The Inauguration Day How We Got Here Random Flickr-Blogging Retrospective Extravaganza

The long election cycle that brought us to this historic day was observed here -- in true IIRTZ fashion -- with irreverent and sometimes tasteless derision. While one is tempted to entertain lofty and nostalgic daydreams and memories today, resist and indulge yourself in a retrospective of the political year just past, as seen through the slightly-distorted lens of Random Flickr-Blogging.

Originally uploaded by fabcom.
Random Flickr-blogging explained

We're winning in Iraq. The economy is fine. Voluntary restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions will solve the global climate change problem. John McCain is an independent, straight-shooting campaign-finance reformer. You can have the bridge pictured here for your very own for $29.95, but only if you call in the next ten minutes...
See more...

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Originally uploaded by Robotkid.

The Green Party, having chosen its presidential candidate, examines its prospects for November success.

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Originally uploaded by faustastic.

Based on recent trends within the party, the site committee for the 2012 Republican National Convention decided to consider all options.

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Originally uploaded by rst90274.

Meanwhile, the Ron Paul Revolution rolls on...

Originally uploaded by chrisabad.

"This thing seems to be working -- all of Ron Paul's policy positions are starting to make sense to me."

Originally uploaded by bnidjer.

After visiting If I Ran The Zoo, a Democratic Ron Paul volunteer attempts suicide with a box of Krispy Kremes.

Originally uploaded by androoouk.

"Parachute? What parachute? We're Libertarians -- just relax and enjoy your freedom!"

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The Endless Primary Season

Originally uploaded by Curious_Cynic.

Texas has scrapped its primary election in favor of its own version of the Iowa Caucuses.

Originally uploaded by mkeblx.

The Clinton campaign was accused of employing an aggressive and unorthodox get-out-the-vote methodology last week in South Carolina.

Originally uploaded by urwis.

Bill O'Reilly's vehicle, after he got lost and ran off the road trying to crash another NH primary event.

Originally uploaded by ScottHernandez.

John McCain, the NSA, the TSA, and the Division of Homeland Security have all teamed up to bring the "Living In Fear For The Next Hundred Years" roadshow to your town between now and the November election.

Originally uploaded by Clément Guillaume.

Members of the press as they are marched at gunpoint to yet another Hillary Clinton rally.

Originally uploaded by linktoyou.

Meanwhile, right now, somewhere in this great land of ours, a Barack Obama rally is starting...

Originally uploaded by Mr. T.14.H.

All that was left for Giuliani's staff to do was to clear out the campaign offices.

Originally uploaded by rockfshr.

Poor Chet. One minute, he's having a civil conversation with his wife about Bosnia, Hillary, and "factcheck.org". Next thing he knows, he's camping in the back yard.

Originally uploaded by narrativeMAN.

John McCain released the results of his medical exams in order to defuse any criticisms based on his age, but it backfired when this close-up of his left earlobe and the carbon-dating results were leaked to the press.

Originally uploaded by hbp_pix.
Random Flickr-blogging explained.

These Democrats just found out how long it will be before the Pennsylvania primary.

Originally uploaded by photosbyscott.

Weeks after calling on supporters of both Democratic candidates to put aside their differences, Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean appealed to the last holdouts.

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A decision, then on to the general...

Originally uploaded by David Boyle in DC.

"Yeah, dude, check it out -- there's a great antiques and collectibles yard sale going on down the block."

Originally uploaded by DjTweed.

"See, Cindy, now that we've sold off all those other houses, there's no reason anymore for Joe Six-Pack not to vote for me."

Originally uploaded by bigChill.
Random Flickr-blogging explained.

Another former Republican hears about McCain's beer veto.

Originally uploaded by Leo Cloma.

John McCain came under increasing pressure to disassociate himself with a radical religious leader who had been responsible for such inflammatory and anti-American statements as "Love your enemy", "The last shall be first, and the first last", "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone", and "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Originally uploaded by resistealeau.

The McCain campaign played second banana to the Obama campaign all last week. While Obama spoke to 200,000 enthralled spectators in Berlin, McCain visited a German restaurant in Ohio. While Obama and General Petraeus toured Iraq by helicopter...

