I'll throw that question mark up because it's unclear if it's true (though I have certain suspicions), and if it is true, it certainly won't be his last betrayal. We'll have him on every cable and network news show for the next 8 years to snipe at Republicans and once again become the liberal media's favorite "Republican."

With his electoral prospects fading by the day, Senator John McCain has fallen out with his vice-presidential running mate about the direction of his White House campaignÂ…

Mark Salter, McCain’s long-serving chief of staff, is understood to have told campaign insiders that he would prefer his boss, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, to suffer an “honourable defeat” rather than conduct a campaign that would be out of character – and likely to lose him the election.

Palin, 44, has led the character attacks on Obama in the belief that McCain may be throwing away the election and her chance of becoming vice-president. Her supporters think that if the Republican ticket loses on November 4, she should run for president in 2012Â…

A McCain official confirmed that there was dissension in the campaign. “There is always going to be a debate about the costs and benefits of any strategy,” he said.

Read it for yourself.

I now have a theory as to why the Fannie/Freddie stuff was left on the table almost until it was too late -- and then only addressed half-heartedly -- but I'm sure there'll be plenty of time for recriminations ahead of us.

Posted by: Ace at 03:30 PM | Comments (245)
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Seriously.

I know the movie is set during the Nixon administration but Helen never looked like Annette Benning.

Apparently in Hollywood all things are possible so when they make and cast Ace of Spades HQ: The Movie, the part of DrewM. will be played by Patrick Dempsey. Now as a straight guy I'm not sure if he's that good looking of a guy but the chicks seem to love him, so that's good enough for me.

Any other casting thoughts for the bloggers or commenters?

Below the fold my choice to play Ace and Dave in Texas.

UPDATE [DiT]: Fine. FINE.

Flamin? I think it's on. more...

Posted by: DrewM at 01:55 PM | Comments (123)
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I'm putting this in a new post since the last one ran kind of long.

First, McCain.

"Congressman John Lewis' comments represent a character attack against Governor Sarah Palin and me that is shocking and beyond the pale," McCain said. "The notion that legitimate criticism of Senator Obama's record and positions could be compared to Governor George Wallace, his segregationist policies and the violence he provoked is unacceptable and has no place in this campaign."

McCain continued, saying "I am saddened that John Lewis, a man I've always admired, would make such a brazen and baseless attack on my character and the character of the thousands of hardworking Americans who come to our events to cheer for the kind of reform that will put America on the right track."

"I call on Senator Obama to immediately and personally repudiate these outrageous and divisive comments that are so clearly designed to shut down debate 24 days before the election. Our country must return to the important debate about the path forward for America."

Naturally, through his spokesman Obama tries to have it both ways.

“Senator Obama does not believe that John McCain or his policy criticism is in any way comparable to George Wallace or his segregationist policies. But John Lewis was right to condemn some of the hateful rhetoric that John McCain himself personally rebuked just last night, as well as the baseless and profoundly irresponsible charges from his own running mate that the Democratic nominee for President of the United States ‘pals around with terrorists.’ As Barack Obama has said himself, the last thing we need from either party is the kind of angry, divisive rhetoric that tears us apart at a time of crisis when we desperately need to come together. That is the kind of campaign Senator Obama will continue to run in the weeks ahead”

My guess is this isn't going to go very far. The press obviously aren't going to dig into it. Come on, Lewis is a Democrat and besides most of them probably agree with him.

As for McCain, what's he going to do? Yeah he could go on the offensive about smear tactics, uncivil discourse and the double standards of the left but what's that going to accomplish? Is that going to move the needle as much as ACORN/Obama and the economy? It's late in the game and you can only attack on so many fronts without stepping on your own message.

Of course this kind of attack is the thing that strikes at McCain's sense of honor so I'm sure he'll want to do it and in a better world, could do it. I'm just not sure with three weeks left and the economy at the top of everyone's mind, it will serve him well.

Posted by: DrewM at 01:30 PM | Comments (46)
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At one point John Lewis was an important and courageous figure in America. Now he's just a fucking hack politician who will smear someone who has the temerity to be a Republican and run against Barack Obama.

"What I am seeing reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history," Lewis said in a statement issued today. "Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse."

Lewis didn't accuse McCain of imitating Wallace, but suggested there were similarities.

"George Wallace never threw a bomb," Lewis noted. "He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights. Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama."

...“As public figures with the power to influence and persuade, Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are playing with fire, and if they are not careful, that fire will consume us all," Lewis said today. "They are playing a very dangerous game that disregards the value of the political process and cheapens our entire democracy. We can do better. The American people deserve better.”

