NO LEADER CAN SAVE US WITHOUT OUR ENGAGEMENT - WE HAVE A MESS - AND WE HELPED CREATE IT - IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO BLOG, WRITE COMMENTS AND COMPLAIN

COMPLICITY IS NOT SMART

IT'S TIME TO GET SMART

We can say I'M AS MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE
but that won't fix our mess

We have made this world what it is....one way or another we have done our part. Whether it is that we are not informed or disengaged in our democracy, or we have turned the other way when our elected politicians have been given license by our complicity to reek havoc on our U.S. Constitutional rights and our laissez-faire oversight. Whether we have allowed ourselves to be spoiled and only look as far as our borders, I think it is not an overstatement to say we have a mess on our hands. And no leader can save us without our engagement. We expect everything to fix itself by our complaining, blaming our leaders and not making some tough resolute decisions as individuals who are a nation.

I think it is silly to complain that Sarah Palin isn't being treated fairly by the press. She hardly has been allowed to answer questions by the press. We are being asked to vote for someone who we don't know.

Barack Obama has run an extraordinary campaign. And John McCain hasn't.

And yet, we continue to hear that John McCain has more experience to lead than Barack Obama. Lead what? He hasn't led his campaign well. He has been all over the place with his off-the-hip statements on this Bush bailout. This is no maverick. This is a shoot-off-the-mouth before thinking style. Some may call it "maverick". I call it juvenile.

You know that question "What would Jesus do?" Well, "What would Sarah do?" if she were leading us out of this bailout and the Iraq war? And how would we have any idea of knowing? We don't. Because we have so little idea of who she is and how she governs. If we are to vote for her based on John McCain's selection, i.e. trust his judgment, then well, I don't think that would be smart.

I spend more time on research on buying a televsion, a car than we have been allowed to do on Sarah Palin. Well, I have access to this internet and have done my homework, but most USA citizens want to be spoon fed. I have read and heard so many times that Barack Obama hasn't told them what he is going to do with the economy or whatever else subject, but the very person saying that has done no research on Senator Obama's stands. I have. It is there.

And no one could have a detailed plan that the average get-me-through-the-day USA citizen would sit still for about this ecomony disaster. Besides no one worth his or her salt would spell out a detailed plan because there is so much that is unknown from a President's need-to-know position to do that intelligently. This mess didn't just crop up - it is deep and it has a covert information that must be known first.

Besides that, the average American can't handle the truth, in my opinion. We don't want to hear the truth.

Raise taxes? It is my understanding that we have already bailed out (during the Bush haze and daze) to the tune of
$25 Billion
$85 Billion
$ 200 Billion
and this $700 Billion will be more like $ One Trillion

Do you know how much the Iraq War Price Tag is? Look on my sidebar - it is continually increasing.

I need $50,000. But I have no taxpayers to bail me out. And isn't that the rub?

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Network - "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore"
Peter Finch wins best actor due to this speech
Uploaded by conserv8

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Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Sung by Eva Cassidy
from Washington, D.C.
Uploaded by CasaLucita

WHO ANSWERED PRESS QUESTIONS AFTER THE COME-TO-WASHINGTON MEETING THURSDAY?

Barack Obama Answered Questions.

Did John McCain Answer Questions? No

Did George Bush Answer Questions? No

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Barack Obama Press Conference after the Washington, D.C. meeting with George Bush holding court

MARGARET WARNER TALKS TO THOSE WHO WORK WITH BARACK OBAMA

In the second of four installments on how the presidential candidates would lead, Margaret Warner talks to people who have worked closely with Obama over the years about his leadership style and decision making process.

The first seven minutes of the video show several advisers and former colleagues describe Obama as someone who trusts his advisers, encourages unemotional and open debate on issues and makes quick deliberate decisions after that process. He is also described as someone willing to make small concessions if it will serve a bigger purpose.

Continue watching to see former colleague Republican State Senator Steve Rauschenberger add that Obama was a cautious politician who made little effort to compromise with the Republican Party.

