[Rhodes22-list] HOW TO SAVE MILLIONS (Political)

Wed Aug 6 11:16:00 EDT 2008

Dave,

It looks to me like the "fat lady" (Hillary) may have just stood aside 
to let the rocket fizzle on it's own. I doubt we've heard the last from 
her yet.

Rik

Ayn Rand was a prophet - - it isn't my fault

David Bradley wrote:
> Can only hope that the Clinton campaign comes out of "suspend" mode...
>
> I thought the fat lady sang at the opera.
>
> Dave
>
>
> On Wed, Aug 6, 2008 at 3:58 AM, Brad Haslett <flybrad at gmail.com> wrote:
>   
>> Chris,
>>
>> "Church ain't out 'till the fat lady sings!"  I'm not convinced that
>> Chocolate Baby Jesus will prevail in Denver.  If the Hillary supporters get
>> their way and a roll call, O'baby will get dumped.  It appears the bloom is
>> off that rose.
>>
>> Brad
>>
>> ----------------
>>
>> Pundits Begin to Worry About Obama
>>
>> August 6, 2008 - by Jennifer Rubin
>>
>> In the aftermath of Barack Obama's overseas trip, the liberal punditocracy
>> has begun to [1]
>> fret.<http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=0e0dbc4f-000d-4d75-9f23-614ae8d06494>Certainly
>> there is reason for concern. Obama's poll numbers are within the
>> [2] margin of error <http://www.realclearpolitics.com/polls> in a year in
>> which a generic Democrat would be beating a generic Republican by double
>> digits. And the storylines which dominated the news since the trip have been
>> ones unfavorable to their chosen candidate: his [3]
>> ego<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mopkn0lPzM8>,
>> the snub of [4] wounded German
>> soldiers<http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2008/07/24/obama-snubs-injured-soldiers-workout-will-media-care>,
>> a potential flip-flop on [5] offshore
>> drilling<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/01/AR2008080103199.html>and
>> a poorly received attempt to play the [6] race
>> card. <http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/08/01/1240112.aspx>
>>
>> [7] Richard Cohen<http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/07/what_has_obama_accomplished.html>was
>> one liberal pundit who emerged from the fog of Obama-mania. Cohen
>> threw
>> cold water on the notion that a liberal Senate candidate from Hyde Park
>> showed political courage by opposing the Iraq war, and then recited chapter
>> and verse on the flip-flop orgy:
>>
>> He has been for and against gun control, against and for the recent domestic
>> surveillance legislation and, in almost a single day, for a united Jerusalem
>> under Israeli control and then, when apprised of U.S. policy and Palestinian
>> chagrin, against it. He is an accomplished pol — a statement of both
>> admiration and a bit of regret.
>>
>> But what really irked Cohen was Obama's "tissue thin" record and the nagging
>> sense that despite Obama's attractive packaging Cohen was "still not sure,
>> though, what's in it."
>>
>> But Cohen wasn't alone. [8] Ruth
>> Marcus<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/31/AR2008073102804.html>,
>> no conservative cheerleader either, also was not pleased. For her, the issue
>> was one that Obama critics had long dwelled on: [9] what's he
>> done<http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/rubin/18511>
>> ?
>>
>> After reviewing the *[10] New York
>> Times'<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/30/us/politics/30law.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin>
>> * examination of Obama's career as a law lecturer, Marcus mused that it was
>> "a reminder of Obama's essential elusiveness, and how little we understand
>> about how the candidate himself would resolve these thorny problems." What
>> nagged her was the sense that "in the hardest cases, I'm not always sure
>> where Professor Obama, or President Obama for that matter, comes down."
>>
>> Over at *Huffington Post *[11] a prominent liberal
>> voice<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marty-kaplan/on-having-your-political_b_116059.html>fretted
>> that maybe the Left's faith in Obama was overblown and as misplaced
>> as the belief (before the blue dress) that Bill Clinton had not had an
>> inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
>>
>> And of course all this followed the rage from the [12]
>> Left<http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/06/21/obama>over the
>> appalling (to them) reversal on FISA and the [13]
>> disgust <http://community.washingtonpost.com/ver1.0/Direct/Process> over
>> Obama's decision to renege on his public financing pledge (which was then
>> followed by his ludicrous effort to blame the Republicans for *his*mendacity).
>>
>> But [14] Dana Millbank<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/29/AR2008072902068.html>really
>> opened the floodgates with a devastating column on Obama's enormous
>> ego and arrogance. Dubbing Obama the "presumptuous nominee," Millbank
>> described Obama's visit to Capitol Hill:
>>
>> Along the way, he traveled in a bubble more insulating than the actual
>> president's. Traffic was shut down for him as he zoomed about town in a
>> long, presidential-style motorcade, while the public and most of the press
>> were kept in the dark about his activities, which included a fundraiser at
>> the Mayflower where donors paid $10,000 or more to have photos taken with
>> him. . . Some say the supremely confident Obama — nearly 100 days from the
>> election, he pronounces that "the odds of us winning are very good" — has
>> become a president-in-waiting. But in truth, he doesn't need to wait: He has
>> already amassed the trappings of the office, without those pesky decisions.
>> . . "I think this can be an incredible election," Obama said later. "I look
>> forward to collaborating with everybody here to win the election." Win the
>> election? Didn't he do that already?
>>
>> For those who had been following Obama's [15]
>> arrogant<http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/rubin/14811>utterances
>> and embarrassing show of presumptuous this was nothing new. But
>> coming from the pen of the acerbic columnist (whose vitriol is usually
>> reserved for conservatives), Millbank's column was a shocker.
>>
>> Over at [16] Slate<http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/xxfactor/archive/2008/08/02/obama-sells-out-on-offshore-drilling.aspx>,