Does pointing out that Barack Obama has ties to a domestic terrorist make you racist? Apparently. Does pointing out the Barack Obama has ties to some of the most leftwing groups in America make you a racist? Apparently. Does pointing out that had we followed Barack Obama's advice we'd have handed Iraq to Islamic terrorists make you a racist? Again, apparently.

Unless Lewis and the other far left hacks can point to something McCain or Palin has specifically said that is racist or echoes Wallace and other segregationists they need to shut up. They are simply devaluing the concept of racism and exposing themselves as people who are not interested in racial equality but rather using quasi-fascist tactics to shut down any debate. That's a concept that's far more repugnant than anything McCain or Palin have ever said or done.

Oh and do enjoy this bit of tasty bipartisanship. At the Saddleback Church event, McCain listed Lewis as one of the 3 people he would seek advice from. How's that reaching across the aisle working out for you Mav?

One other thought...By your own 'logic' what kind of "conditions" are you creating Congressman Lewis when you compare McCain to Wallace? Are you suggested someone should take a shot at him like they did at Wallace? Really you son of a bitch, is that what you think should happen? Come on tell us.

Of course as Ace has pointed out many times, the left is only worried about violence when they imagine it's directed at them. Cheer leading for violence aimed at the right, it is simply another tactic. more...

Posted by: DrewM at 11:39 AM | Comments (97)
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For those of you morons who care. Texas just went up 38-35 over OU with 7:46 left in the 4th. Some sloppy calls from the refs, but overall a decent game.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 11:10 AM | Comments (37)
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On Thursday a federal district court ruled that Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner must perform voter verification required by the Help American Vote Act and provide that information to county election boards.

Yesterday, the Sixth Circuit vacated the order:

A federal appeals court ruled 2-1 last night in favor of Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to put on hold an order sought by the Ohio Republican Party involving information about new voters and concerns about potential fraud.

The three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Brunner is not required to provide county elections boards with the names of voters whose personal information does not match state motor-vehicle or federal Social Security records, as ordered Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge George C. Smith of Columbus.

The Court ruled that Republicans waited too long to challenge Brunner's policies and that this "late-game litigation" could not be permitted. Moreover, it is the panel's opinion that Brunner would likely win on the underlying question of HAVA requirements. The court believes “it would be nice if the system printed out a list of individuals...that did not match,” but “HAVA does not require that level of user-friendliness.”

The dissent says that Brunner's "lack of concern for the integrity of the elections process is astounding and deeply disturbing." The dissent and the Republican litigants are also crying foul because the panel rushed to deliver its opinion before the full Court had a chance to decide on their motion to accept the case en banc. That is still technically a possibility, but given the short time until the election and the fact that an opinion has now been issued in the case is less likely than if the panel had waited.

Ohio goes blue this year.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 09:43 AM | Comments (113)
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Gotta be some out there.

Posted by: Ace at 09:32 AM | Comments (193)
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Allah says this almost isn't worth watching because Camaratta lets Levinson interrupt and filibuster.

I disagree. Put Scott Levinson on the air 24 hours a day. Let people see him. Let people hear him. He defeats himself.

Watch this video too.

Levinson is a superstar -- for the right.

I gotta a feveh, and the only prescription is more Scott Levinson.

And Obama links himself to ACORN:

In 1992, Mr. Obama was personally involved in voter registration efforts when he served as director of Project Vote in Chicago, helping to register 150,000 voters on the South Side. His success was widely written about at the time and credited with helping to elect Senator Carol Moseley Braun, the first African-American woman in the Senate.

Mr. LaBolt emphasized that Project Vote and Acorn were not as intertwined at that time as they are today, when a significant part of Project VoteÂ’s revenues flow to Acorn and various of its affiliates as payment for services.

But according to Sam Graham-Felsen, who blogs on the Obama campaignÂ’s Web site, Mr. Obama himself linked his 1992 work to Acorn in a meeting with AcornÂ’s leaders in November.

“Even before I was an elected official, when I ran Project Vote voter registration drives in Illinois, Acorn was smack dab in the middle of it, and we appreciate your work,” Mr. Obama said, according to a post Mr. Graham-Felsen made in February.

Thanks to someone for that quote. He sent it last night, but I'm linking JWF for it.

more...

Posted by: Ace at 09:07 AM | Comments (36)
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Ayers? Off limits. Distraction.

Random unsophisticated dolt who shows up at a McCain rally to call Barack Obama an Arab? Apparently she's McCain's and Palin's third running mate.

Posted by: Ace at 08:48 AM | Comments (35)
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I'm here, just thought I'd open it up.

Posted by: Ace at 08:05 AM | Comments (104)
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