Election 08 trivia bites – The minds and styles behind the campaigns

Seldom is there such a marked contrast between contestants for high political office. In trying to divine those difference we are immediately with one candidate whose erratic behaviour spawns endless words and analysis. The other presents a discipline and control which reveals only what he wants revealed.

Given that dynamic a clear tit for tat analysis of style and mindset is highly problematic, but we have still managed a collection of trivia bites, plucked from the presses.

Previous: Coulter and Huffington

The candidates, presumably

The Patriot Game

The Middle East

It's the economy, stupid

Campaign about Campaign...

Campaign Vs policy

Mindset

• McCain is called the White Tornado – the Chaos candidate
• style contains contradictions
• a shoot-from-the-hip tendency
• assertions of damn-the-consequences authenticity
• a grudging acceptance on the other of the need to give in to the discipline of programmed politics
• preaches the need to improvise under pressure
• “You’ve got to have competing opinions”
• “I appreciate and want some of the tension”

Matt Dowd, a key strategist in President's Bush's 2004 re-election race, said that the 2008 election is "either about Obama or about Bush. If it's about Bush, McCain loses. If it's about Obama, he has a possibility to win."

• Barack Obama represents something big -- an inspiration movement
• built for himself a reputation for consensus-building in the state senate
• does not seem to suffer from the narrow-minded presumption that those who disagree must be either stupid or acting in bad faith
• seems to be a liberal Democrat with the kind of opinions we expect liberal Democrats to hold
• seems to offer is a respite from pettiness as a necessary prelude for policy breakthroughs
• You've got to break out of what I call the 50-plus-one pattern of presidential politics

Style

Ned Martel, Men's Vogue deputy editor, on dress style

• McCain's style is "traditional Republican senatorial garb": a dark suit, a striped tie, solid shirt and, sometimes, the slightly grandfatherly sweater.
• Obama often goes without a tie and is either in a dark solid suit or khaki pants. He favors blue or silver ties and white shirts.
• Both candidates wear bracelets given to them by mothers of fallen soldiers
• "It would be inappropriate if McCain looked as stylish as Obama — he has a different physique, he's a different age and he's much more conservative" Martel
• McCain's clothes: they're too big. "I think what he's trying to do is create a bigger body image, maybe he uses bigger shoulder pads, but I think it makes him look smaller" Evangelia Souris – Fashion manager
• “…the former fighter pilot has a quick step and looks dapper in uniform — he can carry off a leather bomber jacket even at 71” Martel

By their offices ye shall know them

• McCain's office oozes comfy clutter and informality: random piles of books, a fortune-cookie message taped to the desk, an abundance of tchotchkes and bric-a-brac.
• Obama's office feels more like a gallery of modern art: precisely placed objects, sparsely adorned surfaces, clean lines, choreographed displays.
• Both offices show their occupants' sentimental streak
• McCain has a picture of his favorite high school teacher, and a 1904 Navy register that lists his grandfather as a midshipman.
• Obama has a photo of the cliff in Hawaii where his mother's ashes were scattered into the Pacific, and a tiger-beating stick from his grandmother's village in Kenya.

Campaign Events

• Obama’s events are multi-cultural extravaganzas
• McCain’s are almost entirely white
• Obama draws crowds of all ages
• McCain’s crowd trends older
• Obama’s crowds are often huge
• McCain’s are more intimate
• The name, the skin color, the cosmopolitan upbringing give Obama the aura of otherness Patriotic themes dominate at McCain events

On Conflict

• McCain comes from a mindset of the past where war is an acceptable substitution for diplomacy when opposing parties become entrenched in their positions
• “You’re either for us or against us”
• leans toward the old mindset of shooting first and asking questions later
• “McCain's insistence on "winning in Iraq," remaining there "until Iraq is secure," and "bomb-bomb-bombing Iran" reveal the same mindset that made General Power so dangerous” Gen. Thomas Power - Cold War head of the Strategic Air Command
• McCain can see no alternative to military victory, no matter what the cost
• McCain began publicly urging the United States to overthrow Saddam Hussein as early as 1997

Election 08 trivia bites – Campaign Vs policy

The lack of media balance in this campaign is evident on a number of levels, none more than focus on personality and gossip over policy and ideas about America’s future. The country, like the rest of the world, is faced with potentially catastrophic economic and climate issues, but personality and entertainment rule the day.

The approach seems to suit John McCain, who prefers to create policy on the trot. It’s far more difficult for Obama who is forced to water down his policy messages in the face of a seemingly uninterested electorate.

Previous: Coulter and Huffington

The candidates, presumably

The Patriot Game

The Middle East

It's the economy, stupid

Campaign about Campaign...

Methodology

A Google news search using the separate search terms Obama, McCain and US election 08, with 30 results called for each query. (Aug 6 08)

Content judged on balance between policy discussion and campaign gossip.

Classifications are, at times, subjective but based primarily on the level of policy discussion in an article as opposed to campaigning chatter and gossip.

Results overview

A clear 3:1 ratio in favour of gossip.

