The Rule of Threes....

We have all heard the saying "Good things (or bad) come in threes". Commentator Janet at Texasdarlin' has this idea:
You know how things sometimes happen in threes?

1. OJ finally gets it.
2. Casey Anthony finally gets it.
3. Obama ……………………………………….
We've added some illustrations:



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O.J. finally gets it....










Casey Anthony finally gets it....














Obama.....

Mr. Obama: The Name on the Real Birth Cert Will Do, Whatever it Is....

Mike Allen at The Politico reports today:

President-elect Obama says he plans to use all three of his names when he takes the oath of office in January, giving voice to a name that was used heard during the campaign except by critics.

In his first post-election newspaper interview, with reporters from the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, Obama was asked: “Do you anticipate being sworn in as Barack Obama or Barack Hussein Obama?"

He replied: “I think the tradition is that they use all three names, and I will follow the tradition, not trying to make a statement one way or the other. I'll do what everybody else does.”

As Politico correctly points out, there is no such tradition. The last three presidents used their middle names as well as Roosevelt and Kennedy but other modern presidents used middle initials or no middle name at all. Johnson, hastily sworn in on Air Force One, did not insert his name at all. Oddest was the case of Harry S. Truman, where the "S" stood for nothing at all!


Hey Obama! Why Not Just Use Whatever Name is on Your Long Form Vault Sealed Birth Certificate!


Tags: obama birth certificate,barack hussein obama,no hussein,can't say hussein,obama real name,obama citizenship,obama name game

Court Won't Hear Donofrio v Wells

This just in from Yahoo News via Drudge:

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court has turned down an emergency appeal from a New Jersey man who says President-elect Barack Obama is ineligible to be president because he was a British subject at birth.

The court did not comment on its order Monday rejecting the call by Leo Donofrio of East Brunswick, N.J., to intervene in the presidential election. Donofrio says that since Obama had dual nationality at birth — his mother was American and his Kenyan father at the time was a British subject — he cannot possibly be a "natural born citizen," one of the requirements the Constitution lists for eligibility to be president.

Donofrio also contends that two other candidates, Republican John McCain and Socialist Workers candidate Roger Calero, also are not natural-born citizens and thus ineligible to be president.
Tags:scotus,supreme court,obama citizenship,donofrio v wells

At least one other appeal over Obama's citizenship remains at the court. Philip J. Berg of Lafayette Hill, Pa., argues that Obama was born in Kenya, not Hawaii as Obama says and the Hawaii secretary of state has confirmed. Berg says Obama also may be a citizen of Indonesia, where he lived as a boy. Federal courts in Pennsylvania have dismissed Berg's lawsuit.

Can Obama Fill Those Boots?

Cowboy Diplomacy: You're Going to Need These! From our friends at ConservativePunk.


Tags: cowboy diplomacy,bush to obama,boots to fill,

Obama's Flawless Race Leaves Nation in Peril....

Some recent cartoon commentary:


h/t Black & Right


Tis one labeled "High Doom"
h/t Atlas Shrugs
h/t ConservativePunk
Tags:media for obama,obama flawless race,media loves obama,nation's peril,socialism,

Oh, let’s care about the flag now that our guy won...

Seattle, as one would expect, went bonkers after the Obama win. A frenzy of flag purchases, and displays thereof, followed an evening of street dancing and singing. My daughter who lives on Capitol Hill reports hearing a huge roaring sound emanating from downtown.

Reporters for the Seattle P.I. found self described flag virgin Rosemary Garner who exclaims, "The thing that's kind of astounding to me is I never ever would have cared to own a flag...This is the first day in my life I actually feel this funny sense of pride about my country. It's a very foreign feeling, but it's a good one". My daughter writes, "I am, for the first time, truly hopeful for the future of this great country".

