Please do not try to compare yourself to former President Ronald Reagan, who was revered as a giant of conservative Republicanism.  

You are an American Hero, and I respect you for your service to our country and for all that you went through, but you are not Ronald Reagan.




"Freedom" -- featuring Ronald Reagan's wisdom, Fred Thompson's narration and John McCain's vision for
our future -- lays out the stakes on Election Day and was the feature video for the 2008 President's Dinner.

 

The latest “first” for Barack Obama comes off the Milan runway. Calling the U.S. presidential hopeful "the man of the moment," Donatella Versace dedicated her Spring-Summer 2009 collection presented Saturday evening to Obama, creating a style she said was designed for "a relaxed man who doesn't need to flex muscles to show he has power."

Chatting with reporters in the cool of the garden of her private palazzo in downtown Milan at an after-show dinner party, the designer also had some fashion tips for the campaign trail. "I would get rid of the tie and jazz up the shirt," she said.




AP Photo  Model wearing one of Versace men's
spring/summer 2009 fashion collection, at Milan fashion week




Well, I am trying to think back a few years as to which leader has been “flexing muscles to show he has power.”  Reagan?  No.  Bush 41?  No.  Clinton?  No. 

Bush 43?  Let me think….Uh, huh.  No.

No….None of those leaders really had any six pack abs to flaunt that I recall.  No great biceps either.  Nope. 

Still, it could be a comment about Bush 43.  It could be a comment about mental muscle.  If that comment is directed at Bush….it should be taken as a compliment.  And it will make me feel that much more secure to know if Barack Obama ends up in the White House, at least he will be dressing well when he can’t make tough decisions.

from the Associated Press  Ü  here

Barack Obama inspires Milan men's runway styles

 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks during a meeting of Democratic Governors at the Chicago History Museum in Chicago Friday, June 20, 2008. A new seal debuted on Obama's podium Friday, sporting iconography used in the U.S. presidential seal, the blue background, the eagle clutching arrows on left and olive branch on right, but with symbolic differences. Instead of the Latin 'E pluribus unum' (Out of many, one), Obama's says 'Vero possumus', rough Latin for 'Yes, we can.' Instead of 'Seal of the President of the United States', Obama's Web site address is listed. And instead of a shield, Obama's eagle wears his 'O' campaign logo with a rising sun representing hope ahead.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)






Photo of the Presidential Seal 


So, the talk is that Obama has “illegally copied” the Presidential Seal.  Well, that’s not true.

But he sure is trying to make himself appear to be presidential, don’t you think?

Now we all know he’s not the one coming up with ideas like this.  Personally, I dont think he’s capable of it.

But, the genius on his campaign team who came up with this latest brainchild?  Well, s/he was right.  Obama does need all the help he can get to make people think he is presidential.








 

Promises, promises….

or should I say going back on them?

Does this make him the typical politician?

Barack Obama thinks he’s entitled . . .

Entitled to make American citizens look foolish.

Democratic Sen. Obama is going back on his promise to use public financing in his fall campaign.

"Obama's decision to skip an earlier pledge to forgo public financing for the general election if his opponent did so will probably allow the Illinois fundraising phenom to outspend John McCain 3-to-1. But it also raises questions about his keeping commitments, especially when commitments made earnestly and early on turn out to be inconvenient. This sounds like old-style political gamesmanship and calculation, not the message of change Obama had been preaching..."



Read Insights from the Kiplinger Report  í  here

 

 

Who was Obama really targeting in his Father's Day Speech regarding "missing black fathers?"

Bill Cosby gave the same type of speech back in 2004.  His was a very powerful, no holds barred speech.  I say same "type" of speech, but it was different.  Obama seems to be putting the blame totally on the absent black father.  And he seems to be feeling the pain of the single black mom, working more than one job to support her family.  I emphasize family because Obama never talks about the issue that maybe these families that need support should have marriage somewhere in the equation...that perhaps a "family" begins with marriage.  No, marriage is never mentioned.  Matter of fact, he doesn't put any of the blame on the single black mother when discussing this issue during this part of his speech, either.

Bill Cosby, while blunt (also, not mentioning marriage), didn’t put the blame in one place. He held moms accountable, too.  And he was criticized for it by many.

