SPECIAL THANKS to the brain trust at the Daily Kos, and of course their, um, conservative confrere Andrew Sullivan, for helping compile and verify these.

10. "My friends, we need to drill here, drill now, and stop this massive transfer of wealth to countries that don't like us very much." (page 77, chapter title, "A Dream of St. Petersberg")

9. "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran." (page 241, chapter title "The Moral Monstrosity of Soviet Totalitarianism; and Iran's No Picnic in the Park Either, Believe Me")

8. "The surge is our last, best hope of creating a stable, peaceful country in Iraq." (page 93, chapter title "Just Hangin' Out in My Cell, Thinking About Future Wars 'n Shit")

7. "Country first." (page 133, chapter title "The Soviet Union's Really Pretty Terrific, Actually, Despite the Beefs I've Had With Them From Time to Time")

6. "My wife Cindy and I would be honored to attend your son's marriage." (page 158, chapter"If I Ever Marry an American Woman, I'm Pretty Sure I'd Want to Marry a "Cindy," Because Cindys Always Struck Me as Both Sweet and Hellcats in the Sack")

5. "My wife Cindy and I plan to vacation on St. Bart's." (page 163, "Chillaxin' on St. Bart's with My Imaginary Wife Cindy")

4. "Thanks for the question, you little jerk." ("Foreword, You Little Jerks")

3. "As President, I vow I will chase Osama bin Ladin to the Gates of Hell." (page 188, "I Can't Legally Become President of the United States, But With an Awesome Imaginary Wife Like Cindy By My Side, Who Knows What's Possible")

2. "This joke was really kinda played out after Number 7, if not from the outset." (page 27, "This Is Why I Don't Write Top Tens Anymore; Maybe I'll Start Doing Top Threes")

...and the Number One Passage John McCain swiped from Solzenhitzyn...

1. "I'm John McCain, and I approved this message." (page i, "author credit")

Posted by: Ace at 12:48 PM | Comments (30)
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Worth a read.

Here's Sullivan, playing his usual role of heroic martyr for truth:

...And why are we not allowed to ask these questions, when they relate to one of the most important questions anyone can ask about a president: the question of integrity? If McCain has fabricated a religious epiphany for political purposes, it is about as deep a betrayal of core integrity as one can imagine, and the latest example of how pernicious the religious domination of political life in America has become.

Well, first of all, Mr. Excitable, you are allowed to ask these questions. No one is putting a sack-cloth over your head in the dead of night (unless that's by your own arrangement, NTTAWWT).

I actually don't think Sullivan's charge here is outrageous -- I think it's pretty common for politicians to embellish personal stories for effect. John McCain, having such powerful real stories in the first place, has little need for additional embellishment; but I don't think it's beyond belief that he might have exaggerated this one, or claimed it happened to he himself when it really happened to someone else, or etc.

I tend to think it happened as McCain says, but I'm not 100% committed to that. It's possible he embellished, or even lied. The next obvious questions: 1, Can you prove that? and 2, So fucking what?

The trouble with this inquiry is, as many have written, it is hard to prove a negative, so the left starts out knowing it can never prove their charge. But they press it anyway, hoping they can do some damage to a candidate they oppose simply by smearing him with unprovable allegations.

The second problem is that, in the scheme of things, this would be one of the least important political fibs (if it is a fib) in the history of political fibs. Sullivan attempts to argue that this is the Holy Grail of embellished stories (if it is embeliished) confounding it (as he is wont to do) with his palpable, eye-twitching hatred of religious Christians.

If a single false tale about one's religiosity is a disqualifier for the presidency, what do we make of Obama's serial lies about Jeremiah Wright and infanticide? And -- if it's not merely acceptable but well-nigh critical to ask questions about someone's true religious beliefs and history- - then certainly Sullivan, of all people, should support similar questions about the exact nature and duration of Obama's years in a Muslim school and Muslim culture.

Sullivan, brave inquisitor of integrity regarding religious issues, should not dismiss those like-minded souls who have the courage to scrutinize Obama's religion as a youth as engaging in racist or xenophobic smears, but should instead welcome them as fellow Internet Detectives for Truth and Integrity.

Sullivan, as usual, does not intend his suddenly-discovered "rule" to apply to anyone at all except the current target of his double-standard doubletalk.

The fact that Sullivan had such powerful "heart-ache" -- often reporting himself to be "sickened" or "appalled" -- over those who challenged Kerry's accounts of his Vietnam years certainly suggests that Sullivan's standards on this score are flexible, or at least highly nuanced. I don't remember the Swift Boat Vets ever being hailed as truth-seekers and integrity-detectives by Sullivan for questioning John Kerry's nonsense accounts of how he came to receive three Purple Hearts. Quite the opposite, actually.