Quotes

"He's very methodical in how he evaluates decisions. He asks a series of questions. He'll engage you in dialogue on the options. And then he'll make a decision. And he doesn't look back at that decision."- David Axelrod, Obama Campaign Chief Strategist

"He listens to various viewpoints. He elicits dissenting views. He weighs those rationally and pragmatically. But then he tends to make a relatively swift and clear decision."- Susan Rice, Obama Campaign Adviser

"We were looking for a Democrat that we could work with and that maybe this was the crossover person that we could get and really make some progress on welfare reform." -Steve Rauschenberger, R-Former Illinois State Senator

Source of text above

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SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), Illinois: Now, with Joe Biden at my side, I am confident we can take this country in a new direction.

MARGARET WARNER: If you want to get an idea of how Barack Obama would govern at president, look at whom he picked for vice president and how.

DAVID AXELROD, Obama Campaign Chief Strategist: He's very methodical in how he evaluates decisions. He asks a series of questions. He'll engage you in dialogue on the options. And then he'll make a decision. And he doesn't look back at that decision.

MARGARET WARNER: His chief political strategist, David Axelrod, said the choice of the far more experienced Senator Biden was no fluke.

DAVID AXELROD: You know, there were those who said, "Well, you don't want Joe Biden because Joe has been around a long time. He's got a lot of opinions. He's a strong personality."

And Barack said, "No, that's exactly what I want." He's completely comfortable with very bright people. He doesn't mind being challenged. He enjoys it.

MARGARET WARNER: The novice presidential candidate built a formidable campaign organization just that way: with a multilayered brain trust of aides and advisers. Insiders say Obama manages by hiring people he trusts and giving them a long leash. His light-handed management style became an issue this spring.

TIM RUSSERT, Former Host, NBC's "Meet the Press": You said one of your weaknesses is, quote, "I'm not an operating officer."

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Well, I think what I was describing was how I view the presidency. Now, being president is not making sure that schedules are being run properly or that paperwork is being shuffled effectively. It involves having a vision for where the country needs to go.

A 'no-drama' mantra

MARGARET WARNER: Obama makes the big decisions, but he expects his advisers to speak up.

SUSAN RICE, Obama Campaign Adviser: He listens to various viewpoints. He elicits dissenting views. He weighs those rationally and pragmatically. But then he tends to make a relatively swift and clear decision.

MARGARET WARNER: Susan Rice is one of his key foreign policy advisers.

SUSAN RICE: He makes everybody feel as though their viewpoint has been heard and appreciated. So even if you happen to be on the losing end of a decision, you feel like your perspectives have been valued, which makes it much more easy for you to be enthusiastic in supporting the decision he ultimately makes.

MARGARET WARNER: That has made for an extremely disciplined campaign, where there are few leaks to the media about internal disagreements. Rice says Obama laid down a no-drama mantra when he hired her.

SUSAN RICE: That means that people check their personal histories and their personal baggage at the door. There's no tolerance for people biting at each other, trying to tear each other down.

MARGARET WARNER: What happens if someone violates that?

SUSAN RICE: I haven't seen it happen yet. We'll see. I suspect it won't be well-tolerated.

MARGARET WARNER: Obama's own decision-making, his advisers say, is dispassionate and never off-the-cuff. Former congressman and federal judge Abner Mikva is a long-time mentor.

FORMER REP. ABNER MIKVA (D), Illinois: I have never seen anybody in the political arena who can be as deliberate and cool as he is on decisions. In all the years I've known him, I've never seen him emotionally angry. I'm sure he's been -- I mean, I could tell he was upset at times, but the emotions never went into the decisional process.

MARGARET WARNER: When Russian troops moved into Georgia last month, Obama's campaign issued a carefully worded statement calling on both sides to stop fighting. Only later that day and the next did Obama have tough words for Russia.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: The United States, Europe, and all other concerned countries must stand united in stemming this aggression and seeking a peaceful resolution.

SUSAN RICE: The basic point here, Margaret, is he's fact-driven. He didn't look at the initial reports and view them through the prism of preconceived notions about Russia or Georgia.

A blend of principle, pragmatism

MARGARET WARNER: His decisions are a blend of principle and pragmatism, as evidenced by his stand on the war in Iraq over the past five years.