Another comment from the news article: "I'm finally proud to be an American again, after eight years of being ashamed," says 66-year-old Mark Lowney. Another says: "It's just a rare feeling to feel that type of, I don't know, national connection," said Noah Kriegsmann, a 33-year-old builder from West Seattle. He feels that Obama's win will help America's standing in the world, and he bought a flag to fly on his truck, though he admitted it felt strange to see the flag in his hand. "I have just historically felt shame for what the symbol of this country is internationally. Being in someplace like Morocco, and Canadians have their flag on their backpacks -- I would never ever do that".

Such confessions remind one, of course, of the "first time in my adult life" remark from Michelle Obama. My daughter in her report on the festivities writes:

It was a momentous evening here in Seattle, I've never witnessed anything like it. Everywhere you went throngs of people were cheering on sidewalks and from their cars, honking horns, dancing in the streets, hugging strangers, and waving American flags. From my apartment, you could hear this constant roar emanating from downtown that continued for several hours. The moment they called it for Obama, a huge crowd converged in the middle of the intersection at Broadway & Pine. Police blocked off the intersection from cars and allowed the crowd to celebrate peacefully, despite the fact that many people ran out into the streets with beers or champagne bottles in hand. A drag queen on the top of Neighbor's (a club) led the crowd in singing God Bless America while people clutched their friends and loved ones and joyfully weeped. Truly moving and inspiring speeches from both Obama and McCain. I hope there is a place for McCain in Obama's administration as I was impressed by his gracious concession and the sincerity of his words. It was like the old McCain was back, before he got worked over by the Republican party, when he was a true maverick.

I don't think we'll be seeing John McCain in an Obama administration! Here's a potpourri of recent photos from the election period:


Seattle P.I. photo, Paul Joseph Brown


zomblog photo


steadyjohn photo: Seattle 9/08

Wesleyan University, Middletown CT, 11/5/08, Wesleying blog,Mike Levin photo

Wesleying; Hannah Berkman photo

h/t FreeRepublic
Tags:seattle celebrates obama,flag frenzy,new love of country,new love of flag,obama victory party, wesleying,middletown ct,

Obama as Hypnotist and the Politics of Crowds....

In today's Wall Street Journal there is an extremely interesting article concerning the crowds that Obama draws. The author, Faoud Ajami is professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, and an adjunct research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. he begins:

There is something odd -- and dare I say novel -- in American politics about the crowds that have been greeting Barack Obama on his campaign trail. Hitherto, crowds have not been a prominent feature of American politics. We associate them with the temper of Third World societies. We think of places like Argentina and Egypt and Iran, of multitudes brought together by their zeal for a Peron or a Nasser or a Khomeini. In these kinds of societies, the crowd comes forth to affirm its faith in a redeemer: a man who would set the world right....

"Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one!" (Charles Mackay, author of "Extraordinary Delusion and the Madness of Crowds"

Oh, and now for the hypnotism part; an interesting video about crowd reactions to charismatic speakers. The narrator makes the point that those most easily influenced by hypnotism are the young and the well educated. Now doesn't that sound like our Obama voters?




Tags: madness of crowds,charles mackay,hypnotism,charismatic speakers,obama covert hypnotist,will d thornton,faoud ajami,politics of crowds

Magazine for Man Who Wishes He'd Done More!

da Bomb!

h/t ConservativePunk
Tags: william ayers,domestic terrorism,weather underground,bombs,bomber bill ayers

America, This is What a Feminist Looks Like!

A ringing endorsement of Sarah Palin from Los Angeles National Organization for Women (NOW) President Shelly Mandel:
Powerful endorsement folks! You Tube here; excerpts follow:

