Drudge reports Obama has made decided who he wants to be his running mate.
Obama has set out an elaborate roll-out to announce his decision that will begin with an early morning e-mail to supporters, perhaps as early as Tuesday, Zeleny and Adam Nagourney have been told.
Rasmussen:
McCain - 43%
Obama - 44%
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll of likely voters for Monday shows Obama attracting 43% of the vote while McCain earns 44%. When "leaners" are included, it’s Obama 47% and McCain 46%.
Gallup:
McCain - 44%
Obama - 45%
The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking poll of registered voters finds finds Obama has a three percent lead over McCain, 46% to 43%.
The Wall Street Journal takes Obama to task for demeaning Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas at the Saddleback Church forum:
Pastor Rick Warren asked each Presidential candidate which Justices he would not have nominated. Mr. McCain said, "with all due respect" the four most liberal sitting Justices because of his different judicial philosophy.You can watch the Democrats' presumptuous nominee, demean Justice Thomas in the following video:
Mr. Obama took a lower road, replying first that "that's a good one," and then adding that "I would not have nominated Clarence Thomas. I don't think that he, I don't think that he was a strong enough jurist or legal thinker at the time for that elevation. Setting aside the fact that I profoundly disagree with his interpretation of a lot of the Constitution." The Democrat added that he also wouldn't have appointed Antonin Scalia, and perhaps not John Roberts, though he assured the audience that at least they were smart enough for the job.
So let's see. By the time he was nominated, Clarence Thomas had worked in the Missouri Attorney General's office, served as an Assistant Secretary of Education, run the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and sat for a year on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, the nation's second most prominent court. Since his "elevation" to the High Court in 1991, he has also shown himself to be a principled and scholarly jurist.
Meanwhile, as he bids to be America's Commander in Chief, Mr. Obama isn't yet four years out of the Illinois state Senate, has never held a hearing of note of his U.S. Senate subcommittee, and had an unremarkable record as both a "community organizer" and law school lecturer. Justice Thomas's judicial credentials compare favorably to Mr. Obama's Presidential résumé by any measure. And when it comes to rising from difficult circumstances, Justice Thomas's rural Georgian upbringing makes Mr. Obama's story look like easy street.
Agence France Presse reminds us that as Obama, the Democrats' presumptuous nominee, pays homage to Hillary at Democrats' convention in Denver, Colorado, he will be faced with specters from the primary battle.
The McCain campaign is running an ad that shows Hillary making that devastating comparison between the experience of McCain versus Obama:
"I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience he will bring to the White House. And Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002," she says in the ad, referring to Obama's stand against the Iraq war, which Bill Clinton once dismissed as a "fairy tale."The following video shows that Hillary made the comparison often:
Immediately after Obama's appearance with the reverend Rick Warren, the Democrats' presumptuous nominee was interviewed by CBN News Senior National Correspondent, David Brody.
Among other things Brody asked Obama whether the McCain campaign is purposely using imaginary to scare people about him being the anti-Christ. Obama answered yes. You can watch and read a partial transcript of the interview here.
I'm sick and tired of this bovine fecal matter where folks try to refute the McCain campaign ad "The One," by falsely claiming the ad tries to make the Obama out to be the anti-Christ. Watch the ad:
I've watched and watched that ad numerous times. All the ad does is use the Obama's own words to show just how presumptuous and egocentric Obama is. And boy is Obama presumptuous and egocentric.
So lets get this straight. Obama is not the anti-Christ. So says the debunker Snopes. And so say the authors of Left Behind, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins:
"I've gotten a lot of questions the last few weeks asking if Obama is the antichrist," says novelist Jenkins. "I tell everyone that I don't think the antichrist will come out of politics, especially American politics."The Obama has no one to blame for folks thinking he might be the anti-Christ, other than Obama.
"I can see by the language he uses why people think he could be the antichrist," adds LaHaye, "but from my reading of scripture, he doesn't meet the criteria. There is no indication in the Bible that the antichrist will be an American."
Tonight the Reverend Rick Warren, author of the best-selling book "The Purpose-Driven Life," will conduct a "forum" with Senators John McCain and Barack Obama.
Each candidate will be interviewed separately by Warren for one hour. The interviews will focus on four areas: the role of the presidency in government, leadership, the candidates' world view and America's role internationally.
The Associated Press reports that the forum is the Perfect setting for Obama to counter the persistent rumors that Obama is Muslim:
The church forum also gives him a perfect setting to counter the misperception that he is Muslim. A recent poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that 12 percent of respondents believe the Illinois senator is Muslim.I've been saying for weeks that Obama needs to confront his Muslim problem head on. Maybe Obama will do so tonight.
The Boston Globe reports that on NPR today the national chairman of the Democrats' called the Republican Party the "white" party:
"If you look at folks of color, even women, they're more successful in the Democratic Party than they are in the white, uh, excuse me, in the Republican Party,” Dean said at one point.You can listen the Democrats' chairman continue to play Obama's race card below:
“It is disappointing to see Howard Dean trying to use gender and race to divide voters. His comments are insulting, inappropriate and have no place in this election.”