So while Obama is doing a good thing by encouraging responsibility by fathers, what's he really looking for in this speech?    I'll tell you.....The single, black female vote.  And so much of his speech is we should, we should, we should.....we should give.... help....reward......

Hope, hope, hope....

Our savior, Obama....


Barack Obama addressed the congregation at the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago, IL on June 15, 2008.

A different perspective with  Bill Cosby's speech    ç here


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remarks of Senator Barack Obama

(As prepared for delivery)

Apostolic Church of God

Sunday, June 15th, 2009

Chicago, IL

Good morning. It’s good to be home on this Father’s Day with my girls, and it’s an honor to spend some time with all of you today in the house of our Lord.

At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus closes by saying, “Whoever hears these words of mine, and does them, shall be likened to a wise man who built his house upon a rock: the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.” [Matthew 7: 24-25]

Here at Apostolic, you are blessed to worship in a house that has been founded on the rock of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. But it is also built on another rock, another foundation – and that rock is Bishop Arthur Brazier. In forty-eight years, he has built this congregation from just a few hundred to more than 20,000 strong – a congregation that, because of his leadership, has braved the fierce winds and heavy rains of violence and poverty; joblessness and hopelessness. Because of his work and his ministry, there are more graduates and fewer gang members in the neighborhoods surrounding this church. There are more homes and fewer homeless. There is more community and less chaos because Bishop Brazier continued the march for justice that he began by Dr. King’s side all those years ago. He is the reason this house has stood tall for half a century. And on this Father’s Day, it must make him proud to know that the man now charged with keeping its foundation strong is his son and your new pastor, Reverend Byron Brazier.

Of all the rocks upon which we build our lives, we are reminded today that family is the most important. And we are called to recognize and honor how critical every father is to that foundation. They are teachers and coaches. They are mentors and role models. They are examples of success and the men who constantly push us toward it.

But if we are honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that what too many fathers also are is missing – missing from too many lives and too many homes. They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it.

You and I know how true this is in the African-American community. We know that more than half of all black children live in single-parent households, a number that has doubled – doubled – since we were children. We know the statistics – that children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime; nine times more likely to drop out of schools and twenty times more likely to end up in prison. They are more likely to have behavioral problems, or run away from home, or become teenage parents themselves. And the foundations of our community are weaker because of it.

How many times in the last year has this city lost a child at the hands of another child? How many times have our hearts stopped in the middle of the night with the sound of a gunshot or a siren? How many teenagers have we seen hanging around on street corners when they should be sitting in a classroom? How many are sitting in prison when they should be working, or at least looking for a job? How many in this generation are we willing to lose to poverty or violence or addiction? How many?

Yes, we need more cops on the street. Yes, we need fewer guns in the hands of people who shouldn’t have them. Yes, we need more money for our schools, and more outstanding teachers in the classroom, and more afterschool programs for our children. Yes, we need more jobs and more job training and more opportunity in our communities.

But we also need families to raise our children. We need fathers to realize that responsibility does not end at conception. We need them to realize that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child – it’s the courage to raise one.

We need to help all the mothers out there who are raising these kids by themselves; the mothers who drop them off at school, go to work, pick up them up in the afternoon, work another shift, get dinner, make lunches, pay the bills, fix the house, and all the other things it takes both parents to do. So many of these women are doing a heroic job, but they need support. They need another parent. Their children need another parent. That’s what keeps their foundation strong. It’s what keeps the foundation of our country strong.

I know what it means to have an absent father, although my circumstances weren’t as tough as they are for many young people today. Even though my father left us when I was two years old, and I only knew him from the letters he wrote and the stories that my family told, I was luckier than most. I grew up in Hawaii, and had two wonderful grandparents from Kansas who poured everything they had into helping my mother raise my sister and me – who worked with her to teach us about love and respect and the obligations we have to one another. I screwed up more often than I should’ve, but I got plenty of second chances. And even though we didn’t have a lot of money, scholarships gave me the opportunity to go to some of the best schools in the country. A lot of kids don’t get these chances today. There is no margin for error in their lives. So my own story is different in that way.

