(cross-posted at the new Firedoglake site, CampaignSilo.com):

While Obama was giving a pretty good speech in Berlin, conservative bloggers felt a cold breeze blowing across American history, reminding them of History Channel documentaries with names like Hitler: The Rise of Evil. While others were merely riled-up-as-usual by any country that doesn't speak English—like NextRight's Patrick Ruffini, who's aggrieved that an event in Germany was publicized using handbills printed in German—some plunged further into dread.

I am so mad right now I don't know what to do.  For those unfamiliar with me, I live in a small, conservative, republican town in Georgia.  I just had a HUGE argument with my next door neighbor.  After seeing my new shiny Obama sticker on my van, she launched into an attack on me that was unprovoked and very unsettling.  She asked me why he couldn't say the pledge of allegiance to which I replied, that is not true.  I then explained the details of various lies and smears.  She continued to bring up every smear out there from the pledge to the swearing in on the Koran.  I told her she needed to check her facts as these had all been disproved.  She then asked, "So if he is a Muslim, and did swear on a Koran, then would you still support him?"  I explained that I would support him because a person's religion is not an important factor to me.  Which is when she said, "I hope if he gets elected, that he is shot and killed within 24 hours!"

This morning's newspapers reported profits of $5.44 Billion by Conoco-Phillips. This is up 13% from last year. Later in the day, the GOP killed a bill to release 70 million barrells of oil reserves to the American public to give them some relief at the gas pump. Republicans said it was in order to prepare for a "real" national emergency according to this AP new release. http://news.yahoo.com/...

Apparently, record gas prices, record insurance premiums, and record forclosures on homes in the U.S in the midlst of record profits for the oil companies does not constitute a "real" emergency to Republicans.

Or...... is there method to their madness?

If the polls continue to show how weak a candidate John McCain is; particularly in those Republican states usually taken for granted; it is possible he may not be the Presidential nominee after the Republican convention.

This Bud isn't for you.

I understand that the board of directors of a corporation is only responsible to it shareholders but it seems to me that there must be more.  Anheuser-Busch was recently sold to InBev, a Germany company for a gazillon dollars ($52 billion).  The stockholders, including Cindy McCain, are doing a victory dance.  Everyone is happy.  InBev gets to decrease competition.  Upper management and stockholders of Anheuser-Busch get to cash in.  Yahoo!  Everybody dance.  

It seems there are some folks that aren’t dancing, again.  American Workers.  The employees of Anheuser-Busch aren’t dancing.  InBev is going to cut costs - their specialty.  Cutting cost is business speak for firing workers and making the workers who stay work harder for less money.  This is a very common scenario.  We, Americans, should be use to this by now.  We have seen companies buyout other companies and then institute "cost" savings.  Wall Street loves this.  The stock usually will skyrocket and folks with money will make more money.  

Just what is up lately with John McCain?  One has to wonder if his campaign is sabotaging him on purpose.  Surely it can't be the case that the candidate of a major American political party is completely without access to a basic fact checker?

Even a college-aged intern (with the Google or other basic Internet skills) ought to be able to help a guy out for next to nothing, without putting undue stress on McCain's budget.

Some of you may have seen the hideous new campaign poster for Ole Grumpy... er, John McCain over at TPM. Just when you think his campaign couldn't get more desperate or clueless, they prove us wrong.

In case you haven't seen the latest triumph, here it is in all it's glory:

Nothing over the top about that, is there?

Well, I've improved it a little:

That's really much better. Should appeal to McCain's base.

As Irrationalbutsane notes in his or her diary today, some in the MSM have adopted a new narrative that seems, at first blush, counter to the smears we on the left have come to expect.  Upon closer inspection, however, these are just smears dressed up but not terribly well hidden as snark and hate.  At least three columnists, including Maureen Dowd an erstwhile liberal, have embraced the narrative that Obama is both prophet, king, savior, and god.  Some putrid examples after the jump...

One thing has been driving me crazy about this drilling debate - everyone seems to assume that if we drill for oil in the US, that we will get the oil. And hence, we won't be dependent on foreign oil anymore. But we won't get anything, Exxon-Mobil will.