Not surprisingly, given a one day scan, 9 of the 14 policy articles featured just one policy – energy.

Sadly only six of the articles even approaches straight reporting, the rest essentially commentary.

The article list:

Campaign

1. Energy is the hot topic on the campaign trail this week.
2. Hillary Clinton to campaign for Obama in Florida
3. Obama leads McCain nationally in AP-Ipsos poll
4. TPM: another point in common between John McCain and George Bush
5. Today on the presidential campaign trail
6. Election 2008: "Czechoslovakia"
7. Will the High Road Work for Obama?
8. McCain in Michigan
9. Pelosi keeps Hillary’s VP embers glowing
10. More energy back and forth
11. Obama returning to Minneapolis on Wednesday for fundraiser
12. The Audacity of Contempt
13. Man heckles Obama about Pledge of Allegiance
14. John McCain's Greatest Misses
15. Wishful Thinking and Deadly Self-Deception
16. At last a poll that includes Cynthia McKinney
17. Obama Abroad
18. What We Need To See More Of From Obama
19. Media Fall for 'Race Card' Spin
20. Reading his clips
21. Paging Dr. Gingrich! (Please Phone Home)
22. Mock, disparage, ridicule, distort.
23. Black reporter booted from McCain rally
24. The Montauk Monster has been kidnapped. Maybe.
25. McCain offers hugs, words of comfort to serviceman’s mom
26. Cheney not expected to attend GOP convention
27. Obama praises his woulda-been attacker
28. Obama and McCain: The Wrinkly Issue of Age
29. Obama on McCain mocking him for call to inflate tires: "They need ...
30. A Preview of McCain’s Acceptance Speech
31. Barack Backer Plays Dodgeball Over Obama Vote for Bush Energy Bill
32. Fred Thompson
33. Sen. Joe Lieberman to host Palm Beach town hall meeting
34. What, St. Paul worry?
35. Obama Pressed to Pledge; Obama Laughs at Pressure Gauge Attacks
36. Who's the real Obama?
37. He's not that mad
38. Premiere Latino Public Television Network in US Reveals ...
39. Report card the last before spring ‘09 election
40. Political Punch
41. McCain has comfortable lead in Arizona
42. IGNORANCE IS BLISS.

Policy

1. McCain pushes for more nuclear plants
2. Nuclear waste disposal will cost US $96B
3. Supreme Court, Abortion in the Balance: Obama and McCain Split on ...
4. Energy compromise offers test for Obama, McCain
5. We Don't Need a War on Terrorism
6. McCain touts nuclear power in Fermi tour
7. Is One Automaker Default Almost a Sure Thing?
8. Presidential Candidates talk energy
9. McCain Energized on Energy
10. Obama's energy plan heavy on clean tech
11. Obama's energy plan,
12. Obama calls for ending reliance on foreign oil
13. Business fears election will boost labor
14. Obama's Plans Spell Economic Doom

I will comment on this one…

Note that McCain has never really budged in the national polls by more than a point here or a point there. But personality campaigning is the only real lever McCain’s team have in this race.

“Obama was knocked flat by McCain’s negative jabs very easily late last month, a sign that the minimal percentage of voters who had migrated to Obama over most of June and July were hardly on the bandwagon for good and still harbored doubts about him as a candidate and as a person.” Obama reclaiming lead in new polls

Using the same methodology as news, the blogs throw up an even stronger emphasis on personality over policy – try 2 out of sixty policy articles. Given the nature of blogging I would have expected a little more discussion on policies. For my part, demonstrably this series is basically campaign chatter, but I do balance that with more focused policy discussion, which also tend to drive more discussion.

It’s a different story for the media, for them it is a business driven by readership numbers. But in a campaign drawing more voter interest than any other race in generations the media are missing their mark. That is not my conclusion but the reported inability of the media to find the mark.

“…many media companies are struggling to translate campaign coverage into repeat readers and viewers — or revenue.”

“…broadcast networks’ evening newscasts — the traditional standard-bearers of television news — have been unable to stop their long-term ratings declines”

“The audience for newspaper Web sites rose sharply this year, even as the printed papers continued to lose circulation”

Perhaps some sound, old fashioned reporting, in place of self important punditry. The blogs do that well enough, but most of us don’t have the resources for reporting.

Election 08 trivia bites – Campaign about Campaigning

The danger of living in the pressure cooker environment of a political campaigning is allowing the campaign itself to become the issue. Senator McCain has obviously fallen into that trap now, even to the degree of stylizing issues discussion as making issues political. Ummmm, sorry John, issues are political, campaigns are supposed to deal with issues. But enough from me, let’s hear some political snippets from the campaign about campaigning.