His campaign likes to point to a speech then-State Senator Obama gave in October 2002 arguing against going to war. Long-time friend and adviser Valerie Jarrett says it was an example of his boldness and prescience.

VALERIE JARRETT, Obama Campaign Adviser: At the time that he took the position that we shouldn't have gone into the Iraqi war, it was an unpopular decision to make. And there were a lot of people around him who said, you know, you're in the middle of a Senate campaign. Do you really want to make a decision that's not going to be popular? Our country is ready to do something.

MARGARET WARNER: But it was an anti-war rally, and he was careful to say he didn't oppose all wars.

And when Obama arrived in the U.S. Senate more than two years later, he did not immediately join the ranks of Democrats demanding an immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces or even a fixed timetable.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: None of us are interested in dictating military strategy to the president, but rather to set a mission for the military, and that is what this debate is about.

MARGARET WARNER: Congressional watcher Norm Ornstein believes Obama had an eye on his political future.

NORMAN ORNSTEIN, American Enterprise Institute: This was somebody who was looking ahead thinking, "You know, I might be president. The last thing I want or need is to dig myself into a hole or back myself into a corner. I want to leave some running room here."

MARGARET WARNER: Obama learned the value of pragmatism in his early days as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago. Jerry Kellman had hired the 25-year-old Obama to train low-income clients how to push for what they wanted from public officials, but not to turn their nose up at getting something less.

JERRY KELLMAN, Community Organizer: He's tied to the principles, you know, but he's not tied to how you get there. That's very much out of organizing. You're there to do a job, and you're there to get things done. But beyond that, you'll use anything and do anything within the limits of what you define as ethical and what you define as your ultimate goal to get it done.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: I would urge an aye vote.

MARGARET WARNER: He followed the same M.O. after law school, when he took a Chicago seat in the Illinois State Senate in 1997. The Harvard-educated young reformer quickly realized it took more than good ideas to get something done, especially since the Democrats were in the minority.

DONNIE TROTTER (D), Illinois State Senator: Barack is no different than any other elected official who comes down to Springfield with the belief that they can change the world, that, "I'm going to go down there. I'm going to make this difference." Actually, it's shattered.

MARGARET WARNER: Democratic State Senator Donny Trotter.

DONNIE TROTTER: He came down and learned very rapidly that he had to start building coalitions with the other side if he wanted to advance his agenda.

MARGARET WARNER: Obama did just that. He spearheaded bipartisan compromises on a number of issues, including ethics reform for legislators and videotaping confessions in death penalty cases.

Chicago Tribune reporter David Mendell, who wrote a biography of Obama, spoke to us at the Democratic National Convention.

DAVID MENDELL, Obama Biographer: He would always try to bring all sides of an issue, if there were conflicting sides, into the room, into one room, sit them all down, and try to get them together. He came out what seemed to be with respect from both sides.

Political caution, compromises

MARGARET WARNER: Yet Obama voted with his party most of the time, dismaying many Republicans who had hoped for something different.

Former Republican State Senator Steve Rauschenberger was Appropriations Committee chairman. He said his party had high hopes for this political newcomer.

STEVE RAUSCHENBERGER (R), Former Illinois State Senator: We were looking for a Democrat that we could work with and that maybe this was the crossover person that we could get and really make some progress on welfare reform.

MARGARET WARNER: And?

STEVE RAUSCHENBERGER: Most of us were pretty disappointed.

MARGARET WARNER: Rauschenberger also saw political caution in the numerous times Obama side-stepped an up-or-down vote on controversial issues like abortion.

STEVE RAUSCHENBERGER: Well, you know, if you take a look at his record, he has a very large number of "present" votes, which in the Illinois General Assembly are votes which are neither yes or no votes, although they are effectively no votes.

MARGARET WARNER: Meaning what?

STEVE RAUSCHENBERGER: Anybody would be foolish not to recognize him as calculating.

MARGARET WARNER: Biographer Mendell says Obama's present votes and his legislative compromises reflect his clear-eyed view of what's possible and what isn't.

DAVID MENDELL: So he has been willing to compromise and make some compromises in his political career, as well.