>> Melinda Henneberger on the XX Factor blog was irate that Obama was "selling
>> out on offshore drilling." And just as when he reneged on public campaign
>> financing, his excuse was the worst part. Henneberger wrote:
>>
>> "The Republicans and the oil companies have been really beating the drums on
>> drilling," Obama said in the interview. Which might give voters the
>> impression that anyone who beats the drums loud enough and long enough will
>> get this same "Alright already!" response out of him. And it might give
>> those young voters he is counting on the idea that he's not only not as
>> different as they thought…but maybe, just not different enough."
>>
>> And then others chimed in. The *[17] New
>> Republic<http://tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=0e0dbc4f-000d-4d75-9f23-614ae8d06494>
>> * editors worried that somehow Obama's economic message isn't working and
>> Obama isn't making the most of his chances. They write:
>>
>> "Yet, somehow, despite all this, McCain remains in the game. This is not
>> easy to explain — and it should cause a great deal of introspection at Obama
>> headquarters. For all the many ways that the stars have aligned for Obama,
>> he has yet to take full advantage of what historically has been a great
>> opportunity."
>>
>> The bottom line: liberal pundits — following months of analysis by their
>> conservative counterparts — had figured out that despite the best possible
>> terrain for the Democrats to recapture the White House, the Democrats (with
>> a whole lot of cheerleading from the mainstream media) have chosen a thinly
>> experienced, irresolute, underachieving and obnoxious standard bearer. And
>> his excuse-mongering just makes it all the more irritating.
>>
>> It is not clear what provoked the soul-searching or why reality didn't dawn
>> on the pundits sooner. After all, they knew all along that he had virtually
>> no experience and that he often sounded [18] bizarrely
>> confident<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mayhill-fowler/obama-exclusive-audio-on_b_96333.html>about
>> his nonexistent credentials.
>>
>> Some might conclude that they were so [19]
>> blinded<http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/rubin/4651>by
>> their bias against Hillary Clinton and eagerness to shove the Clintons
>> off the national stage that they ignored any signs that The Chosen One was
>> deeply flawed. And, indeed, many of the faults that are potentially so
>> dangerous in Obama — his [20] predilection to
>> lie<http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/rubin/18841>when
>> the heat is on and his lack of core principles — were even greater
>> liabilities for Clinton in the media's eyes.
>>
>> It is also true that the McCain camp has shamed the media into recognizing
>> their infatuation with Obama. By [21]
>> mocking<http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channel-08/2008/07/mccain_mocks_medias_crush_on_o.html>the
>> press, the McCain camp has made the argument in convincing fashion
>> that
>> the mainstream media has been in the tank for Obama. The McCain camp's
>> message: "Your boosterism has become painfully obvious." So it's not
>> surprising that there might be some course correction and recognition that
>> they've gone too far in building up The Ego and concealing his flaws.
>>
>> But Obama has done his share to lift the veil from the pundits' eyes.
>> Sometimes the accumulated evidence is too much even for the mainstream media
>> to ignore. And it is ironic (but [22] not altogether
>> surprising<http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/media-misses-big-story-of-obama-trip>)
>> that the tipping point may have been the Berlin rally — an explosion of ego
>> and meaningless rhetoric which attained the level of self-parody.
>>
>> Moreover, there is nothing that irritates the media more than a hypocrite.
>> So the temptation is great to point out that the New Politics looks an awful
>> lot like the Old Politics of flip-flopping, broken promises, lack of
>> accountability, and [23]
>> fudging<http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/rubin/18841>the
>> facts.
>>
>> It remains an open question whether the punditocracy has really begun a
>> course correction in assessing Obama or is simply evidencing a mild bout of
>> remorse for its own excesses.
>>
>> But the question of whether Obama could forever retain his Teflon coating
>> and stifle concerns about serious weaknesses in his record and character has
>> been answered. The answer we have learned, from liberal pundits no less, is
>> a resounding "no."
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Aug 6, 2008 at 12:00 AM, Chris Geankoplis <napoli68 at charter.net>wrote:
>>
>>     
>>> Great Idea,
>>>  but what if McCain croaks during his presidency (he is a pretty old
>>> Geezer), why a state funueral would cost a lot more than OBama's pension;
>>> therefore voting for O
>>> Bama might make more economic sense.
>>>
>>> Chris G
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Hank" <hnw555 at gmail.com>
>>> To: "The Rhodes 22 Email List" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>>> Sent: Monday, August 04, 2008 2:23 PM
>>> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] HOW TO SAVE MILLIONS (Political)
>>>
>>>
>>>       
>>>> This makes economic sense to me!
>>>>
>>>> Hank
>>>>
>>>> *HOW TO SAVE MILLIONS** !*
>>>>
>>>>  *We should be into saving money** !*
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *A president's pension currently is $191,300 per year**.*
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *Assuming the next president lives **to age 80** -*
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *Sen McCain would receive ZERO pension** as he would reach 80 at the end
>>>>         
>>> of
>>>       
>>>> two terms as president.*
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *Sen Obama **would be retired for 26 years after two terms and **would
>>>> receive $4,973,800 in pension**.*
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *Therefore it would certainly make economic sense to elect McCain in
>>>> November** !*
>>>>
>>>> *How's that for non partisan thinking???*
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>  ------------------------------
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>>     
>
>
>
>   