Previous: Coulter and Huffington

The candidates, presumably

The Patriot Game

The Middle East

It's the economy, stupid

In this campaign, it seems, McCain just can't catch a break.

a bit of bad luck does not make a trend - McCain senior aide Mark Salter

• "…these things go in cycles. Even in the course of this campaign there have been months where I am a genius and months where I am an idiot," Obama
• [McCain is] part of a Washington establishment that "has failed the American people on energy and that failure has led directly to our current crisis." Obama
• …a "hypocritical political attack," McCain
• "With all the breathless coverage from abroad, and with Senator Obama now addressing his speeches to ‘the people of the world,' I'm starting to feel a little left out. Maybe you are too." McCain
• “It is hard for me to understand Senator McCain’s argument. He was telling me I was supposed to take this trip. He suggested it and thought it was a good idea.” Obama standing in front of No. 10 Downing Street.
• Obama has complained that McCain is offering little of substance to voters and does little more than attack.
• "All those negative ads he's running won't do a thing to lower your gas prices or lift up the debate in this country" Obama
• "we're proud of that commercial." McCain

Britney Obama

The "celebrity" television ad showed spliced images of Ms. Spears and Ms. Hilton with video of Mr. Obama addressing 200,000 Germans in Berlin last week.

• "It celebrates the excitement that he has generated, that is certainly more akin to the excitement that a celebrity generates than a normal politician," McCain senior adviser
• "I admire his (Obama's) campaign, but what we are talking about here is substance and not style.”
• “And what we're talking about is who has an agenda for the future of America. Campaigns are tough, but I am proud of the campaign that we have run" McCain
• "You'd think we'd be having a serious debate but so far all we've been hearing about is Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.”
• “I do have to ask my opponent: Is that the best you can come up with?" Obama
• "So far all we've been hearing about is Paris Hilton"
• "I do have to ask my opponent: Is that the best you can do? Is that what this election is really all about? Is that worthy of the American people." Obama.
• If a certain heir to a hotel-based fortune is rethinking his support of John McCain, it will be understandable
• Hilton was so enthusiastic about his candidate of choice that federal records show he donated twice as much as the law allows (the campaign returned the excess)
• "I didn’t think McCain could look silly. But that ad diminishes him and makes him look silly.” Hollywood producer Norman Lear

Surprise! McCain is a white man

The McCain campaign is trying to shake up a race that currently favours Obama at a time when the U.S. economy is weak, the U.S. military is stretched fighting two wars, and the annual budget deficit is approaching a half trillion dollars.

• McCain Camp Says Obama Is ‘Playing the Race Card’
• The best way to play the race card sometimes is to accuse the other side of playing it.
• "Since they don’t have any new ideas, the only strategy they’ve got in this election is to try to scare you about me"
• "They’re going to try to say that I’m a risky guy. They’re going to try to say, 'Well, you know, he’s got a funny name and he doesn’t look like all the presidents on the dollar bills." Obama’s racist comment
• Some observers interpreted this as Obama "accus[ing] McCain of running a racist, xenophobic campaign."
• "Barack Obama has played the race card, and he played it from the bottom of the deck. It's divisive, negative, shameful and wrong," McCain campaign manager Rick Davis
• "disappointed that Senator Obama would say the things he’s saying.” McCain
• I asked myself. Did he call McCain "Whitey McWhiteguy"? Andrew Romano Newsweek
• “I’m very disappointed and race will not have any role in my campaign”
• “It’s very clear what his comments imply–anyone who looks at those and previous comments that he has made. I think it’s very clear that he has. I’m very disappointed and I repeat it wont be part of our campaign” McCain introducing race to the campaign
• “a desperate attempt to salvage a desperate campaign” Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison
• “It’s ridiculous, it’s offensive and you have to wonder if there is a double motive for it”
• “The McCain campaign can’t get any traction…So what do you do? You attack the other guy.” Democratic Rep. Artur Davis
• “Barack Obama in no way believes that the McCain campaign is using races as an issue, but he does believe they’re using the same old low-road politics to distract voters from the real issues in this campaign.” Gibbs

The Post-Hummer Economy

• Barack Obama today called for reform of the nation's energy economy
• accusing President Bush of "letting the oil companies write his oil policy"
  "It's too important for us to be doing business as usual" Obama
• "When George Bush came into office he put Dick Cheney in charge of energy policy. . . . We cannot afford four more years."
• “It's time we had an energy policy that works for you”
• McCain Camp Sees Energy As Winning Issue
• If you're looking for someone to blame for high gas prices, John McCain's campaign is happy to help.
• A new television ad, "Pump," that directly blames Barack Obama for rising gas prices.
• "Who can you thank for rising prices at the pump?," she asks - after which a photo of Obama appears onscreen.
• "No to independence from foreign oil," the announcer continues. "Who can you thank for rising prices at the pump?"
• chants of "Obama, Obama" can be heard in the background
• "Don't hope for more energy, vote for it. McCain."
• Candidates in a panic run panic ads
• McCain blaming Obama for gas prices represents "the same old politics."
• "This is the first time the Republicans have felt upbeat and optimistic about a major issue in a long time"
• The American people appear to be moving in McCain's direction on the issue
• six-in-ten voters favor McCain's offshore drilling proposal
• Obama's energy plan "would force the oil companies to drill in the areas they’ve already leased…”
• provide every American family with an immediate energy rebate and a middle-class tax cut worth $1,000,
• invest $150 billion in renewable sources of energy that will create 5 million jobs and replace the oil we import from the Middle East by 2025

Campaign advertising

Three months before Election Day, John McCain's stepped up aggression begs the question: Will voters vote for the scold?