DICK CHENEY, Vice President of the United States: Please raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear...

MARGARET WARNER: Obama brought the same style to the U.S. Senate in January of 2005. Already a celebrity from his 2004 Democratic convention speech, he took pains not to upstage more senior Democratic senators.

And he sought Republican allies on narrowly tailored issues, like Senator Chuck Hagel, Senator Dick Lugar, and social conservatives Tom Coburn and Sam Brownback.

DAVID AXELROD: His hallmark, his style of leadership is to try and bring people together. His attitude is, "We may disagree on 90 percent of what we - of issues, but on those 10 percent, how do we work together and move things forward?"

MARGARET WARNER: Yet he was no maverick, voting with his own party more than 95 percent of the time.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: The bill would end all lobbyist-funded gifts, meals, and travel, and strengthen the...

MARGARET WARNER: One issue where he did risk incurring his fellow Democrats' wrath was on ethics reform, says party Whip Dick Durbin, the senior Democrat from Illinois.

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), Illinois: When he started talking about going after lobbyists and the way they bundled campaign contributions, and particularly when he went after that sacred cow of the corporate chartered jets and said, "We as senators should pay the full fare, not some special fare," it ruffled a few feathers.

I can tell you, a lot of veteran senators on both sides of the aisle said, "Who is this guy? You know, he's gone too far."

Confidence in his own skills

MARGARET WARNER: In the end, Obama prevailed on both lobbyist disclosure and corporate jets. But the bill wasn't as tough as public interest groups had hoped.

Ornstein says that reflects Obama's willingness to take an incremental solution over none at all.

NORMAN ORNSTEIN: There is a much greater level of practicality and pragmatism than either his own public persona would suggest or than the stereotype of him as an ardent liberal ideologue would.

MARGARET WARNER: And Ornstein thinks he's going to need that if he's elected.

NORMAN ORNSTEIN: He's going to have to abandon some of the deepest desires of his own party's liberal wing and build relationships with and make compromises with conservative Republicans. Does Obama have the backbone to stand up to and defy some of his strongest supporters through this process and the left?

MARGARET WARNER: Durbin says he does and recalls the day Obama first looked at the draft of a bipartisan energy bill. It had provisions to expand drilling that Democrats fiercely opposed, but it also included new steps on renewable fuels.

SEN. DICK DURBIN: He said, "I think I'd better endorse this and so it will move forward. This could be the beginning of a good bipartisan solution." That to me reflected Barack Obama as an executive, looking for reality, looking for that compromise that still holds to the same basic principles.

MARGARET WARNER: That could make some of his liberal supporters disappointed or even angry?

SEN. DICK DURBIN: Yes, of course. And I understand that, when you start talking about the reality of governing, there are those on both ends of the political spectrum who will be upset. They want purity.

MARGARET WARNER: Those who know him say Obama has supreme confidence and that he could bring Republicans and Democrats around to support a new style of governing.

DAVID MENDELL: That's just how confident he is of his own skills, his own power of words, and his own message, and his own persona, and vision. He just believes that he can win over anybody.

MARGARET WARNER: The gridlock of Washington would present the ultimate test of that confidence.

So far there is only one part on Barack Obama

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This is part two of The News Hour on John McCain

At this link there are the two parts on John McCain. www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2008

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THE SKY IS FALLING - WASHINGTON MUTUAL'S BOARD KEPT IN THE DARK. WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME - JOHN McCAIN AND SARAH PALIN ARE FRIGHTENING TO ME

WHAT A MESS AS PRESIDENT TO INHERIT

WHAT WOULD SARAH DO?

"...Washington Mutual, the giant lender that came to symbolize the excesses of the mortgage boom, was seized by federal regulators on Thursday night (September 25, 2008) in what is by far the largest bank failure in American history.

Regulators simultaneously brokered an emergency sale of virtually all of Washington Mutual to J.P. Morgan Chase. The remainder of WaMu, the nation's largest savings and loan, will be operated by the government. Shareholders and some bondholders will be wiped out. WaMu depositors are guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. up to the $100,000 per account limit. WaMu customers are unlikely to be affected.