Originally uploaded by btornado.

The vice presidential candidate of the future will not need a $150,000 wardrobe.

Originally uploaded by swetieduck.

Weeks too late, they finally found McCain's campaign strategy under a back seat in the Straight Talk Express.

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Finally...victory! From Grant Park, election night:

Originally uploaded by graemetallan.

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible..."

Originally uploaded by orangeambrosia.

"...who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time..."

Originally uploaded by SnowInSummer.

"...who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer."

Originally uploaded by Kealor.

"This is your victory. And I know you didn't do this just to win an election. And I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead."

Originally uploaded by Pugnation.

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there."

Originally uploaded by ChevyGuy454.

"And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too."

Originally uploaded by jo3c00l.

"And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand."

Originally uploaded by { вянoOoм ~.

"America, we have come so far. We have seen so much..."

Originally uploaded by arnoldzafra.

"...But there is so much more to do...This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace..."

Originally uploaded by Ice Cream Bears.

"...to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one..."

Originally uploaded by Dustin Hall.

"...that while we breathe, we hope..."

Originally uploaded by SamoDiva Stefana.

"...And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't..."

Originally uploaded by ufdance.

"...we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes..."

Originally uploaded by thoa_hnmtc.

"...we..."

Originally uploaded by Martin & Julia.

"...can."

Endorsement Scoreboard

Obama: Colin Powell, every living Democrat and some moderate Republicans, Christopher Buckley, too many others to list here.

McCain: Al-Quaeda.

Where's Dr. Frist When They Need Him?

Headline at 538: Today's Polls, 10/23: McCain on Life Support.

And yet, if you watch the video, the campaign's eyes seem to be tracking a balloon...

Update: more campaign pr0n here. "[Republicans] are, in other words, acting the way Democrats used to act." Ouch!

McCain Camp: Concession will be "Beautiful"

Via Marc Ambinder, of all places:

A McCain aide says:

"He'll speak outdoors on the lawn in front of backlit Camelback mountains -- it will be beautiful -- and 2000 plus people will be out there with him. The rest of the guests will be in ballrooms and overflow tents with widescreen TV's."

I for one can hardly wait to experience it.

It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Guy

A focus group run by Stan Greenberg, reported by Amy Sullivan:

In politics it is generally not considered a good sign when voters are laughing at you, not with you. And by the end of the third and last presidential debate, the undecided voters who had gathered in Denver for Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg's focus group were "audibly snickering" at John McCain's grimaces, eye-bulging, and repeated references to "Joe the Plumber."

The group of 50 uncommitted voters should have at least been receptive to McCain -- Republicans and Independents outnumbered Democrats in the group by almost 4 to 1, and they started the evening with much warmer responses to McCain than to his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama. But by the time it was all over, so few of them had declared their support for McCain that there weren't enough for Greenberg to separate them into a post-debate focus group. Meanwhile, the Obama supporters had to assemble in two different rooms to keep their discussion groups manageable.

I love the smell of Schadenfreude in the morning. It smells like...well, you know.

(Hat tip: Steve Benen.)

The Good, the Decent and the Patriotic

This is fresh off the CNN Situation Room transcript wire:

MCCAIN: I've heard the same thing ["people in the crowd screaming things like 'Terrorist!,' 'Traitor!,'"], unfortunately, at Senator Obama's rallies being said about me. There's always a fri[n]ge element that's in politics in America. The overwhelming majority of the people that come to my rallies are good and decent and patriotic Americans. And if they're worried about this country's future, that's correct.

But to somehow -- to somehow intimate that of the thousands of people -- 17,000 people were just with us in Virginia. And to somehow intimate that the overwhelming majority of those people, with rare exception, are somehow not good Americans or are motivated by anything but the most patriotic motives, is insulting. And I won't accept that insult.

More...

I will tell you right now, I'm proud of my supporters. I'm proud of the people that come. I'm proud of those veterans who have served their country that come to my rallies and fire me up. I love them.

And for anybody to intimate that the overwhelming -- 99 99/100 percent is anything but patriotic and good Americans, is, frankly, unacceptable and I won't -- and I won't stand for it.