"I am happy to be here....I am speaking not on behalf of NOW but as an individual....I was there in 1984....for Geraldine Ferraro, and I am here today proud to support Sarah Palin....a woman who will fight for women's rights...a woman who will fight for the middle class, a woman, who Lord knows, will shake things up....I am a life long Democrat..I don't agree with Gov. Palin on several issues....she's gonna work on persuading John McCain on ANWAR and I'm gonna try persuading her on things of my own...but... I know Sarah Palin cares about woman's rights, she cares about equality, she cares about equal pay, she cares about children, and she cares about women's lives...she's an athlete and she knows what Title 9 did for girls like her...change must come to Washington and Sarah Palin has what it takes to lead that charge....I believe she is courageous..I believe she has integrity...and I know Sarah Palin is a reformer who will break up the old boy network....buck the system and get Washington back on our side...it is an honor to call her sister...America. this is what a feminist looks like!"
h/t RadioViceOnline
h/t wizbang
Tags:radioviceonline,sarah palin,shelly mandel,los angeles now,now,national organization for women,women's rights,john mccain,democrats for palin,palin feminist,campaign '08,women for palin

McCain: Sarah Palin the Right Choice for V.P.

Now that Obambi has made his choice let us all hope John McCain makes the right choice and selects Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for his V.P. Sarah Palin is youthful (44), very smart, and hot. And, best of all, she'll make Joe Biden look like the chump he really is.


h/t logo: Ethan Demme

Update, 8/28/08
The Patriot Room blog says:
"If McCain picks Palin, Here's the campaign poster that dooms Obama".


h/t Third Base Politics



Tags: sarah palin,john mccain,joe biden,obama,obambi,vice president,campaign '08

Obama Cartoons and Graphics Lately Seen....

Time for a fun break!

h/t Powerline

Tags:barack obama,michelle obama,hillary clinton,obama jokes, obama cartoons,campaign '08 cartoons

Cindy McCain: John Wears Me Out!

An interesting interview with Cindy McCain appeared in The Times (U.K.) yesterday. She's asked if Senator McCain is too old. "Oh my gosh no," she says, "he wears me out!" "You should meet his 96-year-old mother, she would wear you out also.” (see video below with John McCain and mother Roberta)

Cindy McCain is a former junior rodeo queen and presently CEO of a family owned beverage distributorship in Arizona. Her charitable work with The Halo Trust once took her to a Vietnam hospital where she found herself in the very room where her husband lay after being shot down over Hanoi. Some excerpts form The Times interview:

Mrs McCain, 54, who may be the next Republican First Lady come November, has two causes in her life: John McCain's political career and her humanitarian work. That moment, standing in a hospital room where her husband had once lain captive, with broken arms and a broken leg, brought the two together. “That,” she said, with an understated Arizona twang, “was a very unique experience.”

.... on the subject of Michelle Obama, her opposite number on the Democratic side. A few weeks ago, Cindy McCain made a sharp reference to Michelle Obama's controversial remark that she was “really proud” of America for the first time.

“I am very proud of my country,” Cindy McCain said. “I don't know about you, if you heard those words earlier. I am very proud of my country.” When asked yesterday whether she had ever encountered the wife of the Democratic contender in person, she was wary, but crisp: “I've met her once.”

“Did you like her?”

“She was fine. It was a ten-second meeting.”

Cindy McCain would never say it, but she leaves the impression that ten seconds was long enough.

There were a number of interesting photographs accompanying the article, some of which are reproduced here:

Tags: john mccain,cindy mccain,first ladies,first lady,first couple,barack obama,michelle obama,campaign 08,roberta mccain,mccain's mother

Why Obama Must Go to Iraq....

(reprinted from Wall Street Journal - June 5, 2008)

Why Obama Must Go to Iraq

By PETE HEGSETH (Mr. Hegseth, is chairman of Vets for Freedom, served in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division and returned as an embedded reporter.

June 5, 2008

Earlier this year, I spent five days in Iraq, walking the same streets in Baghdad where I had served two years earlier as an infantry platoon leader in the 101st Airborne Division.

The visit reinforced for me not only the immense complexity of the war – so often lost in our domestic political debate – but also the importance of taking the time to visit Iraq to talk with the soldiers and Marines serving on the front lines in order to grasp the changing dynamics of a fluid battlefield.


It is for this reason that the failure of Sen. Barack Obama to travel to Iraq over the past two and a half years is worrisome, and a legitimate issue in this presidential election.