But that's in the past. If questions of religiosity are indeed the most important of all, than surely Sullivan is himself an advocate of questioning whether Obama was in fact a practicing Muslim as a young lad. That's also very unlikely to be proven either way, of course, but certainly Sullivan must commend those who probe into this crucial question as doing important work in the service of integrity. A man who would lie or merely fudge the facts on such a fundamental question is simply not fit for the presidency (pandering, as he would be, to the dictates of the Holy Terror of the religious right); we owe it to this nation to dig, dig, dig, and insinuate, insinuate, insinuate, even with little hope of ever actually proving our assertions.

[AP Photo Caption] 19 months ago: This registration document, made available on Jan. 24, 2007, by the Fransiskus Assisi school in Jakarta, Indonesia, shows the registration of Barack Obama under the name Barry Soetoro into the Catholic school made by his step-father, Lolo Soetoro. The document lists Barry Soetoro as a Indonesian citizen, born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, and shows his Muslim step-father listed the boy's religion as Islam.(AP Photo/ Tatan Syuflana)

Why was Obama registered as a member of the Islam religion at a Catholic school, if he was not? It's one thing to claim he was registered as a Muslim at a Muslim school just to avoid hassle and ostracism; but why conceal his true Christian faith at a bona-fide Christian school?

Barry's adopted father sure seemed to think Barry was a practicing Muslim. This is an official document. On paper. Not merely scrawled in the sand, lost forever. We've got this document right in hand.

Just doin' my bit for integrity.

And Sullivan -- you're welcome.

More: The "interesting theory" put forward by Sullivan and his confrers at the Daily Kos always relied (up until now) on the key "fact" that this anecdote first appeared in Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago, published in 1973. "Quotations" from that book have been offered by the left.

The theory went that McCain, a fan of Solzhenitsyn, picked up the anecdote from reading that book.

Trouble is, it doesn't appear in any of Solzhenitsyn''s published works. (Where did those quotes from the book come from?)

Solzhenitsyn did, it seems, tell the story orally in a speech in 1977.

Meet the new theory (same as the old theory) that McCain cribbed from this speech.

Trouble is, if Solzenihyn is apparently making it up (after all, he didn't write about it in his exhaustive book about his captivity, ergo, per the left's assumptions about such tales always being written immediately after the fact, it didn't ever really happen to him at all)... um, how do we know Solzhenitsyn didn't crib it from McCain, rather than vice versa?

Eh. A fool's errand. But we have no shortage of fools volunteering for duty.

And thus we have a lot of lefties talking up McCain's heroic captivity in service of his country, and also his Christian bona fides.

Well played, fellers. KRYMB.*

* Just shorthand at this point: Karl Rove, You Magnificent Bastard.

Posted by: Ace at 11:20 AM | Comments (67)
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It's all silly season stuff but according to National Review Online McCain has been testing the waters.

NR has learned that the McCain campaign has been calling key state GOP officials around the country the last couple of days and sounding them out about the consequences of a pro-choice VP pick. The campaign is asking about the reaction of conservative grass-roots activists to such a pick and whether a pro-choicer can be sold to them. This is an indication that the McCain campaign is serious about the possibility of a pro-choice VP nominee and that McCain leaving the door open to Tom Ridge last week may not have been merely a friendly nod to a longtime supporter.

Now speculation is turning to Rudy as the possible pro-choice option.

Personally, abortion isn't a make or break issue (judges that will over turn Roe most definitely is) but a pro-choice VP pick just makes no sense to me.

Obviously, if McCain goes that route he thinks that with his pro-life record and Obama's refusal to support a bill that would have outlawed what is essentially infanticide, pro-lifers aren't going to desert him. Still, it seems McCain has to really ask himself is Ridge, Giuliani or some other choice so great that it's worth the risk of killing the Republican coalition?

Related...There is a report that McCain will name his VP a week from this Friday in Ohio. That's the day after Obama's ascension acceptance speech and McCain's 72nd birthday. Beyond Ohio's status as a must have battleground state, does the location of the announcement hint at anything? As far as I know the only VP candidate being talked about from Ohio is Rob Portman and he's solidly pro-life.

As I said, it's all silly season speculation at this point.

UPDATE:

Halperin says Ridge is out but McCain aides are floating the idea of a pro-choice running mate by big GOP donors.

As has been brought up in the comments, could Lieberman be the one? Maybe but it seems being pro-choice is the least of Lieberman's issues. He is a freaking Democrat after all. Yeah, yeah, 'independent', I know. The fact is 8 years ago he was the Democrats VP nominee and he caucuses with the Democrats in the Senate so....DEMOCRAT.

A McCain/Lieberman ticket pretty much ruins the Republican Party for a very long time, right? Think about it, in one fell swoop that ticket would alienate the fiscal conservatives*, social conservatives and anyone who simply thinks of themselves as a Republican and is at all to the right of say, Arlen Specter. What's left exactly to build on after that?