I don't know who McCain thinks he is responding to here. No one that I'm aware of has claimed that "the overwhelming majority" of his supporters think those things or aren't good Americans. But are his rallies "99 99/100" pure? You be the judge. Here's some lovely footage of a gathering of McCain/Palin's "good and decent and patriotic Americans" at a rally last week in lovely Bethlehem, PA:



I've got goosebumps, I'm so ... um ... so proud. (I'd just add that Bethlehem is a good ten miles closer to Hogan than it is to me. What do you have to say for yourself, Hogan?)

I'll Take "That One", Please

Frankly, it doesn't matter what I think about the debate last night -- my mind's been made up for a long time. But it does matter what uncommitted voters thought about it, of course.

Highlights from the CBS poll of uncommitted voters (numbers before and after the debate):

• Obama went from 54% to 68% on "has a handle on the economy",
• from 59% to 80% on "understands voters' needs and problems",
• and from 42% to 58% on "is prepared to be president".

According to kos, "This is what 'victory' looks like."

And if there's any justice, this will be McCain's "Macaca Moment".

McCain Endorses Obama

McCain, in last night's debate:

That requires a cool hand at the tiller. This requires a person who understands what our -- the limits of our capability are.

Generous of him to admit that, isn't it?

Update: Josh Marshall had the same reaction.

Other update: So did Steve M.

McCain Vs. Earmarks

In McCain's tirades about earmarks Friday night, two lines stood out as exceptionally clueless. The first was when he identified earmarks as the cause of corruption--"why we have, as I said, people under federal indictment and charges." The second was when he asked, rhetorically, "Do you know that [earmarks have] tripled in the last five years?"

Earmarks don't cause corruption. Republican ideology causes corruption. As I've said before, as I've been saying since 1994, when you put government in the hands of people who believe it has no useful purpose, those people are going to use it for just two things: to enrich themselves and their campaign contributors, and to increase their own power. Corruption flows inevitably from the anti-government delusions of the Republican party.

And the fact that McCain really doesn't get this was illustrated by his comment about earmarks tripling over the last five years--by his failure to mention that they had tripled under a Republican Congress and a Republican president, or that the Democrats had cut them back significantly in 2007.

Opposing earmarks--that's a tactic. Opposing Republican ideology--that's a strategy. John McCain doesn't understand the difference.

Not Beanbag

I'll say it again: John McCain has put Sarah Palin where she does not belong. It's not fair to the country, it's not fair to his party, and it's not fair to the woman herself.

P.S. Actually it's perfectly fair to the GOP.

Debate: On

McCain to be shot down and rendered to MS by his own staff.

:lol:

The Pantload has dumped another large block of text over at The Corner, proudly attributing this one to some "Newt." Here are the best bits:

Newt On the McCain Gambit [Jonah Goldberg]

Statement just came out:

Newt on Senator McCain’s Decision to Suspend His Campaign to Forge an Agreement on the Financial Crisis:

The McCain Leadership Factor...

This is the greatest single act of responsibility ever taken by a presidential candidate and rivals President Eisenhower saying, 'I will go to Korea.'...

If McCain can develop this plan, bring enough Democrats to support it to get passage, and then convince President Bush to sign it, this will be one of the most amazing achievements in the history of presidential campaigns....

Dang, who can forget when Eisenhower said that about Korea?! Goosebumps!

Predictable and Disgusting

John McCain gets very confused in an interview, and rather than admit his confusion chooses to insult a NATO ally. Sarah Palin talks about bringing transparency to the federal government with an initiative that was originally Obama's (and it's already in effect). McCain's response to economic meltdown is a promise to fire someone he won't have the authority to fire.

When you have a news cycle this bad, and you're John McCain, what do you do? You remind the voters that Obama is a Scary Negro.

It's all they've got...and with their former fans in the press bailing from the tire swing, I don't think it'll be nearly enough.

A Bridge Too Far Towards Nowhere

(CNN) -- Former Bush adviser Karl Rove said Sunday that Sen. John McCain had gone "one step too far" in some of his recent ads attacking Sen. Barack Obama.