• "The campaign is making him seem angrier than he is and therefore it's a disservice to him" John Weaver, McCain's former senior strategist
• Angry candidates don't win elections. Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton won by running as sunny optimists
• McCain wants the presidential campaign to be about Barack Obama — that's why he talks about him so much
• there is no centralized message
• This careening from message to message makes them look like they don't have one specific thing they want to say about this guy
• "It's a leap, electing a 46-year-old black guy named Barack Obama"
• more than 90 percent of the ads aired by Obama did not mention McCain
• [Ads are] blaming Obama for high gas prices
• Obama and McCain are airing more TV advertisements in more media markets than their counterparts did during the 2004 election campaign
• More Than $50 Million Spent On Campaign Ads In Two Months
• McCain has run a higher percentage of negative ads
• about a third of his ads have been negative, compared to about 1 in 10 for Obama
• Every RNC spot has been negative
• Obama is airing ads in 37 markets where McCain has not aired a single ad
• McCain is advertising in only two markets where Obama is not
• An Obama viral video from rapper will.i.am that was viewed more than 8 million times on YouTube
• McCain’s most famous viral music video is a clip of him jokingly singing “Bomb Iran

Election 08 trivia bites – It's the economy, stupid

I’ve been boring the world for years with my assertion that elections are decided on the basis of the economy. Commentators are actually agreeing this time around, people are hurting and they are looking for answers. No answers here, just the usual out-takes and sound bites from the campaign noise.

Previous: Coulter and Huffington

The candidates, presumably

The Patriot Game

The Middle East

…this election is about the sputtering economy - Northwest Florida Daily News

"Flat is the new up."

Expectations that the current US economic downturn will be shallow are diminishing

Everyone from CEOs to policymakers to ordinary investors and depositors are grappling with the question: How bad is this crisis? How bad could it get?

"It's that uncertainty, I think, that is generating a lot of the stress … that we're seeing," Ben Bernanke

The world's biggest economy has become the world's bigger debtor nation, the country with the largest trade deficit, the largest oil deficit, and an annual fiscal deficit that U.S. political institutions cannot seem to master.

…

Everywhere Americans turn they see red ink

• Their housing market is a flood of debt.
• Their lending institutions, or at least some of them, are drowning in debt, with the Federal Reserve trying to rescue them.
• Personal debt is high; the national debt is enormous
• Incomes have been rising in the U.S., but largely at or near the top of the income scale
• Americans continue to spend more than they produce, import more than they export and, through their government, spend more than they tax
• A $53 trillion hole will deepen by $2 trillion to $3 trillion a year
• the drop in equities has wiped out $2.5-trillion of household wealth

Neither Democrat Barack Obama nor Republican John McCain has a credible plan for balancing the budget

Although presidents going back to Jimmy Carter have episodically lamented dependence on foreign oil, none has done anything significant to change it

Voters say they lean slightly in favor of Democrat Barack Obama on the economy, 43% to McCain’s 41%

When asked which issues factored most heavily in their decision-making process, the majority of respondents (64 percent) ranked the economy as their top concern R&L

The President

• "I have great confidence that our economy will pull through this difficult period, because I have great confidence in the boundless, innovative spirit of the American people"
• "With sound policies in Washington and the ingenuity of our citizens, our economy will emerge from this period stronger and better than before" GW Bush

McCain

• “I’ve been holding town hall meetings to talk over the subject on most everyone’s minds these days – our slowing economy.”
• “Very soon, we’re going to get this economy running again at full strength”
• “In an economic downturn, the worst of all ideas is to raise taxes. And Senator Obama will do just that”
• “I would imagine” we are in a recession”
• “Our dangerous dependence on foreign oil has been 30 years in the making, and was caused by the failure of politicians in Washington to think long-term about the future of the country"

About

• It became very obvious that John McCain has a very specific plan for simultaneously revitalizing the economy, lowering gas prices and creating a national energy program that would free us from foreign oil independence. Vail Daily
• McCain once again sought to counter the impression that he was not as strong as Obama on the economy...
• McCain is using the time to shore up his perceived weaknesses -- on the economy and in fundraising
• McCain is seeking to bolster his appeal to voters on economic issues

Phil Gramm

• "You've heard of mental depression;. this is a mental recession... We may have a recession, we haven't had one yet...
• …has obviously spent too much time out of office and in the private sector, because this week he committed the ultimate political crime. He told the truth…
• Phil Gramm is off to the political gulag for the ultimate crime of the election season - telling the truth
• Most of those attempting to use Gramm's comments against McCain are using the comments out of context
• The media wouldn't want to get bogged down in the facts of the issue, because that would interfere with their efforts to promote the "mental recession" which Gramm talks about
• Gramm still collects salary from his directorship at UBS AG, where his guidance helped the giant Swiss lender to become the world's largest loser in the U.S. subprime debacle
• 'Whiners' advisor resigns from McCain campaign

Obama

• "If you are satisfied with the way things are going now, then you should vote for John McCain"
• "Let's be clear. This economic downturn is not in your head. It isn't whining to ask government to step in and give families some relief!"
• “I have little doubt that we’ve moved into recession at this point”
• “The sooner we can get money to people’s pockets, the sooner we can stabilize..”
• The government and society as a whole has an obligation to deal with poverty
• “There are issues related to the short-term liquidity when they borrow money versus issues related to whether the underlying assets of the two corporations are really unsound.”