... J.P. Morgan Chase is to take control Friday (September 26, 2008) of all of WaMu's 2,300 branches which stretch from New York to California, and will oversee its big portfolio of mortgage and credit card loans. It will also acquire all of WaMu's deposits with the sale.

For weeks, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department had been nervous about the fate of WaMu, among the worst-hit by the housing crisis, and pressed hard for the bank to sell itself. As panic gripped financial markets last week following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the government stepped up its efforts, working behind the scenes, and at points going behind WaMu's back to work privately with potential bidders on a deal.

The seizure and the deal with J.P. Morgan came as a shock to Washington Mutual's board, which was kept in the dark: the company's newly-minted chief executive, Alan C. Fishman, was in flying from New York to Seattle at the time the deal was finally brokered, according to these people.

The action removes one of America's most troubled banks from the financial landscape, and helps to avoid sticking taxpayers with a huge bill for the rescue of another failing institution... "
Source: http://www.sltrib.com/ci_10561877

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In an exclusive interview with CBS News, Katie Couric speaks with Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin about her various positions on foreign policy and diplomacy.
This is Part One of the interview.

Read Part I here.
Link to Video: Clip One


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This is Part Two of the interview.
Link to Video: Clip Two
Watch CBS Videos Online

I just read some posts on this interview by those who are voting for McCain and Palin. I watch this interview and see the complete opposite from those on the blog Renew America:

"...I expected Couric to be an attack dog for the Democrats as opposed to giving Gov. Palin a fair shake. Unfortunately I was right. You could tell from the very beginning that Couric's mission was to get Gov. Palin to trip up. If Couric had to smile it would have killed her..."

It is scary to realize that what I see is the opposite of many.

Here is a post who sees Sarah Palin like I do: Sarah Palin's Media Training

If John McCain and Sarah Palin win this election, it is my opinion that what George Bush and Dick Cheney started will pale in comparison because we are already in a hole and sinking further. The next President gets an Iraq War, a disastrous economy and low influence globally for starters. Whether the USA citizens want to believe it or not, we have lost credibility internationally.

John McCain and Sarah Palin or Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Seems so apparent to me that we need Barack Obama and Joe Biden. But, that's just me.

I would have liked to see what Tim Russert would have asked Sarah Palin.

John McCain hadn't even read the Paulson plan as of Thursday, September 25, 2008. He has a staff in Washington, D.C. Couldn't he have had it sent to him as an attachment on an email or faxed to him out on the campaign trail if it was important to him to get on board and be helpful?

And you have to be on the committee dealing with this and he isn't, so how is he going to be helpful? By using his staff to get on it?

Bailout plan progress unravels

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I.
David Letterman on his Thursday, September 25, 2008 show continued talking about John McCain because he canceled his guest appearance one hour before the show. You can find it here: lateshow.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/video_player
"What really happened with Senator McCain last night? Dave fills you in."

II.
And here is Dave's Thursday, September 25, 2008 monologue

III.
Here is Dave's top ten tonight which was given by 10 Wasilla, Alaskans (Standing in front of Lake Lucille ~ Wasilla: 7,025 popluation)

Letterman keeps up assault on McCain

By David Bauder

NEW YORK (AP) — "Late Show" host David Letterman kept up a verbal assault on John McCain Thursday, saying he felt like an "ugly date" because the GOP presidential candidate backed out of a scheduled appearance on his talk show.

The night before, Letterman had said McCain's decision to suspend his campaign to deal with the economic crisis "didn't smell right." Letterman substituted MSNBC's "Countdown" host — and critic of the Arizona senator — Keith Olbermann when McCain called him to say he wouldn't appear Wednesday.

The comic was unhappy when McCain sat for an interview with Katie Couric instead of him Wednesday — and even more perturbed to learn that McCain didn't leave New York until Thursday.

He said he felt like a "patriot" to let McCain off his commitment to deal with the economy and "now I'm feeling like an ugly date."

"That's what I feel like, I feel like an ugly date," he said. "I feel used. I feel cheap. I feel sullied."

McCain spokeswoman Nicole Wallace said Thursday that the campaign "felt this wasn't a night for comedy."