Still, I know the toll that being a single parent took on my mother – how she struggled at times to the pay bills; to give us the things that other kids had; to play all the roles that both parents are supposed to play. And I know the toll it took on me. So I resolved many years ago that it was my obligation to break the cycle – that if I could be anything in life, I would be a good father to my girls; that if I could give them anything, I would give them that rock – that foundation – on which to build their lives. And that would be the greatest gift I could offer.

I say this knowing that I have been an imperfect father – knowing that I have made mistakes and will continue to make more; wishing that I could be home for my girls and my wife more than I am right now. I say this knowing all of these things because even as we are imperfect, even as we face difficult circumstances, there are still certain lessons we must strive to live and learn as fathers – whether we are black or white; rich or poor; from the South Side or the wealthiest suburb.

The first is setting an example of excellence for our children – because if we want to set high expectations for them, we’ve got to set high expectations for ourselves. It’s great if you have a job; it’s even better if you have a college degree. It’s a wonderful thing if you are married and living in a home with your children, but don’t just sit in the house and watch “SportsCenter” all weekend long. That’s why so many children are growing up in front of the television. As fathers and parents, we’ve got to spend more time with them, and help them with their homework, and replace the video game or the remote control with a book once in awhile. That’s how we build that foundation.

We know that education is everything to our children’s future. We know that they will no longer just compete for good jobs with children from Indiana, but children from India and China and all over the world. We know the work and the studying and the level of education that requires.

You know, sometimes I’ll go to an eighth-grade graduation and there’s all that pomp and circumstance and gowns and flowers. And I think to myself, it’s just eighth grade. To really compete, they need to graduate high school, and then they need to graduate college, and they probably need a graduate degree too. An eighth-grade education doesn’t cut it today. Let’s give them a handshake and tell them to get their butts back in the library!

It’s up to us – as fathers and parents – to instill this ethic of excellence in our children. It’s up to us to say to our daughters, don’t ever let images on TV tell you what you are worth, because I expect you to dream without limit and reach for those goals. It’s up to us to tell our sons, those songs on the radio may glorify violence, but in my house we live glory to achievement, self respect, and hard work. It’s up to us to set these high expectations. And that means meeting those expectations ourselves. That means setting examples of excellence in our own lives.

The second thing we need to do as fathers is pass along the value of empathy to our children. Not sympathy, but empathy – the ability to stand in somebody else’s shoes; to look at the world through their eyes. Sometimes it’s so easy to get caught up in “us,” that we forget about our obligations to one another. There’s a culture in our society that says remembering these obligations is somehow soft – that we can’t show weakness, and so therefore we can’t show kindness.

But our young boys and girls see that. They see when you are ignoring or mistreating your wife. They see when you are inconsiderate at home; or when you are distant; or when you are thinking only of yourself. And so it’s no surprise when we see that behavior in our schools or on our streets. That’s why we pass on the values of empathy and kindness to our children by living them. We need to show our kids that you’re not strong by putting other people down – you’re strong by lifting them up. That’s our responsibility as fathers.

And by the way – it’s a responsibility that also extends to Washington. Because if fathers are doing their part; if they’re taking our responsibilities seriously to be there for their children, and set high expectations for them, and instill in them a sense of excellence and empathy, then our government should meet them halfway.

We should be making it easier for fathers who make responsible choices and harder for those who avoid them. We should get rid of the financial penalties we impose on married couples right now, and start making sure that every dime of child support goes directly to helping children instead of some bureaucrat. We should reward fathers who pay that child support with job training and job opportunities and a larger Earned Income Tax Credit that can help them pay the bills. We should expand programs where registered nurses visit expectant and new mothers and help them learn how to care for themselves before the baby is born and what to do after – programs that have helped increase father involvement, women’s employment, and children’s readiness for school. We should help these new families care for their children by expanding maternity and paternity leave, and we should guarantee every worker more paid sick leave so they can stay home to take care of their child without losing their income.

We should take all of these steps to build a strong foundation for our children. But we should also know that even if we do; even if we meet our obligations as fathers and parents; even if Washington does its part too, we will still face difficult challenges in our lives. There will still be days of struggle and heartache. The rains will still come and the winds will still blow.

And that is why the final lesson we must learn as fathers is also the greatest gift we can pass on to our children – and that is the gift of hope.