About

• voters seem to feel better about Obama on the economy, but they don’t seem to know why
• Obama has questioned the rationale for pursuing the Doha round, even hinting he could try to unpick existing agreements, including the North American Free Trade Association with Canada and Mexico
• Obama is “extraordinarily naïve” on foreign policy and the economy - Mitt Romney
• Obama's main solution to the looming Social Security bankruptcy is to raise taxes on the well-off
• Obama, if he is indeed the next president, will have to move quickly and forcefully to address America's economic discontent
• Obama has veered to the center with his economic message

Obama's economic policy director Jason Furman

“Jason is at the core, and he’s tasked with bringing in different perspectives”

main objective is “to make the economy grow and have the middle class share in that growth”

Obama is offering a complex and aggressive set of proposals to cure the economy. Among them, he would push for tax breaks for middle-class families paid for by tax hikes on the wealthy

McCain has pledged to balance America’s books within four years of taking office

Furman described the pledge as preposterous, pointing out that the deficit was projected to grow to $443 billion by 2013 if Bush’s tax cuts… are extended

Election 08 trivia bites – The Middle East

I guess we’ll be looking at two sides of this issue, the before and after of Obama’s grand tour. Just Iraq and Iran here and the comments devoid of context. This is the before part of the unfolding drama, the sound bites tossed casually like a handful of sand.

Previous: Coulter and Huffington
The candidates, presumably
The Patriot Game

The United States and Iraq have agreed to set a “general time horizon” for the “further reduction of U.S. combat forces in Iraq” following the improvement in security conditions in the country, the White House said… NYT

“We have one president at a time, so I’m not going to be traveling to negotiate anything or make promises” Obama

“And if we still adopt Sen. Obama's proposal for a set date for withdrawal, this very fragile success that we have achieved will be jeopardized”
"We are winning" McCain

“John McCain has been in Congress 25 years — no doubt about that — if this is a longevity measure, then John McCain wins”
“On the other hand, before we went into Iraq, I knew the difference between Shia and Sunni.” Obama

"Senator Obama was wrong when he said it wouldn't succeed, he was wrong when he said we've lost the war and he is wrong today when he says that Iraq is not the central battleground" McCain

Obama

Obama is proposing that the United States deploy about 10,000 more troops to battle resurgent forces in Afghanistan

• “As president, I would pursue a new strategy, and begin by providing at least two additional combat brigades to support our effort in Afghanistan”
• “We need more troops, more helicopters, better intelligence-gathering and more nonmilitary assistance to accomplish the mission there.”
• Obama, who is among those who maintain that Afghanistan has been neglected because of the administration’s Iraq policy, has not previously offered such a specific plan for how to strengthen troop levels in Afghanistan.
• “It’s very hard for us to bolster our forces in Afghanistan when we have such a heavy presence in Iraq.”
• “I continue to believe that we’re under-resourced in Afghanistan,”
• “That is the real center for terrorist activity that we have to deal with and deal with aggressively.”

McCain

• Obama "will never change course on Iraq, no matter the facts on the ground"
• "I know how to win wars. I know how to win wars"
• McCain, a Vietnam War hero, has attacked Obama as too inexperienced to serve as U.S. commander in chief.
• And if we still adopt Sen. Obama's proposal for a set date for withdrawal, this very fragile success that we have achieved will be jeopardized”
• “That's what Gen. Petraeus says, and that's what Osama bin Laden says"
• 'HE WAS WRONG'
• "Senator Obama was wrong when he said it wouldn't succeed, he was wrong when he said we've lost the war and he is wrong today when he says that Iraq is not the central battleground"
• “If Barack Obama believes that visiting Iraq and meeting with commanders will not give him any new perspective, then we can only assume he’s going just to smile for the cameras” Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for McCain.
• "But the major point here is that Senator Obama refuses to acknowledge that he was wrong"
• "If he has no intention of listening to what American commanders in Iraq have to say, or incorporating that information into his policy, why is he even going?"
• "If I'm elected President, I will turn around the war in Afghanistan, just as we have turned around the war in Iraq, with a comprehensive strategy for victory, I know how to do that"
• "He will land in a very different Baghdad than the one he would have landed in ... if we had done what he wanted to do"

McCain Ad

• "Barack Obama never held a single Senate hearing on Afghanistan"
• "He hasn't been to Iraq in years”
• “He voted against funding our troops. Positions that helped him win his nomination”
  
• “Now Obama is changing to help himself become president"

"The American forces will not withdraw whether Obama wins or not. If they withdraw, that would create a big vacuum and Iran would be the first to fill it." _ Ahmed Samih, Sunni official in Ministry of Higher Education in Baghdad.

