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| 5/24 |
| 2008/8/21-26 [Politics/Domestic/Election] UID:50928 Activity:moderate |
8/21 What's the big deal with arugula anyway? When did this become a
talking point? I like arugula.
\_ Please give more context, thanks.
\_ Apparently the McCain campaign keeps bringing this up.
\_ if this election is won or lost on whether McCain can convince
Americans that Obama is a weird arugula
eating motherfucker, I am going to be really pissed off.
\_ I haven't seen it recently except in jokes, because the
Obama quote is pretty funny. -!pp
\_ URL? I don't watch TV and the argula eating staff of
the New York Times hasn't mentioned it yet.
\_ http://csua.org/u/m5d (NYTimes blog)
\_ I am a freak and read the paper version.
\_ The NY Times blog is dumb. You can get arugula at freakin
Wal-Mart.
\_ McCain spokesman goes ape: http://tinyurl.com/6p69fp
\_ الله أَكْ!
\_ Hahaha, McCain doesn't even know how many houses he
owns and apparently neither does his campaign. Such
a "man of the people" indeed!
\_ Turns out, he owns zero. Cindy and related trusts
own eight properties.
\_ Arizona is a community property state, therefore
if she owns them, he owns them.
\_ Only if she bought them while they were
married. Not if she owned them prior to the
marriage or with funds that are clearly not
comingled with his in any manner.
\_ saying The Cindy/John McCain trusts own
their property and the McCains is a complete
cop-out, and you know it.
\_ Like I said, McCain Corp doesn't even know
how many houses he owns.
\_ You mean like how the GOP made fun of Kerry
for "owning" four homes with his wife and
how he was called a "Gigolo" with a "sugar
daddy wife." Kind of like McCain is. |
| 5/24 |
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| csua.org/u/m5d -> thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/07/27/obamas-down-on-the-farm/ Jeff Zeleny Barack Obama ADEL, Iowa - In the wide field of Democratic presidential candidates, Senator Barack Obama is the only one who represents the nation's heartland. Illinois ranks fifth in overall agricultural output, producing more corn, soybeans and hogs than most states in America. That, of course, does not make Mr Obama a farming expert. He said so himself, moments after arriving here this afternoon on the Van Fossen Farm, where he stood between a tasseling corn field and a soybean field with leaves slowly rippling in the breeze. "Although there are an awful lot of farms in Illinois, in the neighborhood where I live, the main livestock is squirrels," said Mr Obama, who lives on Chicago's South Side. "So I don't pretend to know everything there is to know about agricultural issues." So the Obama campaign convened a Rural Issues Forum outside this central Iowa town, about 30 minutes from Des Moines. For more than an hour, he took questions about a smattering of issues. When the conversation veered away from farming - as it often did - Mr Obama sought to steer it back to agriculture policy. In case you're wondering, yes, Mr Obama did reprise the ongoing exchange he has been having with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton over whether they would agree to meet with foreign leaders. Weaving it in a larger message of change, he said: "Some of you noticed that this week I got into a debate with one of my colleagues who is also running for the presidency. The debate was about whether or not we talk to world leaders even when you don't like them. My theory is you do and you do it without preconditions." And the conversation returned to food and farms, including a question from one man at the back of the crowd who extended an offer to Mr Obama. "You can come and help me load hogs in the morning," he said. "You can tell that I'm dressed for it," replied Mr Obama, casually dressed in slacks and a pressed shirt. One line that landed a little flat, though, was when Mr Obama sympathetically noted that farmers have not seen an increase in prices for their crops, despite a rise in prices at the supermarket. "Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and see what they charge for arugula?" "I mean, they're charging a lot of money for this stuff." The state of Iowa, for all of its vast food production, does not have a Whole Foods, a leading natural and organic foods market. Mr Obama, perhaps sensing a lack of reaction from the crowd, moved along to the next topic. Link It's an interesting point about the price of arugula. One of the problems Iowa farmers face is a dependence on monocrop agriculture -- corn, corn, corn. It is a flipside of the problem that many urban neighborhoods face: bodies sculpted by corn syrup, corn syrup, corn syrup. We'd be better off as a nation if Iowa farmers were paying attention to the price of Arugula (or apples) in Chicago. Link I find Obama much more humble than Clinton and Edwards. I think he'll do well in Iowa when they get to meet him and his wife. He'll be fine and he's starting to fight to stop the Oil War, a very good thing for Iraqis and his election. Link Hillary excudes the confidence that a president should. She repesents my state in the Senate, and the "experts" said she could not win. I would never chararterize Obama as humble Arrogant, yes. Link "Perhaps" Obama sensed a reaction from the crowd, or perhaps there was another topic he wanted to discuss. Please don't assume that a farmer in Iowa doesn't know about the existence of Whole Foods. Farmers sell their produce arund the country and around the world. Obama pointed out a great irony, that in chic high-end supermarkets, prices for produce are hugely inflated but the farmers who provide the produce are getting no more than they always have. He could've used a more commonly known supermarket name, but "perhaps" his point was it's an irony that people who can still afford such expensive produce don't have a clue that farmers are not profiting from the price increases. On the negotiations with other countries, Obama put the argument to rest quite handily. Putting preconditions on meeting is a way of making sure there is no meeting. With Obama, we only have to