ORLANDO, FL -- A day after John McCain told the Veterans of Foreign Wars that Barack Obama would "choose the path of retreat and failure for America" regarding the conflict in Iraq, the Illinois senator demanded before the same group today that McCain not question his patriotism.
"I have never suggested that Sen. McCain picks his positions on national security based on politics or personal ambition. I have not suggested it, because I believe that he genuinely wants to serve America's national interest. Now it's time for him to acknowledge that I want to do the same," Obama declared in a roughly 30-minute speech to an audience of 3,000 here.
"Let me be clear: I will let no one question my love of this country. I love America, so do you, and so does John McCain. When I look out at this audience, I see people of different political views. You are Democrats and Republicans and independents. But you all served together, and fought together, and bled together under the same proud flag. You did not serve a Red America or a Blue America -- you served the United States of America.
Obama drew applause when he said the candidates should instead focus on the issues. "Let's have a serious debate, and let's debate our disagreements on the merits of policy -- not on personal attacks," he said. "No matter how heated it gets or what kind of campaign he chooses to run, I will honor Sen. McCain's service, just like I honor the service of every veteran in this room, and every American who has worn the uniform of the United States of America." ….continue reading
Does Bush Believe McCain Was Tortured?
By Andrew Sullivan
In all the discussion of John McCain's recently recovered memory of a religious epiphany in Vietnam, one thing has been missing. The torture that was deployed against McCain emerges in all the various accounts. It involved sleep deprivation, the withholding of medical treatment, stress positions, long-time standing, and beating. Sound familiar?
According to the Bush administration's definition of torture, McCain was therefore not tortured.
Cheney denies that McCain was tortured; as does Bush. So do John Yoo and David Addington and George Tenet. In the one indisputably authentic version of the story of a Vietnamese guard showing compassion, McCain talks of the agony of long-time standing. A quarter century later, Don Rumsfeld was putting his signature to memos lengthening the agony of "long-time standing" that victims of Bush's torture regime would have to endure. These torture techniques are, according to the president of the United States, merely "enhanced interrogation." ….continue reading
Obama's Ads in Key States Go on Attack
By Jim Rutenberg
WASHINGTON -- Senator Barack Obama has started a sustained and hard-hitting advertising campaign against Senator John McCain in states that will be vital this fall, painting Mr. McCain in a series of commercials as disconnected from the economic struggles of the middle class.
Mr. Obama has begun the drive with little fanfare, often eschewing the modern campaign technique of unveiling new spots for the news media before they run in an effort to win added (free) attention. Mr. Obama, whose candidacy has been built in part on a promise to transcend traditional politics, is running the negative commercials on local stations even as he runs generally positive spots nationally, during prime-time coverage of the Olympics.
The negative spots reflect the sharper tone Mr. Obama has struck in recent days on the stump as he heads into his party's nominating convention in Denver next week, and seem to address the anxiety among some Democrats that Mr. Obama has not answered a volley of attacks by Mr. McCain with enough force. ….continue reading
John McCain's Foreign Policy Judgment Is Questionable
By Ted Galen Carpenter and Malou Innocent
A major theme of John McCain's campaign is that he has far more experience in foreign affairs than does Barack Obama. McCain has now escalated his attacks by targeting Obama's judgment as well -- especially the latter's pessimism about the effectiveness of the surge in Iraq.
There is little doubt about McCain's lengthier foreign policy experience. But it is not at all apparent that his judgment is superior to Obama's. Indeed, the record indicates that McCain's own judgment is alarmingly bad.
Even if one concedes that Obama was excessively negative about the surge's prospects for success (and the jury may be out on that point for months or even years to come), McCain's own prognostications on Iraq have repeatedly been off the mark. He was not prescient about the course of the war: As senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee prior to the invasion, McCain predicted Iraq would be a quick and easy victory, and even told MSNBC he had "no doubt" U.S. troops "will be welcomed as liberators." ….continue reading
McCain's nearly total embrace of Bush's foreign policy raises questions about his judgment.