"We deeply regret offending Mr. Letterman, but our candidate's priority at this moment is to focus on this crisis," Wallace said on NBC's "Today" show.

The late-night comic banged away at McCain on Thursday from the opening of his monologue.

"You're here on a good night," he told the audience. "So far none of our guests have canceled."

He talked about daredevil David Blaine's feat of hanging upside down in New York's Central Park for 60 hours.

"They just left the guy hanging there," he said. "It's the same thing McCain did to me last night."

He described socialite Paris Hilton — Thursday's guest whose celebrity was once used in a McCain campaign ad to mock Obama — as McCain's first choice for a running mate.

"Here's how it works: you don't come to see me? You don't come to see me? Well, we might not see you on Inauguration Day," Letterman said.

Noting that McCain wanted to postpone Friday's first debate with Barack Obama, Letterman said running mate Sarah Palin wanted to put off her debate with Democrat Joe Biden until after Election Day. Letterman said McCain taking Palin to meet world leaders at the United Nations was like "take-your-daughter-to-work day."

Letterman's Top 10 list was "surprising facts about Sarah Palin," read by citizens of Wasilla, Alaska, where she was once mayor.

No. 10: Palin "sometimes calls John McCain grandpa."

Dave Letterman Show
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Show #2987
By Michael Z. McIntee

ACT 1:
About an hour or so before the taping of the show, we got a phone call . . . . Senator John McCain will not be able to come on the show. According to his 3:00 PM speech, due to the "historic crisis in our financial system," he is suspending his campaign for President and returning immediately to Washington DC to drum up support for the bail-out proposal. McCain believed the plan on the table as it currently stood would not pass and we are desperately running out of time to get this thing back on track. So he felt he was needed in Washington. No Senator John McCain tonight.

GREAT MOMENTS IN PRESIDENTIAL SPEECHES
Our President has a bit of trouble with the English language, sounding as if the roof of his mouth is caked with peanut butter.

ACT 2:
As mentioned above, just before the show Dave received a call from Senator John McCain that he would not be making it to the show because he was needed in Washington to help get this $700 billion bail-out approved. Dave acknowledges the Senator to being a real American hero, but something doesn't smell right. This doesn't pass Dave's "smell" test. Dave believes something's not right in the McCain campaign; someone must have put something in his Metamucil.
Fearing the economy was about to "crater," McCain has decided to suspend his campaign. OK, so McCain thinks he is needed in Washington, but that doesn't mean the campaign should be suspended. Dave says if McCain is needed in D.C., he should go, but then he should send in the backup quarterback to continue with the campaign. That's what she's there for; to fill in. "You don't quit." The Vice President . . . Sarah Palin . . . she should take over the campaign. But where is she?
Paul Shaffer offers, "She is one hot looking babe."
Dave laughs, then continues, "This isn't how a tested hero behaves." Dave suspects someone is putting ideas into his head, then sighs a non-understanding sigh.

And if you and your family have been out of work for the past 4 years and all you have left in your pocket is $20, spend it on the "Late Show Fun Facts" book, in stores now. It retails for $19.99, but I've seen it on the internets for much less. The book is so good, Dave gushes, "Finally, something that makes Guttenberg look like a genius."

And everyone here in New York was excited to have Sarah Palin in town for this United Nations General Assembly. It was sort of like "Meet the Teacher" night for all the world leaders. New Yorkers were happy to have her here, we quickly put this together.
We take a shot of the restructured Statue of Liberty. The face of Miss Liberty is that of Sarah Palin. Ahhhhh.

Dave can't let it go: "You don't suspend your campaign if you believe in your Vice President. You let her take over."

And if you're in New York this week, you should head over to Central Park where they hung David Blaine. He's doing some stunt where he is hanging upside down for 60 hours. We see him being interviewed during his hanging stunt that really interests nobody. And in the middle of the interview, the cable holding the grand magician/illusionist snaps and Blaine falls to the earth.
My favorite part was hearing the fake screams moments after he fell.
Blaine later explained the cable didn't accidentally snap. He decided at that moment that he was needed more in Washington.