Foreign Media

• Obama's Republican rival, Senator John McCain, has not matched Obama's seriousness on Iraq. He is still largely adopting Bush's blind defense of an unending conflict.
• Obama has a better grasp of the big picture, despite McCain's claim to more foreign policy experience.
• Obama said he would withdraw combat forces from Iraq by 2010, shift at least 10,000 more troops to Afghanistan that could be leveraged to persuade NATO allies to also increase their numbers, send more nonmilitary aid to Afghanistan and build a stronger
• After arguing that no additional forces were needed, McCain reversed course on Tuesday and endorsed sending 15,000 more troops to Afghanistan

International Herald Tribune (France)

Obama's foreign tour stands in marked contrast to John McCain's three recent foreign trips, where he was chased by just a handful of reporters

McCain responded to the news by drawing on Obama's paucity of foreign travel, suggesting that his rival should wait until after his visit to Afghanistan and Iraq before pronouncing on his war policies Telegraph (Britain)

• It was Obama, not Bush or McCain, who wanted a timetable for troop withdrawal, a notion also recently backed by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
• The "time horizon" agreement is less firm, but certainly more like the Obama/al-Maliki position than the GOP had previously taken. In that regard, the agreement has strong elements of a win for Obama
• al-Maliki never, to my knowledge, mentioned the surge's success as a reason he wanted a timetable
• press accounts show him mentioning a desire for full Iraqi sovereignty and resistance to administration demands on a status of force agreement Deutsche-Welle
  
  

Talks have sputtered over Baghdad's demands for a timetable for US troops to withdraw as well as Washington's demands that its soldiers and other staff be immune from Iraqi prosecution.

The US Air Force has sought millions of dollars in "war on terror" funds for "comfort capsules" so that the military brass can fly first class to war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan

The capsules, which are loaded into the bay of a military transport plane, come with a sofa, work space, two leather seats, a flat-screen TV, ports for a satellite phone and a separate module with two bunk beds and closets Gulf Daily (Bahrain)

Republican presidential candidate John McCain commented on Friday on the unannounced timing of a high-security trip by Barack Obama to Iraq, saying he believed his Democratic rival was going this weekend.
But McCain's spokesman said the Arizona senator knew nothing about Obama's schedule. EcoDiario (Spain)

They just keep coming:

McCain predicted a surge of militant attacks in Iraq around the time of the US election in November.
"I predict that they will make an attempt as we get in to the election season to make more of these spectacular kinds of attacks which they're still capable of doing”

"The Muslims have said either we kneel or they're going to kill us,"
"I don't intend to kneel and I don't advocate to anybody that we kneel, and John doesn't advocate to anybody that we kneel," former Vietnam prisoner of war Bud Day to Republican Party of Florida

"Mr Day's distorted view dismisses the vast majority of Muslims who stand with our nation to fight extremists and anti-American forces,"
"Senator McCain needs to make it clear that he does not support such a divisive position and that his campaign respects all Americans." Council on American-Islamic Relations

“Iraq PM backs Obama troop exit plan” White House clipping service

"Iraq will be in hell, and we will find ourselves at the gates of civil war" Maied Rashed al-Nuaemi, a provincial council member in Mosul

The U.S. presence in Iraq is useful now, but if the security situation gets better, I think it's not necessary to keep all these big numbers of soldiers here" Mosul's deputy governor Khasru Koraan

Election 08 trivia bites – The patriot game

With July 4th in the rear view mirror patriotism is still a puzzle for non-Americans; the Patriot Game is an odd sport. For most on the outside patriotism is generally considered the last refuge of a scoundrel. Perhaps it is so, but patriotism still plays heavy on the American psyche. So what is it? who does it? All in purloined and out of context quotes of course.

Previous: Coulter and Huffington

The Candidates, presumably

Patriotism

“The Real Meaning of American Patriotism”

• It is something considered worthy of emulation, which probably informed the decision by the creators of our 1979 Constitution to turn to America - Ochereome Nnanna Nigeria
  
• “Loving your country shouldn't just mean watching fireworks on the 4th of July"
• "Patriotism is deeper than its symbolic expressions, than sentiments about place and kinship that move us to hold our hands over our hearts during the national anthem"
• “…explicit connection between patriotism and not only service, but also civic responsibility”
• “…move beyond the notion that patriotism is somehow the dominant province of those who serve in the military” Michael A. Cohen
• Haven’t the last eight years taught us anything?
• we’re force-fed flag pins and chest-thumping about patriotism, questions about cookie recipes, designer suits and fist bumps
• True patriotism lies in protecting and helping fellow Americans Baltimore Sun
• "America: Love it or leave it"
• "Patriotism is someone who would put their life down for their country,"
• "Either literally, giving their life as a sacrifice for their country, or by putting down money, joining the military, volunteering somewhere."
• The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country
• “…an abiding belief in the inherent and enduring goodness of the American nation”
• “at the end of the day the patriotic American believes that America is fundamentally good as it is.” Jonah Goldberg
• Patriot Act - authority to strip away the liberties of Americans CapHillBlu
• the general public see you as a terrorist or a patriot
• What is patriotism? In something of an exercise in political nostalgia