Maddow Added To MSNBC's Prime-Time Linueup
By Bill Carter
Just in time for the closing rush of the presidential election, MSNBC is shaking up its prime-time programming lineup, removing the longtime host Dan Abrams -- its onetime general manager -- from his 9 p.m. program and replacing him with Rachel Maddow, who has emerged as a favored political commentator for the all-news cable network.
The moves, which were confirmed by MSNBC executives on Tuesday, are expected to be finalized by Wednesday, with Mr. Abrams's last program on Thursday. After MSNBC's extensive coverage of the two political conventions during the next two weeks, Ms. Maddow will begin her program on Sept. 8.
Air America's Rachel Maddow
MSNBC is highlighting the date, 9/8/08, connecting it to the start of the Olympics on 8/8/08, as a way to signal what the network's president, Phil Griffin, said "will be the final leg of the political race this year." He added, "We're making that Rachel's debut." ….continue reading
Afghan War Escalates With Worst Taliban Raid In 6 Years
Citizens' U.S. Border Crossings Tracked
By Carlotta Gall and Sangar Rahimi
BAMIYAN, Afghanistan -- Taliban insurgents mounted their most serious attacks in six years of fighting in Afghanistan over the last two days, including a coordinated assault by at least 10 suicide bombers against one of the largest American military bases in the country, and another by about 100 insurgents who killed 10 elite French paratroopers.
The attack on the French, in a district near Kabul, added to the sense of siege around the capital and was the deadliest single loss for foreign troops in a ground battle since the United States-led invasion chased the Taliban from power in 2001. ….continue reading
By Ellen Nakashima
The federal government has been using its system of border checkpoints to greatly expand a database on travelers entering the country by collecting information on all U.S. citizens crossing by land, compiling data that will be stored for 15 years and may be used in criminal and intelligence investigations.
Officials say the Border Crossing Information sys- tem, disclosed last month by the Department of Homeland Security in a Federal Register notice, is part of a broader effort to guard against terrorist threats. It also reflects the growing number of government systems containing personal information on Americans that can be shared for a broad range of law enforcement and intelligence purposes, some of which are exempt from some Privacy Act protections.
While international air passenger data has long been captured this way, Customs and Border Protection agents only this year began to log the arrivals of all U.S. citizens across land borders, through which about three-quarters of border entries occur. ….continue reading
Some Say Bailout of Housing Giants Is Inevitable
By Charles Duhigg and Vikas Bajaj
Financial conditions are continuing to worsen at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, leading some investors to prepare for a government bailout of the housing giants even as the Treasury Department and the companies say such government intervention will not be necessary.
Stock prices of both companies fell again on Tuesday, and some large overseas investors slowed their purchases of securities issued by the companies. Share prices at both Fannie and Freddie have plummeted by more than 24 percent in the last two days, and more than 85 percent since December. On Tuesday, Freddie Mac was forced to pay its steepest borrowing premium in 10 years. ….continue reading
Arnie Arnesen To Be Speaker At Meeting Of Laconia Democrats
LACONIA - The Laconia Democratic Party will be welcoming Arnie Arnesen as its guest speaker at this month's meeting to be held at Woodland Heights Elementary School at 7 p.m. this Thursday, Aug. 21.
"We're thrilled that Arnie has agreed to speak with us and with the community about issues that affect our families today and will confront us in the future," said Ron Tunning, chair of the Laconia Democratic Party. "She is always a reliable advocate for policies that support Granite State families and reward the efforts of our hard working people."
According to Tunning, Arnesen will be focusing her discussion on jobs and the economy, particularly how the growing trend of outsourcing jobs and relying more heavily upon contract labor is impacting the traditional employee-employer role. "Arnie questions how this rapidly evolving corporate model is going to impact our families and economy over the long term," Tunning explained. "It really does represent a dramatic shift from a responsibility shared by employers and employees to one that places all of the burden on employees." ….continue reading
Arnie Arnesen, former NH Gubernatorial candidate and current host of "Political Chowder".