*Yes, fiscal-cons like McCain on spending but are wary of him on taxes as well as cap and trade and his flights of populist rhetoric on 'big' business and 'Wall Street'.

Posted by: DrewM at 09:42 AM | Comments (95)
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In Vehicular Manslaughter Tech

As you drive to and from work day after day, surely you observe other drivers weaving slowly yet unpredictably in and out of the left lane while reading People Magazine, talking on their cellphones, and eating linguini with a fork and spoon.

You probably often yawn to yourself, "How can my daily commute get more dangerous? Surely there's some way to increase lethal distractions on the road. It's like these pathetic assholes aren't even trying anymore."

Well my friends, your boredom is about to come to a painful, crashing end.

....here's a microwave that's not only mini, it's actually designed to work in your car, so you can heat up pop-tarts or nuke some links while you drive to work (theoretically, at least -- let's hope you do this cooking while parked) [Let's hope a million dollars flies out of my ass, while we're at it.-Ed.]

Maplin, a UK electronics retailer (think Radio Shack), is selling a microwave that runs on 12 Volt DC power -- yes, it's meant to be plugged into your car's cigarette lighter, which means you'll be able to heat up your burritos, cold pizza, or even ramen noodles while you careen down the highway at 80-miles-per-hour.

NOW you're talkin', you crazy sumbitches! Microwaves are synonymous with speed, am I right?

Be assured my darling morons that your friends and neighbors are right now ordering this product with trembling fingers. You might maybe think of getting some better tires and wearing driving gloves.

And stockpile Stouffer's Welsh Rarebit lava-hot cheese sauce. That stuff will sell out in no time. It's made for the open road.

From Fark.

Posted by: LauraW at 08:07 AM | Comments (62)
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The Federal tax man is undoubtedly having fits over lost gas/diesel tax revenue.

...US oil demand in the first half of this year dropped by an average of 800,000 barrels per day, the biggest fall in 26 years...

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 07:37 AM | Comments (27)
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Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 07:33 AM | Comments (26)
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There is a lot of buzz this morning that Obama is going to pick Delaware Senator Joseph Biden to be his VP running mate.

In fact, Biden currently leads the named field on the unscientific "Drudge Report" poll for potential selections, trailing only some unspecified "wild card" candidate.

Now, aside from Joe Biden himself, is there anyone that thinks that Biden brings much of anything to this ticket? Aside from hair-plugs and an over-inflated sense of self-worth, that is. Oh, and possibly a dog-eared copy of Neil Kinnock's autobiography.

It isn't like Delaware is going to be in play. And Biden has limited to no appeal to , well, anyone who isn't a booking agent for Meet the Press. He strikes most folks who live outside the beltway (and more than will admit it who live inside of the beltway) as someone who has built a political career by merging the hucksterism of his used car salesman father with the charisma of publicity seeking, shinola spewing trial lawyer. Worst yet, the man is 65 years old, and has served in the United States Senate since he was 30.

Why selecting a creature of the Senate who has spent his entire adult life in the world's most exclusive club just exudes "hopenchanginess" doesn't it? So why pick him?

Conventional wisdom holds that Obama is perceived as weak on foreign affairs and international issues. Biden, by virtue of his time spent on the Senate Foreign relations Committee, and his high profile "fact finding missions" to places like Georgia, would seem to fill that gap in Obama's resume and narrow McCain's advantage on that set of issues. Conventional wisdom also seems to think Biden would temper the impact of that "3 AM" question with regard to handling national security.

But.

I think that's arguable. Biden is essentially a buffoon. He's quick on his feet. He's slick. He can put on a good dog and pony show. But if the answer to "who you gonna call" is "Joe Biden" you may be asking the wrong question. The truth is that a guy like Sam Nunn has pieces of guys like Joe Biden in his foreign policy stool.

So why pick Biden, then?

Let's float an idea here. Barack Obama has a real problem. The more people are exposed to Barack Obama, the better his opponent looks. Truthfully, it's his fundamental weakness.

John Breaux used to say that "in order to get people to vote for you, you gotta get people to like ya." Obama is completely unlikable. Aloof, arrogant, humorless, phony, and so enamored with being Barack that people have no trouble associating him with the leadership of a creepy cult of personality.

So, if you were Obama and were desperate to get the attention off of you, a guy like Biden makes sense. Biden is, like Chuck Schumer, genetically incapable of staying out of the spotlight. Biden would be, essentially, the grandest of all diversions: a VP nominee who can generate as much light as the nominee.

Consider it like a magician using smoke in one hand to hide what he's doing with the other. And Biden is pretty good at blowing smoke.