“He misspoke and corrected himself immediately.”I've listened to Dean's comments several times. You are never going to convince me Dean's comments were not intentional. If you believe Dean's comments were unintentional, well, I have ocean front property to sell you in Kansas.
Lost is found.
The Republican Party of Florida delivered a $2.8 billion "check" to Obama’s Tallahassee headquarters:
"The check was from Senator Barack Obama and made out to oil companies as payment for his vote on the 2005 Energy Bill that provided nearly $3 billion in subsidies for oil and natural gas production," RPOF says.The Obama, the Democrat's presumptuous nominee, forgets that it was Obama who voted for President Bush's energy bill, while McCain voted against it.
“A local volunteer found the valuable check at a gas station near the Tallahassee airport yesterday," communications director Erin VanSickle deadpanned in a news release.
She added: “We can only assume that the document was mistakenly dropped by Senator Barack Obama’s campaign manager David Plouffe. He likely stopped at the gas station to check the tire pressure on his rental car prior to heading to last night’s campaign fundraiser in Tallahassee.”
"I want to take a minute here on this issue because I think Senator Obama might be a little bit confused. Yesterday, he accused me of having President Bush's policies on energy. That's odd because he voted for the President's energy bill and I voted against it." -- John McCain
"I spoke up against the Administration and Congress and Senator Obama when they gave us an energy bill with more giveaways to Big Oil and really no solution to our energy problems.
I want to take a minute here on this issue because I think Senator Obama might be a little bit confused. Yesterday, he accused me of having President Bush's policies on energy. That's odd because he voted for the President's energy bill and I voted against it. I voted against it had $2.8 billion in corporate welfare to Big Oil companies, and they're already making record profits, as you know. Senator Obama voted for that bill and its Big Oil giveaways. I know he hasn't been in the Senate that long, but even in the real world, voting for something means you support it and voting against something means you oppose it.
Anyway, my friends, just like on the energy bill, I've argued for reform and change in Washington for years and it hasn't made me friends. It hasn't made me friends in Washington. My friends, I was not elected Miss Congeniality again this year, but I don't answer to them. I answer to you. I answer to you. You will always know exactly where I stand and you will always know, no matter what, I will always do what I believe is right for our country. I will put my country first. If there's anything you take from this meeting, I will put my country first.
For his part, Senator Obama is an impressive orator. I applaud his talent and I applaud his success. All Americans should be proud of his accomplishments, but Washington is full of talented talkers, my friends, and unfortunately on issues big and small, what Senator Obama says and what he does are two different things. Senator Obama says he's going to change Washington, but his plan is to raise your taxes and spend more of your money. It's not my idea of a solution that troubles Washington. In fact, it sounds a lot like the problem.
Rasmussen:
McCain - 41%
Obama - 44%
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll of likely voters for Tuesday shows Obama attracting 44% of the vote while McCain earns 41%. When "leaners" are included, it’s Obama 47% and McCain 45%:
Despite the Russian invasion of Georgia, daily tracking data shows no shift in voter priorities for Election 2008. Forty-one percent (41%) say economic issues are most important while just 22% name national security issues as the top priority.
The Aug. 12-14 polling shows a slight dip in Obama's support, which had ranged between 46% and 48% (averaging 47%) in August. McCain has averaged 43% support among registered voters so far in August. Thus, the closer margin seen in today's results is due more to movement away from Obama than toward McCain. Twelve percent of registered voters now say they are undecided or supporting another candidate, which is on the high end of what Gallup has measured this year.
In the New Republic, Nate Silver writes that three new polls released on Thursday "show significant movement toward John McCain:"
In Washington, SurveyUSA has John McCain trailing by 7 points. This hardly moves Washington into competitive territory, however, SurveyUSA had polled Washington no fewer than nine times since Super Tuesday, and had shown Obama ahead an average of 13.4 points, including 16 points in a survey released in mid-July.
A similar pattern manifests itself in Minnesota, where Rasmussen has Barack Obama's lead eroding to 4 points; Obama had held a 13-point lead last month. And in the critical swing state of Colorado, Rasmussen has John McCain edging into a 1-point lead; last month, it had been Obama by 3.
Jon Stewart takes John Edwards to task for some of the sillier things Edwards said in his confession:
John Edwards -- author of the famed claim that there are two Americas -- was apparently only faithful to his wife in one of them.
A new Rasmussen Reports poll finds a majority of voters, 55%, believe media bias is more of a problem than big campaign contributions.
Rasmussen found the usual partisan and ideological divide:
Republicans are the most likely to see media bias as the bigger problem. Eighty-one percent (81%) of the GOP faithful hold that view. Democrats and unaffiliated voters are more evenly divided. Obama’s Party, by a narrow 50% to 41% margin, say that campaign cash is the bigger issue. Among those not affiliated with either major party, 47% say media bias is the problem while 43% hold the opposite view.
Fifty-three percent (53%) of liberals see campaign contributions as a bigger problem than media bias. Seventy-four percent (74%) of conservatives hold the opposite view. Among the moderates, 49% say media bias is the problem while 42% disagree.