I’m not talking about an idle hope that’s little more than blind optimism or willful ignorance of the problems we face. I’m talking about hope as that spirit inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better is waiting for us if we’re willing to work for it and fight for it. If we are willing to believe.

I was answering questions at a town hall meeting in Wisconsin the other day and a young man raised his hand, and I figured he’d ask about college tuition or energy or maybe the war in Iraq. But instead he looked at me very seriously and he asked, “What does life mean to you?”

Now, I have to admit that I wasn’t quite prepared for that one. I think I stammered for a little bit, but then I stopped and gave it some thought, and I said this:

When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me – how do I make my way in the world, and how do I become successful and how do I get the things that I want.

But now, my life revolves around my two little girls. And what I think about is what kind of world I’m leaving them. Are they living in a county where there’s a huge gap between a few who are wealthy and a whole bunch of people who are struggling every day? Are they living in a county that is still divided by race? A country where, because they’re girls, they don’t have as much opportunity as boys do? Are they living in a country where we are hated around the world because we don’t cooperate effectively with other nations? Are they living a world that is in grave danger because of what we’ve done to its climate?

And what I’ve realized is that life doesn’t count for much unless you’re willing to do your small part to leave our children – all of our children – a better world. Even if it’s difficult. Even if the work seems great. Even if we don’t get very far in our lifetime.

That is our ultimate responsibility as fathers and parents. We try. We hope. We do what we can to build our house upon the sturdiest rock. And when the winds come, and the rains fall, and they beat upon that house, we keep faith that our Father will be there to guide us, and watch over us, and protect us, and lead His children through the darkest of storms into light of a better day. That is my prayer for all of us on this Father’s Day, and that is my hope for this country in the years ahead. May God Bless you and your children. Thank you.

A United States citizen.

And here is a copy of his birth certificate (thanks to Daily Kos) to prove it.

You see, there’s a reason for the display of this birth certificate.

There was discussion regarding rumors:

Rumors regarding where Obama was actually born

Rumors regarding what Obama’s middle name is

Rumors regarding his mother not wanting to name him after his father.

Read about it at NRO (National Review Online)    å  here

"Tony Rezko — the high-flying developer and fast-food magnate who was once a major campaign fund-raiser for Gov. Blagojevich and Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama and one of the governor’s closest advisers — is now a convicted felon.A federal jury in Chicago convicted Rezko this afternoon on 16 of 24 charges he faced in a political corruption trial that cast a harsh light on the Blagojevich administration"

Read the article from the  Chicago Sun-Times  ç here

Also, Obama answers questions for the Chicago Tribune about his lapse of judgment:


"Obama's "bigger lapse of judgment," he said, came later when he bought a strip of the Rezko lot to expand his own yard. That embroiled the two men in negotiations over fencing and other issues at a time when Rezko was under increasing suspicion. That involvement with Rezko in the land deal, Obama said Friday, was the "boneheaded move" to which he's previously confessed. "In retrospect," he said Friday, "this was an error."

To be precise about that: Obama contends that all of his Rezko-related transactions were lawful and above reproach, but he didn't keep a prudent distance from Rezko."


Read the article  Obama's Rezko narrative   ç here

Boy, oh, boy....for all of you who are Obama backers.....

Isn't it a little bit scary that you have to ask so may questions about Barack Obama
and his relationships over the years?

He wants you to BELIEVE in him.

But you have to keep tacking on the word AGAIN .....

At least I know he has will power. 

It only took him two years.

"Following the release of a doctor’s comments last week about Barack Obama’s struggle to quit smoking, the Democratic presidential candidate told The Daily Republic Sunday that he has finally kicked the habit."


Read the story here à

Obama tells Daily Republic he's no longer a smoker

 

After a bad week, with her comment regarding RFK taken out of context, Hillary Clinton felt she had some explaining to do. 

As usual, politicians from all sides are calling for her to pull out of the race.  But she wants to fight on.  And so, they ask, "Why?"


Why do I continue to run, even in the face of calls from pundits and politicians for me to leave this race? I am running because I still believe I can win on the merits. Because, with our economy in crisis, our nation at war, the stakes have never been higher - and the need for real leadership has never been greater - and I believe I can provide that leadership.