Wannabe Patriot Obama

• Obama - “For me, as for most Americans, patriotism starts as a gut instinct, a loyalty and love for country rooted in my earliest memories.” And on the other: “When our laws, our leaders or our government are out of alignment with our ideals, then the dissent of ordinary Americans may prove to be one of the truest expression of patriotism.”
• What was missing? There was no mention in either writing about corporations or businesses.
• From my basic learnings, even from elementary government classes, was the concept of our forefathers that corporations were actually “individual” Americans, and that our laws are written based on that concept. Bill Depew, president Rural Broadcasting Service
• Obama can bridge America’s patriotic divide by demanding of Americans the sacrifice that has been lacking not just for the last eight years, but indeed for much longer… Michael A. Cohen
• Obama is now as patriotic as the electorate wants him to be
• every speech he makes, he is now flanked by several American flags. Just in case anyone thinks he isn’t patriotic
• Obama claims he is a "progressive." Bullshit. He's about as progressive as Pat Robertson
• Perhaps it is because the Democrat candidate, Barack Obama, is surrounded by so many people who so clearly hate this nation and all it stands for… John Howard

Presumptive Patriot McCain

Given everyone seems to presume McCain’s patriotism, as Americans seethe term, this list is far shorter.

• John McCain isn't a scoundrel, but in a presidential race in which he now trails Barack Obama, patriotism is shaping up as his last refuge.
• It's hard to remember a time when the Republicans didn't own the patriotism issue.
• “I think John McCain is going to make sure that America stays America.” Gov. Mitt Romney

As an aside – The Election to test the value of military service

• Americans respect military service and connect it to patriotism
• Consider some findings from the nonpartisan Pew Research Center:
• Americans' low esteem for the federal government doesn't extend to the military.
• A May survey found support for the federal government the lowest in at least a decade
• 37%
• with President George W. Bush's favorability at only 27%. But the survey indicated a favorability rating of 84% for the military.
• In a February 2007 survey, military service topped a list of presidential-candidate traits that would make Americans more likely to support someone.
• About 48% said they would be more likely to support a candidate with military service
• 3% said they'd be less likely to do so.

Respondents to an April survey were asked which traits described various candidates.

• Ninety percent thought the word "patriotic" described McCain
• 61% thought it fit Obama. Seventy-one percent said "tough" fit McCain
• only 49% applied it to Obama
• Obama did better with "inspiring," 66% to 39% for McCain.
• More than twice as many U.S. presidents have had military experience as haven't.
  
  Bill Clinton didn't serve, and he defeated Republican combat veterans in 1992 and 1996. Both his victories came in peacetime

Election 08 trivia bites The candidates, presumably

Presumably these guys, Senators McCain and Obama, will be the major candidates if they don’t get hit by a bus or swallow their foot before the party conventions. Our second list is a general overview of the candidates – a series of out-takes and out of context comments. Bits from them and bits about them.

Previous: Coulter and Huffington

“I don't think Obama's qualified and McCain's another Bush…” James Nauman, 55, from Lutz, Fla

From Obama

• I am someone who is no doubt progressive
• I believe in a whole lot of things that make me progressive and put me squarely in the Democratic camp
• On gun control; the Second Amendment protects the individual right to bear arms. “That doesn’t mean that I don’t think we need decent controls”
• “Those two positions are not contradictory.”
• “When I hear John McCain saying we can’t surrender, we can’t wave the white flag, no one is talking about surrender.”
• “I agree that immigrants should learn English”
• “You should be thinking about how can your child become bilingual”
• “When I see Mexican flags waved at pro-immigration demonstrations, I sometimes feel a flush of patriotic resentment.”
• “When I’m forced to use a translator to communicate with the guy fixing my car, I feel a certain frustration.”
• "We have failed to seriously go after al-Qaeda over the last five years because of the distraction of Iraq.”
• "I think we are now seeing the consequences of that in Afghanistan."

About Obama

• now supports broader authority for the government's eavesdropping program and legal immunity for telecommunications companies that participated in it, supporting the bill after some protections were added
• became the first major-party candidate to reject public financing for the general election after earlier promises to accept it
• promised to expand Bush's program to give more anti-poverty grants to religious groups
• objected to the Supreme Court's decision outlawing the death penalty for child rapists
• support for the death penalty if used only for the "most egregious" crimes
• also said "mental distress" should not count as a health exception that would permit a late-term abortion
• "Senator Barack has been, um, talking down to black people on this faith based...I wanna cut his nuts off," Jackson said. The Reverend Jesse Jackson
• "There appears to be no issue that Barack Obama is not willing to reverse himself on for the sake of political expedience," said Alex Conant, a spokesman for the national Republican Party
• "Obama was labeled as more to the left than he probably is"

From McCain

• "economy-is-not-my-strong-suit"
• "To have two tax codes in America is not an unacceptable situation"
• "I've got Greenspan's book"
• “I count myself as a conservative Republican, yet I view it to a large degree in the Theodore Roosevelt mold”
• “Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today”
• “… that’s a disgrace. It’s an absolute disgrace, and it’s got to be fixed.”
• "I will not play election-year politics with the housing crisis"
• "We must also understand that there are 12 million people who are here, and they're here illegally and they are God's children"
• "Senator Obama went on at great length about how much he cares about women's issues. I believe him"
• “I think that we’ve proven that both parents are important in the success of a family so, no, I don’t believe in gay adoption”
• "We can now look ahead to the genuine prospect of success."
• "I cannot imagine why he would say it. It's not true"
• "I'm John McCain, and I approve this message."