Since his election to the United States Senate in 2004, Mr. Obama has traveled to Iraq just once – in January 2006. This was more than a year before Gen. David Petraeus took command and the surge began. It was also several months before Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government came into office. Although Mr. Obama frequently criticizes the Iraqi leader on the campaign trail, he has never actually met him.

Mr. Obama's conduct is strikingly different from that of Sen. John McCain, who has been to Iraq eight times since 2003 – including three times since surge forces began to arrive in Baghdad. The senior senator from Arizona has made it his mission to truly understand what is happening on the ground, in all its messy reality.

Mr. Obama has dismissed the value of such trips, suggesting they are stage-managed productions designated to obfuscate, not illuminate, the truth. This has become an all-too-common sentiment within the Democratic Party leadership, especially since the surge began to transform conditions on the ground for the better. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has denied that there is any value in visiting the troops in Iraq, and has never done so.

In fairness, there are a number of Democrats who visit Iraq frequently – namely Sens. Joe Biden, who has made eight Iraq trips, and Jack Reed, with 10 trips. Mr. Obama's absence and cynicism stands in stark contrast to their serious approach. It is especially problematic given his intention to become our next commander in chief.

As anyone who has spent time on the ground in Iraq – speaking with troops of all ranks and backgrounds – can tell you, it is hardly a mission impossible to get them out to speak bluntly and openly about the problems they face.

Indeed, Mr. McCain's own frequent and vociferous criticisms of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his warnings, as early as 2003, that the Bush administration was pursuing a flawed strategy in Iraq, were directly informed by his firsthand interactions during his trips to Iraq. Troops and commanders warned him that we lacked sufficient forces to defeat al Qaeda and Iranian-backed militias, and they were correct.

In turn, Mr. McCain's early advocacy for the surge and his prescient conviction that it would succeed were rooted not only in his extensive knowledge of military affairs, but in his close consultations with troops serving in the theater. They recognized that the new strategy was succeeding far before the mainstream media in the U.S. was willing to acknowledge these gains.

That Mr. Obama apparently doubts his ability to distinguish spin from reality, and to draw bad news out of subordinates, does not bode well for his possible future as our nation's chief executive. As I'm sure he will discover, if he wins the White House, these are among the most important skills for a president to possess.

Even more astonishing than Mr. Obama's absence from Iraq, however, is the fact that he has apparently never sought out a single one-on-one meeting with Gen. Petraeus. The general has made repeated trips back to Washington, but Mr. Obama has shown no interest in meeting privately with him. It's enough to make you wonder who exactly Mr. Obama listens to when it comes to Iraq?

Mr. Obama frequently decries the danger of "dogmatists" and "ideologues" in public policy, yet he himself has proven consistently uninterested in putting himself in situations where he might be confronted with the hard complexities of this war. It suggests a dangerous degree of detachment and overconfidence in his own judgment.

After all, Mr. Obama was among those in January 2007 who stridently opposed the surge and confidently predicted its failure – even going so far as to vote against funding our soldiers in the field unless the Bush administration abandoned this new approach. It is now clear that Mr. Obama's judgment on the surge was spectacularly wrong.

Yet rather than admit his mistake, Mr. Obama has instead tried to downplay or disparage the gains our troops have achieved in the past 12 months, clinging to a set of talking points that increasingly seem as divorced from reality as some in the Bush administration were at the darkest moments of the war.

Mr. Obama continues to insist that "Iraq's political leaders have made no progress in resolving the political differences at the heart of their civil war" – despite the passage of numerous pieces of benchmark legislation by the Iraqi Parliament and unequivocal evidence of grassroots reconciliation across the country.

Mr. Obama also continues to claim that America has "simply thrown U.S. troops at the problem, and it has not worked" – despite the dramatic reduction in violence in precisely those areas of Iraq where American forces have surged, and since handed over to Iraqi Security Forces.

And of course, Mr. Obama persists in his pledge to withdraw all combat forces from Iraq, on a fixed timeline, beginning the moment he enters office – regardless of the recommendations of our commanders on the ground, regardless of conditions on the ground, and regardless, in short, of reality.