[…]

I am running because I believe staying in this race will help unite the Democratic Party. I believe that if Sen. Obama and I both make our case - and all Democrats have the chance to make their voices heard - in the end, everyone will be more likely to rally around the nominee.

[…]

I am running for all the men and women I meet who wake up every day and work hard to make a difference for their families. People who deserve a shot at the American Dream - the chance to save for college, a home and retirement; to afford quality health care for their families; to fill the gas tank and buy the groceries with a little left over each month.


The complete article from the  Daily News  í here



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Oh, Hillary....

You left some reasons out, didn't you?

You know you have the most experience out of the two of you, don't you?

32 years?  Almost 33 now.

And you (and Bill) have planned this for a really, really, really, really, long time. 

You really don't want to go back to being just  Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton again. 

And the power, don't forget the power.

But you know what?

Whatever your reasons are, I don't care.

I wish you luck.

Because, at least we know where you are coming from.

Obama?  He's inexperienced and dangerous.

So, run Hillary, run.... 

Liz Trotta, the former Washington Times - New York bureau chief, and a FOX News Channel contributor was criticizing Hillary Clinton over her Robert F. Kennedy comment and had this to say:

Trotta: …and now we have what some are reading—as a suggestion that somebody knock off Osama … Obama, well both if we could…haha…


Nope….I’m a conservative, and I don’t like Obama, but I don’t find that funny.

Let's review the 2004 presidential election results for a minute....

 

‹ 2000  2008 ›
United States presidential election, 2004
2 November 2004
Nominee		George W. Bush	John Kerry
Party		Republican	Democratic
Home state		Texas	Massachusetts
Running mate		Richard B. Cheney	John Edwards
Electoral vote		286	251
States carried		31	19+DC
Popular vote		62,040,610	59,028,444
Percentage		50.7%	48.3%
Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Bush/Cheney (31), Blue denotes those won by Kerry/Edwards (19+DC). Light blue denotes the faithless elector's vote counted for John Edwards. Each number represents the electoral votes a state gave to one candidate.
Incumbent President George W. Bush Republican President-Elect George W. Bush Republican

from Wikipedia


**********************************************************************************


So, now that you've reviewed the 2004 election results, you might say, so what?

Check out what Don Surber found regarding the results...


The irony of hating President Bush    ç here   



Talk about a type-o!

"Doh!"

Okay, let’s name those states…all 57 of them…

Maybe he’s confused his campaign with John Kerry's (and Teresa Heinz (57)  )

“It is wonderful to be back in Oregon,” Obama said. “Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go. Alaska and Hawaii, I was not allowed to go to even though I really wanted to visit, but my staff would not justify it.”

John McCain has now said he will appoint conservative Supreme Court Justices:

"McCain promised to appoint judges who, in the mold of Roberts and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, are likely to limit the reach of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.

“They would serve as the model for my own nominees if that responsibility falls to me,” McCain said in his prepared speech."


He also had this to say regarding Obama's voting against John Roberts as Supreme Court chief justice:

"Obama likes to talk up his image as someone who works with Republicans to get things done, McCain said.

Yet Obama “went right along with the partisan crowd, and was among the 22 senators to vote against this highly qualified nominee,” McCain said."

Another reason to vote for McCain.

I wouldn't even speculate who Obama would choose for the Supreme Court, or where he would begin to look.

That's a pretty scary thought.

Maybe Obama can give us some insight on that....

In the meantime, McCain can't let up on Obama.

Read the article from the Star Tribune


Republican McCain Criticizes Obama for Vote Against Supreme Court Chief Justice   Ã  here

 

Local, state or national….

They just can’t compare….



                  THE EMPIRE STRIKES BARACK






If only the election wasn’t so far, far away...

How much more can we stand?


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


And this.... 

"Turns out Louisiana and Mississippi weren't quite finished with the Democratic presidential campaign. Sen. Barack Obama won each state's primary earlier this year. But these days his face still appears in television ads in both states, this time from Republicans trying to turn him into a liability for Democrats in two looming special elections for long-held Republican seats.

Democratic victories would be a serious setback for Republicans. But it also would go a long way to reassure nervous Democrats, particularly undecided superdelegates, that Obama would not present a hardship to House or Senate candidates running in tough races.