wait until 2009 for negotiations to finally begin; I prefer we start negotiations in 2009, before we have another N Korea-type grandstand (remember the missile tests? Link When people get to know and work with Hillary, they do not find her commendable. Check the new Bernstein biography and you will find this to be so with ample corroboration. She failed with her health plan precisely because she was unable to work with others because of her tin ear. OBAMA is a breathe of fresh air, a new broom to sweep Clinton and all the other professional politicians and moneyed lobbyists out of Washington. OBAMA is not divisive and Hillary is and she will not be able to accomplish anything for the good of the poor and working classes. She is too beholden to the money changers in Manhattan and the health industry. He is trying to spin his way out of ignornance of foreign policy. He really keeps a chip on his shoulder for being so stupid. Hillary is right to set precondititons when dealing with enemy nations. Obama is saying world leaders to make it seem that Hillary was talking about every nation. It is virtually impossible for him to get the nomination, and he could never win the general election. When America goes to the polls, the liberals will be coming to terms with reality. I don't think Hillary Clinton will wear well with voters. I think that happened somewhere around when she was whining about how the Pentagon launched a political attack against her... Link Obama's has now resorted to spewing venom from a cornfield. He is holding such a grudge, and the grudge should be against himself. He is exhibiting many of the very distateful traits of Bush. It is early in the campaign, and he is already sounding like a sore loser. When things really get going, it will be interesting to see how he reacts. Post#5--The breath of fresh air has worn so stale that it is now stale hot air. A breath of fresh air means that he has no solid agenda. It is an empty to slogan to attempt to fill a non-existant agenda. All Obama has shown me is that he is a vengeful person even when he is at fault. He should study foreign policy, and he should not lie about somone else's record or words. The Obama cheerleaders can cheer all they like, but he cannot win. That stark fact is something the liberals do not like to read or hear. Link It's very interesting to see how different people view our Democratic candidates. I watched the debate on Monday night, and was struck by the fact that the question was no one where there should have been an obvious difference between the big 3 All three have said that Bush's diplomatic strategy with hostile nations is too closed-minded, and frankly detrimental, to our nations security, because it will never instigate conversation. The big three all think we need to enter into a conversation with these leaders, and none of them would have foreign policy advisors in their administrations advocate discussions set on their terms. I think it's clear that Hillary, speaking second, took the opportunity to make a nuanced counter-argument that was implied by the question, which ended "to bridge the divde that has formed between the US and these nations." Preconditions can be taken a number of ways, depending upon the type of conditions and who's setting them. I personally found Hillary's response to be calculating, with the intention of trying to make Barack looked inexperienced when Barack's answer, in a debate with a timed response, was merely trying to make the point that entering into a discussion with these people is worth the "risk" because what we're doing right now isn't working. at the same time, neither campaign wants to look weak on Foreign Policy, so one attack has only spurred another counter-attack. From all I've read, Hillary's camp struck first, and has since been trying to call Barack out for "leaving the politics of hope." Again, I find this somewhat calculating, but then again so is Barack's statement, "w... |
| tinyurl.com/6p69fp -> voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/21/mccain_spokesmans_retort_obama.html Behind the Numbers John McCain McCain Spokesman's Retort: Obama Lives in "a Frickin' Mansion" By Michael D Shear SEDONA, Ariz. John McCain vowed to retaliate against today's story about how many houses the GOP candidate owns with a renewed focus on Sen. Barack Obama's ties to a Chicago developer and charges that Obama is an elitist. "We're delighted to have a real estate debate with Barack Obama," said spokesman Brian Rogers, adding that the press should focus on Obama's house. You have a mansion you bought in a shady deal with a convicted felon." The felon reference was to Tony Rezko, a former Obama friend and financial backer who was convicted on fraud and bribery charges this year. Rogers vowed to intensify efforts to link Obama to Rezko in the coming days. "You are going to see more of that now that this issue has been joined. The McCain campaign was in full damage-control mode as the housing story took off today. Rogers tried to play down the story, saying that reports of the many McCain houses were overstated. "The reality is they have some investment properties and stuff. "The reality is they have four that actually could be considered houses they could use." Those four include an apartment in Arlington, a ranch in Sedona, and two condos, in California and Phoenix, he said. The others include "some investment properties and things like that." He also added: "This is a guy who lived in one house for five and a half years -- in prison," referring to the prisoner of war camp that McCain was in during the Vietnam War. Rogers called the house story "by far the most personal attack" of the campaign, and said "it comes from a candidate who said he was against this kind of thing." He predicted that the story would not "stick" with the American people. "In terms of who's an elitist, I think people have made a judgment that John McCain is not an arugula-eating, pointy headed professor-type based on his life story." Add The Trail to Your Site Be the first to know when there's a new installment of The Trail. This