ACT 3:
TOP TEN: Questions People Are Asking the John McCain Campaign
7. "This is Clay Aiken. Is McCain single?"
1. "This is President Bush --- what's all this about trouble with the economy?"

KEITH OLBERMANN: From MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann."
Of course the conversation is about McCain, his suspending his campaign, dropping out of Friday's debate, and this financial boondoggle that is probably a lot more serious than we want to believe. Olbermann offers this obvious solution to one of the above: Make Friday's debate in Mississippi about the economy rather than the topic of Foreign Policy, but that's too simple.
Dave again shares that just before the show, Senator McCain called to say he was racing back to Washington to fix this thing and couldn't do tonight's show. Certainly we were disappointed and somewhere back in my head I was hoping he was being sincere. But then . . . . . happening right at this moment in the show . . . . maybe around 5:10 PM EST . . . . taking place 4 blocks away from the Ed Sullivan Theater . . . . . precisely the moment John McCain was supposed to be HERE . . . . we show a LIVE shot of Senator McCain being dabbed with makeup preparing for an interview with Katie Couric. It certainly didn't look like the Senator was racing back to Washington. He was getting ready for a little Q&A with Katie Couric four blocks away! When he was supposed to be HERE! Katie asks McCain a question and Dave calls out from his desk, "Hey, John, I got a question . . . do you need a ride to the airport?!"
Dave repeats, "Something smells."
Dave tries to imagine what Barack Obama and Joe Biden must have thought when they heard of McCain's decision. Dave likens it to being a kid when you heard that there was so much snow that there was no school.
Olbermann's puts it simply to Dave: "He ditched you."

ACT 5:
Announce: "Tomorrow on the Late Show, Dave welcomes Paris Hilton, the world's fastest man, Usain Bolt, and musical guest Morningwood.
The Late Show! If you have a muffler problem, we have the solution.
We'll be right back."

ACT 6:
During the break, Dave received this note: "McCain has concluded his interview with Katie Couric. He is now on the ‘Rachael Ray Show' making veal picatta."

Source: lateshow.cbs.com

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OBAMA - BIDEN

WILL GET MY VOTE
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IF BETTING - MY BETS ON McCAIN BEING IN OXFORD MISSISSIPPI FOR THE DEBATE

John McCain said he wouldn't participate in the first Presidential debate Friday, September 26, 2008 if the bailout isn't settled. I think he will be there. Picture Barack Obama standing there, the moderator Jim Lehrer and the audience sitting at the University of Mississippi with the television commentators ready to go and no John McCain.

I always want to be in a room where I can be talked about. If John isn't there, Barack can talk and then some.


Mississippi still planning on debate

Source: cnn.com

(CNN) -- Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said he expects both presidential candidates to be at Friday night's debate, even though Sen. John McCain has said he'll only go if Congress reaches a deal on the bailout.

Gov. Haley Barbour says he's still planning on having a debate Friday night.

"I expect there to be a debate tomorrow night, and I look forward to it," Barbour told reporters at the debate site on the University of Mississippi campus in Oxford.

Barbour said he had not been in direct contact with either of the candidates and he did not have any "inside information."

Debate planners got a big surprise Wednesday when McCain called for postponing the first presidential debate. The University of Mississippi has invested millions in preparing for it.

The Republican presidential candidate said he was suspending his campaign to focus on the $700 billion bailout proposal. His campaign said he would attend the debate if Congress passes legislation by Friday morning.

McCain said Thursday that Washington needs "all hands on deck" to work on the government's proposed bailout plan. Watch more on the fate of the debate »

"I cannot carry on a campaign as though this dangerous situation had not occurred, or as though a solution were at hand, which it clearly is not," McCain said in New York. "With so much on the line, for America and the world, the debate that matters most right now is taking place in the United States Capitol. I intend to join it."

Sen. Barack Obama's campaign has said the debate should go on.

Don't Miss

• McCain's move: Putting priorities or politics first?
• Did McCain blindside Obama?
• Begala: We need a debate now

"I think we can do both of these things at the same time. The next president is going to face multiple crises on the same day," Robert Gibbs, Obama's top adviser, said on CNN's "American Morning."