America is longing for an informed and principled debate about the future of Iraq. However, such a debate seems unlikely if the Democratic nominee for president won't take the time to truly understand the dynamics on the ground, let alone meet with commanders.

The time for talking points is over. Too much is at stake. When will Mr. Obama finally return to Iraq and see the situation for himself?
Tags: barack obama,iraq war,surge strategy,obama in iraq,john mccain,campaign 08,vets for freedom,pete hegseth

Rupert Murdoch Scarier Than Obama....

Rupert Murdoch is even scarier than Obama because of the enormous power he wields via his media properties. What follows is my rough transcript of a portion of an interview with him this week. The video from WSJ is here.


WSJ: Did you have anything to do with NY Post endorsing Obama over Clinton?

RM: Yes!....he'll probably win....you've got the Obama phenomenon, he's a rock star...he won't carry Florida because the Jewish people are suspicious of him, and so are the Hispanics...we've got undoubtedly a recession and the majority of Americans are really hurting.

WSJ: What is the McCain issue from your perspective?

RM: he's been in the congress a long, time... had to make too many compromises; a patriot, a decent guy...doesn't now too much about the economy..I think he has a lot of problems.

WSJ: Who are you backing?

RM: ..I'm not backing anyone...I want to meet Obama...I want to know if he's going to walk the walk...if you read his education policy..it's just great....the educational system in this country is a total disgrace...he's got to take control of the curriculum..

WSJ: Why is she (Clinton) staying in?

RM: Everyone is telling her to get out except her husband and Mark Penn...I think Obama would never, never give her the number two spot...he doesn't want the Clintons around...

WSJ: And you like that idea, the notion...

RM:..I'd like a complete break with the past.

WSJ: WSJ: Did you have anything to do with NY Post endorsing Obama over Clinton?

RM: Yes

Tags: rupert murdoch,barack obama,hillary clinton,murdoch media empire,murdoch for obama,

White Woman Thrown Under Bus....

"an inadequate black male" "our democratic party threw us down the tubes" "McCain will be the next president of the United States."

Those are the words of Harriet Christian, a New York democrat and Hillary supporter, reacting to her party's treatment of the Clinton candidacy. She apparently was ejected from a Rules Committee meeting. Video follows:

Recent polling shows 28% of democrats would vote for McCain if Obama is the nominee while if Clinton prevailed only 19% of Dems would go McCain.

Tags:harriet christian,angry hillary supporter,hillary clinton,democratic party rules,campaign 08,

Culture and Style Gap: Obama Leaves Trinity....

Update: Here is a link to press conference transcript relating to the Obama's decision to leave Trinity United.

Blaming reporters and assorted busybodies pestering church members, especially the shut-ins and the sick, Barack Obama has resigned from Trinity United Church of Christ. Press reports this evening note his leaving the church with "some sadness" and that has been months since he attended Trinity. This action is obviously fallout from not only the Jeremiah Wright rants but the newly emerging reports about the lunatic priest Father Michael Pfleger who performed at the church last Sunday. (see our posting below)

At a news conference in Aberdeen, S.D., after the news emerged on the blog of a black journalist in Chicago, Obama said he and his wife, Michelle, had notified the church in a letter Friday that they “”were withdrawing as members of Trinity,” in part because of “a cultural and a stylistic gap."

Tags:barack obama,campaign 08,jeremiah wright,trinity united church of christ,michael pfleger

Denver Silly Season 2008 Begins....

To kick off the Summer 2008 Denver Season of Silliness we have the tidbit below from the Rocky Mountain News. The top event of the season will of course be the Democrat National Convention; now, that's going to be fun!

Rest assured that a citizen initiative in Denver CO, if passed, could get to the bottom of this alien abduction business. One Jeff Peckman, is pushing a ballot initiative to create an Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission in Denver. He has a video of an alien peeking into a window which shows the chap blinking!