widget is easy to add to your Web site, and it will update every time there's a new entry on The Trail. you summarize an important issue, I applaud your record keeping! po' babies Posted by: mark | August 21, 2008 3:15 PM Yes, but at least Obama remembers that he lives in ONE. Finally, McCain is being exposed as the out of tough opportunist he has always been. Maverick may have been a brand but behind it is just pure sales hogwash. Posted by: MAS | August 21, 2008 3:15 PM How often can McCain's spokesman get away with using the "He was a POW" excuse? It has already been used to excuse McCain not being in the Cone of Silence, his houses and his cheating on his first wife. Posted by: Drew | August 21, 2008 3:15 PM Why isn't anyone moderating these posts? Death threats to a US Presidential nominee like this are being tolerated? Didn't someone post something threating about Obama and get thrown in jail? "Can my family and I please live in one of those 10 houses since we lost ours in foreclosure? then we lost our jobs, then came the healthcare, the food, and eventually the house. Posted by: Bushies | August 21, 2008 2:56 PM" Posted by: Control1 | August 21, 2008 3:15 PM Please stop picking on this poor old man. It's just pathetic that this is the best the republics can do after 8 years of Cheney and Bush. They've left nothing but debt and destruction in their wake, so this is what you get. Obama is no miracle man but has a firm grasp of the issues. McCain clearly does not, which is why he never gets into them. Besides, if he did, he's just say how great everything is now, so vote for me and let's keep it going. But when it comes to taking trivial shots, the repubs aren't ready for a candidate who can go toe to toe. Posted by: Koward Hurtz | August 21, 2008 3:15 PM "Both candidates are elite. The politicians in Washington never reflected most people's views. So we can focus on more important topics than how many houses one person owns." They have always been elite, since the founding fathers. Charles Beard's theory of the elite status of the founders of America is generally accepted. Forget the philiopiety of George Washington chopping down the cherry tree and all of that garbage. No taxation without representation -- and this bothered the wealthy more than anyone else. Today, the wealthy are still bothered by paying taxes, so they abuse the political system to pay less taxes, and seek rents from the government (this is "corporate welfare" for those who are unfamiliar with the political economy concept of "rent seeking"). The problem is (and you see it on these posts) is that Americans look up to rich people. They think if someone is rich, they must be smart and hard working. They think if we support rich people, wealth and jobs will trickle down to everyone. Yeah, well, I hate to break it to you, but CEOs make 400 times the average worker now. The wealth floods upwards and doesn't trickle down at all. Americans just get the vapors when they see the rich guy in a fancy suit spouting out buzzwords and sound bites -- making promises they will never keep. These are the carrots they dangle in front of idiots, who still get fired up! One reason is that the majority of Americans feel they will become rich someday. Yes, when polled, some 85% of Americans feel they will be rich someday, yet only 1% achieve this. So they support elites who look out after elites, thinking -- one day this will be me! So they are voting based on their percieved future interests... Yeah, when I make $5 million a year, I don't want to pay taxes. Some may say I am just throwing out my vote, but I feel this is more the case if I vote for Tweedledum or Tweedledee. This thread is going to beat the WaPo record to 1,000 posts. Posted by: JakeD | August 21, 2008 3:15 PM McCain married up. Posted by: MartyKroll | August 21, 2008 3:14 PM Gore bangs Bill while McCain and Hillary sixty nine and Rommney gives it to Gore in the A$$ Posted by: hubble | August 21, 2008 3:14 PM Ah, another trivial distraction brought to us by the "news" industry. I've been thinking about the comparative life experiences of the two candidates. McCain was the son and grandson of Navy Admirals, born into the military elite. He attended the Naval Academy where he was a partying wildman, finishing 4th from last in his class. He went to Vietnam and got shot down, and survived injury, imprisonment and torture - as did many others. He refused "early release" - as did many others, it was policy. He came home, dumped his wife for the heiress and went into politics where he spent forever serving lobbyists and hoping to run for President. He lived abroad for a few years, and lived with his grandmother during most of his school years. He attended a good school on scholarship money, there was no family wealth available. He attended Harvard Law school where he edited the Harvard Law Review. He worked on the streets of Chicago to help laid-off mill workers to learn new skills and find new work. He is not running for President out of lifelong ambition, he is running because 2 million people just like me said, "Barack, PLEASE, we need you." If Mr McCain does not know how many houses he has - that's a big problem! Posted by: jolil | August 21, 2008 3:14 PM Obama would be the best thing for our country in the past 50 years. Posted by: straightup | August 21, 2008 3:14 PM The McCain campaign should not bring up Rezko not only because Obama was already cleared of all wrongdoing, but mostly because Cindy McCain's father was a convicted felon and with shady ties to the Arizona mob. Posted by: Lainie | August 21, 2008 3:14 PM arugula may look nice but spinach tastes better :) Posted by: Brendan | August 21, 2008 3:14 PM Dosen't matter how many houses McCain own's or lives in. Listen to him talk and dance around questions when the umbilical cord is cut from Axelrod and the Obliviot sheep following him are even worse. Shoot all the messengers you want but Obama can't hide behind Axelrod. Posted by: John | August 21, 2008 3:13 PM WHO IS THE BEST PERSON TO RUN THIS COUNTRY, JOHN MCCAIN THAT'S WHO, CASE CLOSED. he spent the ent... |