About McCain

• But then the wheels fell off the Straight Talk Express
• "There is real concern that McCain hasn't found his genuine voice"
• “…they never know which John McCain will show up on a given day”
• expressed support for offshore oil drilling to increase domestic supply
• then confounded them by refusing to endorse oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska
• "… doesn't have the conservative vote really locked up, but he is already moving toward the centre on lots of issues"
• "One day he'll say something that's appealing to conservatives, and the next day he'll say something that's appealing to moderates"
• his campaign has staged events before older, unenthusiastic crowds
• "We have been declared dead many times. I think I'll be the underdog right up until a minute before the polls close in California."
• "It's definitely not time for Republicans to push the panic button"

Election 08 trivia bites - Coulter and Huffington

Now that Jesse Jackson has bought the sound bite into play it must be time to grab hold of those quick grab’s – Election 08 trivia bites.

The media can’t decide if it was off or out; balls or nuts and Jackson says he didn’t know the mic was on, and it was out of context.

While most of the trivia bites in this series have unambiguous meaning, they are still no doubt out of context, that is the fun of trivia. But we don’t want to lose these gems.

So let’s lead off with the undisputed queens of campaign commentary - Ann Coulter and her nemesis Arianna Huffington :

Coulter lists

The Ann Coulter hate List

• Moderate Republicans like McCain (in the world of moderate Republicans an environmental event qualifies as a religious observance.)
• McCain has ostentatiously attacked every issue of importance to conservatives and embraced every crackpot liberal idea.
• The left's has a plan to exterminate the human race, called "global warming."
• Not being ignorant "centrists," we know what a world-class disaster B. Hussein Obama will be.
• "centrists" These are people who have no opinions because they know nothing about national issues.
• "centrists" the ones who check the "not sure/no opinion" box on polls regarding the legalization of cannibalism
• Words mean nothing to liberals
• Hillary has won the popular vote in a Democratic primary, while Obambi has won under the rules
• Hillary's more of a man than Gore ever was
• Liberals seem to imagine the Constitution is a treatise on gay marriage
• Americans have no constitutional right to vote for president, at all
• According to five liberals on the Supreme Court, you do have a right to sodomy and abortion!

John McCain hate list according to Coulter.

• the Christians (Jerry Falwell an "agent of intolerance.")
• the conservatives
• the Swift Boat Veterans ("dishonest and dishonorable.")
• the gun-and-God clingers
• the fanatical pro-lifers

Arianna Huffington

Quotes about AH

The highly opinionated voice behind The Huffington Post…

a clearinghouse of mostly worthless opinions, many of them from Hollywood

• Townhall's Chuck DeFeo, on stage, rightly calls this out as a return to the worst of old media's Voice of God - Except this time, more overtly in service of a partisan agenda
• Arianna's emphasis on defining The Truth underscores a leftist modus operandi: control the information flow
• While conservatives scramble to control the downstream opinion flow, Huffington has a larger vision of her media empire as a source of pseudo-objective news
• The left has long understood that to control the media is to control the first draft of history
• "the most upwardly mobile Greek since Icarus,"
• "an intellectual lap dancer,"
• "only interested in power and money,"
• “She wants to overthrow the government”

AH quotes

• Iraq is an unmitigated disaster is an objective Truth and the media should never consider reporting on it as anything but
• … voters have a choice between "the pro-life corporation party and the pro-choice corporation party"
• "America is a fast-ticking time bomb . . .
• American politics is becoming a sewer . . .
• How long will it be before the field is filled with only psychopaths - candidates immune to the cost, to their families and themselves, of round-the-clock sleaze and slander?
• The media - "whether it's due to lethargy or lechery, reporters are more and more frequently choosing the salacious over the significant, the expedient over the essential"
• …the Obama campaign is making a very serious mistake. Tacking to the center is a losing strategy.
• Watering down that brand is the political equivalent of New Coke. Call it Obama Zero.
• Throughout the primary, Obama referred to himself as an "unlikely candidate." Which he certainly was -- and still is.
• So why start playing to the political fence sitters -- staking out newly nuanced positions on FISA, gun control laws, expansion of the death penalty, and NAFTA?
  
  Quotes in AH articles
• "The Republican Party is a dead rotting carcass with a few decrepit old leaders stumbling around like zombies in a horror version of Weekend With Bernie [sic], handcuffed to a corpse."
• "If we [Republicans] were dog food, they would take us off the shelf."