Democratic losses would give Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton new ammunition to build her case for her presidential candidacy by questioning the sturdiness of Obama's coattails."


Read the article from the Asssociated Press

GOP Uses Obama to Boost Republican Candidates    ÷ here

Cindy Sheehan gives the peace sign in front
of the White House in 2006.


Peace activist  Anti-American Cindy Sheehan will be seeking 10,198 signatures of supporters in her bid for Pelosi’s seat in Congress.

Because she has decided to run as an Independent, she must gather those signatures to have her name appear on the ballot.

Fat chance for Hugo Chavez’s buddy to win, but she could draw a good number of votes away from Pelosi.

"Getting on the ballot will be the easy part for Sheehan. If she becomes a recognized candidate, she'll be challenging one of the best-known and most powerful Democrats in the country in Pelosi, a 10-term incumbent who routinely collects around 80 percent of the vote in the San Francisco-only district.

Election challenges are nothing new to Pelosi, who has faced token Republican opposition in most of her November races, along with occasional primary challenges. But since she beat former San Francisco Supervisor Harry Britt in the 1987 special election to replace the late Rep. Sala Burton, Pelosi's political resume has been short of opponents anyone other than local political junkies has ever heard of."

[...]

"The odds don't bother Sheehan, who has raised more than $100,000 for her race, most of it from outside the district.

"Even people who I won't represent are willing to back me, because they know what I'll do in office," she said. "Many people in San Francisco know me, and they know my persistence.

"If I get to Washington, I'll only be in office a couple weeks before Bush leaves, but I guarantee he'll know I'm there."



Read the entire article from the San Francisco Chronicle 


 Anti-war Cindy Sheehan files to take on Pelosi  í  here

 

Sometimes controversial videos are posted on the YouTube and elsewhere…then they disappear quickly.

I found one late last night on YouTube but could not get it to open.  It had three postings.

Today they are all gone.

Some other sites, I’ve noticed, have their links broken from a non-YouTube site.

I found it on one other blog site, so get it while it’s hot, because I’m sure it will disappear from here soon too.

Lorne Baxter explores the life of Barack Hussein Obama   í  here

This is a powerful video.

H/T Urban Grind

Oh, boy....

That open mic problem for politicians....

There have been a few political gaffes in history:

• At the height of the Cold War in 1984 U.S. President Ronald Reagan was about to appear on a radio interview and, as a soundcheck, said "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.
  
  
• In 1993 British Prime Minister John Major, after an interview with ITN political editor Michael Brunson, forgot about the recording equipment. He called members of his Cabinet "bastards" and promised to "crucify" them, and saying of recent revelations "I can't stop people sleeping with other people if they ought not to." He also called himself a "wimp" and said that he had no idea how to win an election.
  
  
• During his 2000 presidential campaign, George W. Bush called New York Times reporter Adam Clymer a "major league as*h*le" just before a campaign speech to Vice-President Dick Cheney, whose response ("big time") was also audible. The media reaction was intense, with news stations repeatedly broadcasting it and the New York Post running two pages about the incident.  Bush said of the incident: "I regret that a private comment I made to the vice-presidential candidate made it onto the public airwaves. I regret everybody heard what I said."
  
  
• During a televised debate between U.S. presidential candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore during the 2000 presidential campaign, Gore's sighs (in response to some of Bush's statements) were heard through Gore's live microphone. In regards to the incident, Gore was quoted as saying "Both the governor and I have learned lessons about when the microphone is on, and when it's off."
  
  
• On 11 March 2004, following a satellite address to the AFL-CIO, U.S. presidential candidate John Kerry turned to one of the Union workers he was standing near and said "Oh yeah, don't worry man. We're going to keep pounding, let me tell you -- we're just beginning to fight here. These guys are the most crooked, you know, lying group of people I've ever seen." Although being removed by an assistant at the time, Kerry's microphone was still live and captured his statement. His words were presumed to be directed at his political rivals, the U.S. Republican Party and U.S. President George W. Bush. Kerry spokesman David Wade later claimed that Kerry was indeed aware that his microphone was recording and was not referring to Republicans in general but to their use of "crooked, deceitful, personal attacks over the last four years."
  
