Game. Set. Match.

Maybe I’m just getting carried away, but methinks the McCain camp is a little worried now. Immediately after the debate, this nonsense aired:

I’m trying to bottle my laughter.

As for Obama: I know the attacks he dropped goes against everything he wanted for this campaign, but it was quite necessary for him to go to this place. McCain had been having his way with Obama through the ads up until now. Obama had to recover from those wounds. And he did just that tonight.

As a side note, Jim Leher did an OUTSTANDING job as the moderator. He kept things going at a reasonable paced and kept the debate between the candidates. Great job Mr. Leher!

Well, that’s it. Until part 2, let our debating begin. Holla at me!

- ACL

Evasive Maneuvering

I don’t know about the rest of y’all, but if I found myself walking down a dark street and a hiddeously disfigured monster wearing a glove with knives jumped out, I’d do my best impression of Usain Bolt down the street and not look back. But if it were all in my head, it’s pretty unlikely that I would respond the same way. The thought of a crazed monster stalking me is infinitely less threatening than an actual attack.

But Senator McCain apparently missed that memo.

The economic monster that McCain and his homeboy Phil Gramm called ‘psychological’ has apparently come out from under the bed. So much so that the good Senator from Arizona has “suspended” his campaign while calling on Sen. Obama to follow suit; namely in the form of skipping an upcoming debate in Mississippi. This debate - expected to draw an estimated 100 million viewers – is supposed to center around foreign policy. To make this story even funnier, the McCain camp has further proposed that if no bailout deal is made in time for the first debate, it should be moved to replace the VP debate next week in St. Louis. Imagine the relief Gov. Palin would feel if that went down. For those of you not keeping score, Palin’s first break came by changing the format of the VP debate. Instead of allowing Palin to get massacred on foreign policy in a free-for-all, the McCain camp pushed for a more controlled Q & A style debate. But I digress.

Back to the matter at hand: truthfully, this was yet another smart move by Sen. McCain. He continues to show that he has quite a few tricks up his sleeves. Making the claim that he is essentially “taking one for the team” by putting country ahead of politics was pretty slick. It allows him to potentially get away from a debate that might just expose how his costly plans to handle certain foreign affairs could impact this country’s ongoing economic meltdown. Meanwhile, McCain’s supporters are allowed to hide him behind a veil of patriotism and good-heartedness for doing nothing more than playing the role of cheerleader in Washington. At the same time, they can accuse Obama of selfishness and indifference toward the “economic 9/11” by moving forward with the debates. Though nobody’s exactly sure how McCain’s presence will help in assuaging the economic situation, he has indicated that he’s willing to trod into Washington atop his white horse nonetheless. It’s better than that greedy and uppity ‘black feller’ who has the nerve to want to debate.

It must be good to be McCain right now. He is in a position (inexplicably in my eyes) where he can do no wrong. Recall:

• McCain’s stance on deregulation: Though it’s not entirely to blame for the mess we are in, his policies make him at least complicit. Now before I crucify him for this completely, the last three administrations are just as complicit.
• McCain’s own admission of economic ignorance: I can’t imagine walking into a job interview and telling the employer “I have to admit: I don’t know jack about this job. Hire me anyway.” Yet that’s exactly what has happened up to this point. Though the economy continues to be the issue most germane to this election, Johnny Mac has made it clear that this particular issue has him stumped.
• His hommie called us whiners and didn’t receive so much as a peep of criticism. Being called bitter is cataclysmic. Being called a whiner; not so much.
• His VP running mate is so inexperienced that she’s been avoiding the media like she owes them money.
• “The fundamentals of our economy are strong…” ’Nuff said.
• Getting an Ivy League education is elitist (for some more than others). Owning thirteen cars, seven homes, and a private jet is “relating” to the average American.

Now McCain can skip out of engaging in the process that will help determine the next POTUS and he’s considered a hero for it. Wow!

The Obama camp would have been just as brilliant if they retaliated by changing the debate from the orginally slated topic of foreign policy to the more pressing topic of the economy. That way, it would have been far more difficult for McCain to even entertain the idea of skipping out. Yet another reason why everybody in Obama’s camp should be fired immediately…

Since the debates reportedly will go on as scheduled, I don’t think McCain will pull a no-show. We’ll see tomorrow whether or not I’m right. But the mere presumption that McCain could pull this kind of stunt was laughable. But perhaps what’s more laughable is that his antics might still work come November. We shall see.

- ACL