"It shows an extra terrestrial's head popping up outside of a window at night, looking in the window, that's visible through an infrared camera," he said. The alien is about 4 feet tall and can be seen blinking, Peckman said earlier this month.

Tags: denver convention,denver co,democrat convention,hillary,barack,democrats implode,flying saucers,et,space aliens,

Kennedy Possible Stroke: Fox News Reports!

Well, at least Hillary's OK!
Tags: fox news,hillary,ted kennedy,kennedy stroke,campaign 08,bizarre headlines

Super Delegates Key: Brokered Convention?

Brokered Convention and Super Delegates: Hillary's Firewall?

Even though Clinton won ___ primaries on Tuesday, even though many of them concede there is probably no stopping Candidate ___ now, dozens of Democratic senators and representatives remain reluctant to endorse h__.

Senator R. scheduled a news conference for Friday to announce his backing. Senator D. told news organizations in his home state that the moment had come to rally around Clinton. But beyond that there was little movement.

Of 264 superdelegates in the House and Senate, 93, or 35 percent, have endorsed Clinton so far, according to a continuing survey by The New York Times.... and most made their statements some time ago. A much larger number remain officially uncommitted.

Clinton's press secretary, insisted that "people are starting to rally around the flag," and she mentioned Mr. R. as an example. She also said the Governor plans to meet with uncommitted superdelegates on Capitol Hill on April 29, the day after the Pennsylvania primary, when Congress will return from the Easter recess.

But Representative E.of Ohio, more willing perhaps to speak on the record than many of his colleagues because he has announced his retirement from the House, said that he and some of his colleagues had constituted an informal "Missouri caucus -- a show-me caucus" -- and would do nothing for now.

"The voters haven't embraced Clinton, so I don't see any reason why I should endorse h__," Mr. E. said. "Look at the exit polls. People have terrible doubts about this ___, and we're talking about Democrats."

In the State N. primary Tuesday, the turnout was exceptionally low, 29 percent of the electorate backed Candidate T.,.... two-thirds of the voters said they were dissatisfied with the choice presented to them, and 4 in 10 said they doubted Clinton had the integrity to be President.

.... the party chairman, has been phoning uncommitted delegates and others, "discussing the lay of the political territory," as he described it. He denied putting pressure on anybody, but others in the party said he was sending a subtle but clear message that it was time to halt the squabbling.

"There's a real tug-of-war up here," said one House member. "Especially on this side, there are a lot of people who are terrified that all the character questions, all the negatives about Clinton that showed up in N, make h__ so weak that a lot of people will lose their seats."

A prominent Senator, who also asked not to be identified, added, "lots of people are hearing from home, 'Keep it open, even if the odds make it look impossible,' because Candidate X may self-destruct before the convention."

... a leading Democratic money-raiser, has called together 65 big party contributors to discuss "how a brokered convention might work."

Ha Ha, sound familiar? See the original NY Times (April 10, 1992) article which we have reworked above.
h/t Free Republic for photo
Tags:campaign 08,hillary clinton,bill clinton,brokered convention,super delegates,democrat doubts,candidate self destructs,campaign '92,hillary firewall

Obama-Rev Wright: Chris Dodd Weighs In....

In the following clip (5:39) from today's Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace we see our Senator Dodd, a Barack Obama supporter, visibly annoyed at having to answer questions about the relationship between Sen. Obama and his former pastor the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. He attempts to end the discussion by saying Obama has rejected his pastor's statements and that's that. Wallace points out that Obama only rejected Wright's inflammatory statements this week after they received widespread coverage in the media including ABC's Brian Ross. Dodd counters with words to the effect that Obama didn't know about it until it surfaced in the press. Wallace says Obama knew about it year ago when he commenced his campaign and dis invited the reverend from officiating at the kickoff event. All Dodd could do was to repeat we need to get to the "real issues", as though the Obama-Wright affair was not one.




A new feature on Fox News Sunday: "The Obama Countdown" h/t ConPunk


Tagged: barack obama,black values,rev jeremiah wright,sen chris dodd,chris wallace,campaign 08,fox news sunday