The other names being bandied about (Kaine, Bayh, Sibelius, etc) don't generate heat. They lack any semblance of charisma. They are room temperature stiffs for a guy desperately needing to shift attention off of himself for awhile. The only other name being bandied about that would generate heat (Clinton) isn't gonna happen.

Biden has one other "advantage". I was gonna put it in another post, but I'll throw it in here instead. After years of vilifying Dick "Night of the Rampaging Cougar-Man" Cheney, Obama could very easily bring the crowd at Invesco field to spontaneous orgasm by saying something like this (assuming the teleprompter was working):

"Comrades (heh), this is an election about hope and change. No longer will the established forces of insider cronyism be pulling the strings in Washington DC. No longer will the Dick Cheney's of the world be given free reign to implement the policy agenda of their Corporate masters under the presumed authority of ther highest office in the land. Where others fail to lead, I will. I announce that if elected, I will eliminate, for all practical purposes, the Office of the Vice President. He will continue to serve his constitutionally mandates role as President of the Senate and he will continue to enjoy the traditional accoutrements of that office. But there will be no 'shadow administration' in an Obama White House like there is in the Bush/McCain White House. His staff, his office space, the funding for that office, all gone. Instead, my Vice President will also serve as Secretary of State. He will be accountable to me. But most of all you need not fear that the resources available to the office of the Vice Presidency will be used to enrich the oil companies...blah, blah blah..."

You know damn well some "true conservatives" (cough Andrew Sullivan/Obamacan Lincoln Chafee) would get featured op-eds in the New York Times the next day talking about how Obama was the first truly conservative government reformer (eliminating excess bureaucracy! Combining efficiencies! Downsizing government!) since, oh, I dunno, that other great "conservative" reformer LBJ.

I kid. But not really. Biden would clearly love to be Sec of State. Slapping Cheney around excites Democrats. The office of the Vice Presidency is pretty useless (until it isn't), and really doesn't need all the resources allocated to it.

Will this happen? I dunno. I think Biden would end up being a horrible pick for Obama, so I hope he chooses him.

But it would give Obama the potential for more buzz than you might first expect. It would be a stunt that he couldn't credibly pull off with most of the other names mentioned. And the nutroots would explode with love and money, but mainly money because they really are a fever swamp of hateful bastards.

Posted by: Jack M. at 06:54 AM | Comments (116)
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Flopping Aces and NRO have a lot more on this, but it sounds like a big deal to me given the Messiah's statements about Ayers being just some guy who lived down the street that he met at a few social gatherings. There's lots of people on my street, but none of them have asked me to be the Chairman of the Board of some organization they're running. Of course my commie street cred is at an all time low point these days, so that may have something to do with it.

If Hillary! plays it smart, she could get a lot of leverage with the Super-D's from red states over this kind of thing. more...

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 05:53 AM | Comments (42)
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Wind. Surf. Building.

That's gonna leave a mark.

(tip: Garret L.)

more...

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 04:31 AM | Comments (43)
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Here's the big blank empty where the post had been.

On the front page, they duly note the NYT is reporting the selection has been made, but gone all are references to the Page's "sources" claiming Drudge was in error.

Why hide this? Why not just ad an update that the NYT is now reporting otherwise? Or make a note of their previous sources' claims?

Being spun by Obama's people isn't a moral failing. But it is a moral failing to then attempt to cover that up.

Hell, if the Page's "sources" are no longer willing to stand by their previous denials, then that is also newsworthy -- and should be reported. If they are still denying, that too is somewhat newsworthy (though less so, as it probably just means The Page's sources aren't as good as the NYT's or Drudge's).

Either way, I don't see what is gained by the Page pretending they never gave Drudge the Nelson "ha, ha" on this.

Well, I guess I do. The mainstream media is very insecure, and not at all happy about admitting that not only did Drudge get this right (which is bad enough) but that Drudge is now considered a far bigger news-platform by which to leak information than any MSM outlet.

Not really sure how dishonestly helps reverse this state of affairs, though.

Thanks to Brenn.

Related: Kaus on the media covering up for Edwards, when Edwards personally called them to not report the Rielle Hunter story out of respect for his cancer-stricken wife.

The story of the Edwards Coverup, which has only begun to trickle out, is certainly providing a useful civic education in how powerful pols actually go about attempting to influence the MSM. It's one of those situations where unsophisticated people probably think the candidate himself calls the top editor directly to baldly influence coverage, while more sophisticated people know there are institutional procedures in place to protect against that sort of crude personal lobbying. Meanwhile, the really sophisticated people know the candidate himself calls the top editor directly to baldly influence coverage.

The media wishes us to take their every word as verified and true, and yet when their own dealings and decisions are questioned, it's nothing but defensive dishonesty.

Why would the public believe the media about Barack Obama or John McCain when they can't even report accurately or honestly about a subject they know firsthand-- themselves?

Posted by: Ace at 09:34 PM | Comments (45)
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