  
• On 1 July 2006 a technician did not turn off the audio feed during a closed-door lunch between U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov amongst others. Journalists, on listening to the 20 minute broadcast, referred to the conversation as "bickering" about the Iraqi aid programme.
  
  
  
• On 17 July 2006 a private conversation between U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the G8 Summit in St. Petersburg was picked up by a nearby microphone. Bush told Blair that if Syria would "stop Hezbollah doing this s**t" (referring to Syria's influence over and support of Hezbollah in the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon), the crisis would be over. He also revealed that Condoleezza Rice would visit the area.
  
   
• On 19 October 2006 during an official meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Moscow Russian President Vladimir Putin was overheard praising Israeli President Moshe Katsav for raping ten employees of his office.
  

(See Wikipedia for full article and references Microphone Gaffe)   Warning -  uncensored

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Yeah, yeah...we know you work in Harlem, Bill....

I bet some of your best friends work in Harlem.


"During an interview with [former] President Bill Clinton on April 21 2008, WHYY reporter Susan Phillips asked him to respond to the fact that some prominent Philadelphia African-American officials, who had originally supported Senator Clinton, went over to Obama after the former president's remarks in South Carolina about Jesse Jackson.

Clinton vehemently defended his record on racial issues."

At the end of the call, the President, evidently unaware that he was still on the line, revealed his feelings about that line of questioning saying,  "I don't think I should take any s**t from anybody about that, do you?"

(Warning...the last four seconds of this broadcast are uncensored - in red above.)

 

This, from some of the constituents where Chelsea Clinton, along with Gov. Ed Rendell, paid visits at four gay and lesbian bars in Philly:


"I grabbed her ass," shouted one woman, prompting surprised looks and laughter from Chelsea and campaign staff escorting her."

"I've been trying to find you all night and I found you and you're gorgeous," Dustin Thorn, 31, of Philadelphia told her."

"I think Chelsea looks better in person and she's got the body and ass of life," said Christoper Murray after wrapping his arms around her and giving her a big hug."


If it's true that at least one patron "grabbed her ass," it's a little surprising.

Aren't former President's children protected by Secret Service?

And what of  David Shuster's comment back in February regarding Chelsea Clinton being "pimped out?" 

Since when do candidates children make stops at bars for them, gay or otherwise? 

Why isn't Hillary making the bar stops herself?



Read the story on PennLive.com

Chelsea Clinton hits the gay bars in Philadelphia  í here

 

P.J.O'Rourke, correspondent for The Weekly Standard, spent 24 hours on the USS Theodore Roosevelt. 

He wanted to get some insight on John McCain, U.S. Veteran Naval Aviator, who flew attack aircraft from carriers. 

He found what he wanted, and more, about McCain and America.

Here are some excerpts from his report:

"Some say John McCain's character was formed in a North Vietnamese prison. I say those people should take a gander at what John chose to do--voluntarily. Being a carrier pilot requires aptitude, intelligence, skill, knowledge, discernment, and courage of a kind rarely found anywhere but in a poem of Homer's or a half gallon of Dewar's. I look from John McCain to what the opposition has to offer. There's Ms. Smarty-Pantsuit, the Bosnia-Under-Sniper-Fire poster gal, former prominent Washington hostess, and now the JV senator from the state that brought you Eliot Spitzer and Bear Stearns. And there's the happy-talk boy wonder, the plaster Balthazar in the Cook County political crèche, whose policy pronouncements sound like a walk through Greenwich Village in 1968: "Change, man? Got any spare change? Change?" [...]


"These are supremely dangerous jobs. And most of the flight deck crew members are only 19 or 20. Indeed the whole ship is run by youngsters. The average age, officers and all, is about 24. "These are the same kids," a chief petty officer said, "who, back on land, have their hats bumped to one side and their pants around their knees, hanging out on corners. And here they're in charge of $35 million airplanes." [...]

"A strange flight it is--from the hard and fast reality of a floating island to the fantasy world of American solid ground. In this never-never land a couple of tinhorn Second City shysters--who, put together, don't have the life experience of the lowest ranking gob-with-a-swab cleaning a head on the Big Stick--presume to run for president of the United States. They're not just running against the hero John McCain, they're running against heroism itself and against almost everything about America that ought to be conserved. "


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