"We've got a presidential debate scheduled. We've got a stage. We'll have an audience. My guess is we'll have a moderator and at least one of the presidential candidates," Gibbs said. Watch what Gibbs says about the debate »

University Chancellor Robert Khayat, appearing with Barbour on Thursday, said university officials have been in contact with both campaigns but only in regard to "what we have to do to be prepared for tomorrow night."

Richard Howorth, the mayor of Oxford, said debate preparations are under way and organizers are staying positive.

"We think it's going to happen. We're not thinking about the alternative right now, so we're still excited about it and have a really positive attitude," said Howorth, who is a supporter of Obama.

Howorth said while they think the debate will go on, he acknowledged that they are in a "wait-and-see mode."

Hours after McCain called for rescheduling the debate, the Commission on Presidential Debates said it was moving forward with its original plan:

"The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) is moving forward with its plan for the first presidential debate at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss., this Friday, Sept. 26," the group said in a statement.

"The plans for this forum have been under way for more than a year and a half. The CPD's mission is to provide a forum in which the American public has an opportunity to hear the leading candidates for the president of the United States debate the critical issues facing the nation. We believe the public will be well served by having all of the debates go forward as scheduled."

JOHN McCAIN HAS EXPERIENCE WITH MONEY SCANDALS - DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE KEATING FIVE?

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John McCain was one of the Keating 5. George Herbert Walker Bush signed the Savings & Loan crisis that cost the taxpayers billions of dollars, and billions more in interest.
Uploaded by stevejust
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Check out this clip from the new movie called "Third Term" of Progressive Accountability.org. It will be available 09/25/08
The new collapse on Wall Street which has featured huge bailouts of Fannie/Freddie and AIG by the American people directly relate to the 1980's S&L banking scandal that John McCain was deeply involved in called The Keating 5.
Uploaded by crooksandliars

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Reporting of John McCain's Keating Five Scandal.
Uploaded by HuffPolitics

The Keating Five

Dan Nowicki, Bill Muller
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 1, 2007

...McCain calls the Keating scandal "my asterisk." Over the years, his opponents have failed to turn it into a period.

It all started in March 1987. Charles H Keating Jr., the flamboyant developer and anti-porn crusader, needed help. The government was poised to seize Lincoln Savings and Loan, a freewheeling subsidiary of Keating's American Continental Corp.

As federal auditors examined Lincoln, Keating was not content to wait and hope for the best. He had spread a lot of money around Washington, and it was time to call in his chits.

One of his first stops was Sen. Dennis DeConcini, D-Ariz.

The state's senior senator was one of Keating's most loyal friends in Congress, and for good reason. Keating had given thousands of dollars to DeConcini's campaigns. At one point, DeConcini even pushed Keating for ambassador to the Bahamas, where Keating owned a luxurious vacation home.

Now Keating had a job for DeConcini. He wanted him to organize a meeting with regulators to deliver a message: Get off Lincoln's back. Eventually, DeConcini would set up a meeting with five senators and the regulators. One of them was McCain.

McCain already knew Keating well. His ties to the home builder dated to 1981, when the two men met at a Navy League dinner where McCain spoke.

After the speech, Keating walked up to McCain and told him that he, too, was a Navy flier and that he greatly respected McCain's war record. He met McCain's wife and family. The two men became friends.

Charlie Keating always took care of his friends, especially those in politics. McCain was no exception.

In 1982, during McCain's first run for the House, Keating held a fund-raiser for him, collecting more than $11,000 from 40 employees of American Continental Corp. McCain would spend more than $550,000 to win the primary and the general election.

In 1983, as McCain contemplated his House re-election, Keating hosted a $1,000-a-plate dinner for him, even though McCain had no serious competition. When McCain pushed for the Senate in 1986, Keating was there with more than $50,000.

By 1987, McCain had received about $112,000 in political contributions from Keating and his associates.

McCain also had carried a little water for Keating in Washington. While in the House, McCain, along with a majority of representatives, co-sponsored a resolution to delay new regulations designed to curb risky investments by thrifts such as Lincoln......

Read the full article: http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0301mccainbio-chapter7.