Rather than write twenty pages and not get my point across, I present to you a minidocumentary produced by Chuck at UpTake.org.

Please see http://www.youtube.com/...

For the last several years a sorta "friend" from high school and I have had an email relationship, which changes from family news and updates to things political each election year. 2002, 2004, 2006 brought the usual far-right crap emails my way from her (a religious Fundamentalist), and I had asked her in 2006 to stop sending them. She pretty much complied (some basic, mildly annoying stuff came my way here and there) till after Obama sewed up the Democratic nomination.

I've received the ANWR email, the Nancy Pelosi wants to tax all your money email, etc. (See www.snopes.com/politics...I've seen them all from her!). Finally, on Sunday night she sent me the email below: "The more things change..."

What follows that original email is my (annoyed) response to that email, her response to that, and my (on draft as of now, unsent) email back. Should I send it?

Original email ("The more things change, the more they remain the same"):

Really.

CNN Political Ticker
A female volunteer in New Hampshire advised him to get new paid staff, because the ones he has apparently don't work:

"You've got two people sitting right here next to me...They have done more work for you volunteering than a lot of your paid staff have. All your signs that are up outside today, they were put up by us, not by your staff people."

CNN's take was that she figured the question/statement would put her on McCains' sh*t list. But his response is what should have gotten the emphasis (glanced over as usual)....

You know how embarrassed you feel when you do something just stick-stupid? Well, welcome to my world right now. Yesterday I wrote a well-constructed diary designed to expand on points made in Glenn Greenwald's latest book, Great American Hypocrites. Specifically, to examine the specifics of the Republican smear campaigns against presidential candidates going all the way back to Jimmy Carter, and more specifically to smear the candidates as being closeted homosexuals (or at the least exhibiting "homosexual" behaviors). The diary ended with a warning that the Republican slobber machine, aided by witting and unwitting allies in the media, is doing the same to Obama, and that Obama seems to be responding as so many other Democrats have done in the past: running to the right, keeping his head down, and in general letting the Republicans and the idiot media sketch his picture for the American voters.

Then I did a most stupid thing. I titled it "Obama is a F*g." I didn't think it through. In fact, I hardly thought about it at all. It seemed like a clever title, shocking, inflammatory, and attention-getting. It was all of that and more. It was also a damn stupid thing to do. Apologies and arguments below the fold.

I've had just about a gut full of the free pass that the Republicans have been getting lately. I can't be bothered giving a decent intro, more on the flip side.
BTW, expect a rant and mouseover the images for that added special bonus!

So Hotline says Robert Novack says sources say (it's like middle school dating, huh?) that McCain might announce his choice for VP next week, and that the name Novack is hearing is former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

That'd be, by the way, a ticket of flip-floppers on choice since both men were pro-choice and went over to the dark side when they decided to seek the Presidency.

But that's neither here nor there when it comes to why I object to Mitt Romney being on the ticket.  Over the last decade, I forget when, he bought a house on New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee about 3/4 of a mile down the shore from me.  I'm sure the Secret Service has been all over my past already since he was running for Pres, but it's gonna get worse if he runs for VP!

OMG--you can't make this stuff up. It's bad enough that we have Republican Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl to represent the Republican intelligentsia in Arizona.  But now meet Republican Bob Brown who is running for the Arizona House of Representatives.  According to Bob Brown's website, he is a "proven business leader" and:

I will call upon my experience as a small business owner to bring a business perspective of leadership to the legislature.

Real quick because I have to go to work!

I have heard several of these recently but until I heard it with my own ears, wasn't sure.

As the date for selecting a running mate for the presumptive nominees approaches there have been many names thrown into contention for both candidates. While there have been many qualified names offered up for the Democrats and many people have their own personal favorites, I am no exception. According to conventional political wisdom the main purpose of the vice-presidential nominee is to bring unity to the party if there has been a fractious primary, or to bring geographical strength to an area where a candidate may be weak, or for gender, generational or ideological concerns. I believe that one of the top and best choices for Senator Obama’s selection as a running mate would be Governor Kathleen Sibelius of Kansas.