You remember Hillary's infamous 3:00 a.m. ad. Russia's invasion of Georgia presented Senators McCain and Obama with a true 3:00 a.m. moment.
Their responses to the crisis suggest dramatic differences in how each candidate would lead America during an international crisis.
McCain got it right from the start. In his initial statement, McCain sided clearly with America's ally, Georgia, took Russia to task for violating Georgia's sovereign territory, noted danger to Euro-Atlantic stability and security, called for diplomatic pressure on Russia, and a review of what NATO can do to stabilize the situation:
Today, news reports indicate that Russian military forces crossed an internationally-recognized border into the sovereign territory of Georgia. Russia should immediately and unconditionally cease its military operations and withdraw all forces from sovereign Georgian territory. What is most critical now is to avoid further confrontation between Russian and Georgian military forces. The consequences for Euro-Atlantic stability and security are grave.Obama blew it. According to Reuters, the Democrats' presumptuous nominee issued a statement that shows the worlds greatest celebrity is just an empty suit:
The government of Georgia has called for a cease-fire and for a resumption of direct talks on South Ossetia with international mediators. The U.S. should immediately convene an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council to call on Russia to reverse course. The U.S. should immediately work with the EU and the OSCE to put diplomatic pressure on Russia to reverse this perilous course it has chosen. We should immediately call a meeting of the North Atlantic Council to assess Georgia's security and review measures NATO can take to contribute to stabilizing this very dangerous situation. Finally, the international community needs to establish a truly independent and neutral peacekeeping force in South Ossetia.
"I strongly condemn the outbreak of violence in Georgia, and urge an immediate end to armed conflict," Obama said in a statement. "Now is the time for Georgia and Russia to show restraint, and to avoid an escalation to full-scale war. Georgia's territorial integrity must be respected."It took a day of watching Russia pound Georgia before the Obama got around to condemning Russia and nuancing his position to sound more like McCain's.
Obama called for direct talks among all sides and said the United States, U.N. Security Council and other parties should try to help bring about a peaceful resolution.
John Stewart takes on the "Celeb" ad and Obama's race card:
The Democrats' presumptuous nominee started this meme.
Wearing a bikini and heels, Paris Hilton responds to McCain's "Celeb" ad, which suggests the Democrats' presumptuous nominee is little more than a widely recognized media concoction:
“It sounds like Paris Hilton supports John McCain’s ‘all of the above’ approach to America’s energy crisis - including both alternatives and drilling. Paris Hilton might not be as big a celebrity as Barack Obama, but she obviously has a better energy plan,”Remember, Obama started this meme.
Senator McCain's presidential campaign released a new television ad comparing the Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. The ad suggests the Democrats' presumptuous nominee is little more than a widely recognized media concoction:
Obama's campaign responded with a commercial dismissing McCain's complaints as "baloney" and "baseless."
Despite those assertions, Obama started this meme himself. CNN's Dana Bash reports Obama compared himself to Paris Hilton at a dinner in 2004:
"Andy Warhol said we all get our 15 minutes of fame," then Senator-elect Obama said at a Gridiron dinner in December, 2004. "I've already had an hour and a half. I mean, I'm so overexposed, I'm making Paris Hilton look like a recluse."
[. . .]
The same comparison was also made in September 2006, when speculation swirled about whether the still-very coy Obama would mount a presidential bid.
Upon speaking at Tom Harkin’s annual Iowa steak fry — a must-attend event for any presidential hopeful — CNN asked Obama about the Paris Hilton comparisons.
“Yeah, exactly,” Obama started to reply before Harkin jumped in and said, “Remember that movie with Robert Redford that was called 'The Natural, about a baseball player? This is the natural of politics.”
"Just tell me one thing Barack Obama has done that you admire," I asked a prominent Democrat. He paused and then said that he admired Obama's speech to the Democratic convention in 2004. I agreed. It was a hell of a speech, but it was just a speech.So, what has Obama accomplished, other than becoming the world's most popular and presumptuous celebrity?
On the other hand, I continued, I could cite four or five actions -- not speeches -- that John McCain has taken that elicit my admiration, even my awe. First, of course, is his decision as a Vietnam prisoner of war to refuse freedom out of concern that he would be exploited for propaganda purposes. To paraphrase what Kipling said about Gunga Din, John McCain is a better man than most.
But I would not stop there. I would include campaign finance reform, which infuriated so many in his own party; opposition to earmarks, which won him no friends; his politically imprudent opposition to the Medicare prescription drug bill (Medicare has about $35 trillion in unfunded obligations); and, last but not least, his very early call for additional troops in Iraq. His was a lonely position -- virtually suicidal for an all-but-certain presidential candidate and no help when his campaign nearly expired last summer. In all these cases, McCain stuck to his guns.
When John McCormick reported Obama replaced his Boeing 737 campaign plane with a Boeing 757, he noted the new aircraft had "a giant flag painted on its tail." 
In yet another display of his patriotism, Obama replaced the American flag with the Obama Logo. Lynn Sweet reports that Obama's 757 has been repainted "with the Obama sunrise logo on the tail."
Oh the audacity of Obama's ego.