"In case anyone was still wondering whether John McCain is running the sleaziest, most dishonest campaign in history, today Karl Rove -- the man who held the previous record -- said McCain's ads have gone too far," said campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor, in a statement sent to reporters minutes after Rove's on-air comments.

If there's anything we've learned about conservatives, their eventual downfall is that they never know -- before the fact -- when to draw the line; whether it's if the country has gone far enough to the right, how much less regulation of financial institutions is too little, how many lies to tell about a political opponent, or how unqualified for office a running mate can be, there's not the perspective to know when they are about to overreach, so the good news is that, inevitably, they do.

It's just that waiting for the inevitable can be excruciatingly painful.

Context here.

McCain: The Pedophiles' Best Friend

So the law McCain is attacking Obama for supporting, it turns out, "gave schools the ability to warn young children about inappropriate touching and sexual predators."

Why is McCain against protecting children from sexual predators? And why isn't this an issue?

(Inspired by a comment from Porlock Hussein Jr.)

(It's a crude first attempt, but I couldn't resist throwing something like this together.)

A Roll of the Dice

San Francisco Chronicle:

McCain upped the allure of the convention with his choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. It's seen as a bold roll of the dice...

MSNBC:

McCain loves to gamble, he's actually someone very fond of dice games, and there's no doubt he's rolling the dice with Palin...

Franklin Foer, TNR:

Instead of picking the most qualified running mate he could find, [Mr. McCain] rolled the dice...

The Australian:

Senator McCain has staked everything on one more roll of the dice.

More...

Houston Chronicle: McCain rolls dice with VP choice
Detroit News: McCain rolls the dice in picking Sarah Palin
Honolulu Star-Bulletin: McCain throws dice in naming Palin as VP

Time Magazine, this March:

Over time he gave up the drinking bouts, but he never quite kicked the periodic yen for dice. In the past decade, he has played on Mississippi riverboats, on Indian land, in Caribbean craps pits and along the length of the Las Vegas Strip. Back in 2005 he joined a group of journalists at a magazine-industry conference in Puerto Rico, offering betting strategy on request. "Enjoying craps opens up a window on a central thread constant in John's life," says John Weaver, McCain's former chief strategist, who followed him to many a casino. "Taking a chance, playing against the odds."....

In the heat of the G.O.P. primary fight last spring, he announced on a visit to the Vegas Strip that he was going to the casino floor. When his aides stopped him, fearing a public relations disaster, McCain suggested that they ask the casino to take a craps table to a private room, a high-roller privilege McCain had indulged in before. His aides, with alarm bells ringing, refused again, according to two accounts of the discussion.

"He clearly knows that this is on the borderline of what is acceptable for him to be doing," says a Republican who has watched McCain play. "And he just sort of revels in it."

Elect McCain, and double down on crazy.

(See more commentary by AZBlueMeanie.)

Letting It Ride

Two of our favorite degenerate GOP touts here at IIRTZ, David Broder and Bill Kristol, each checks in on the Sarah Palin nomination this morning from the racecourse of presidential politics in his mind. Here's The Dean:

John McCain has flummoxed the leaders of his Republican Party and most of the media by picking Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. It's a choice no other candidate conceivably could have made -- a typical McCain gamble, unpredictable in its consequences.

More...

Again McCain's utter obscurity and unpredictability is cast, as with every other imaginable Republican flaw, as a feature not a bug: Bold, mavericky McCain goes all in! What a president that crazy son-of-a-bitch would make!!@1!

Kristol too, mesmerized by the cojones on display, is prepared to take a flyer on "the fly-boy":

The Palin pick already, as Noemie Emery wrote, "Wipes out the image of McCain as the crotchety elder and brings back that of the fly-boy and gambler, which is much more appealing, and the genuine person." But of course McCain needs Palin to do well to prove he's a shrewd and prescient gambler.

Just what we need: another "shrewd and prescient gambler" for preznit. For publishing such a line, Bill Kristol should be taken tomorrow morning at dawn to New Orleans' Third Ward and shot in the face with Dick Cheney's shotgun.

The stakes in this great game? Kristol spells them out on behalf of both of our trusty journalists:

McCain has gambled boldly on Palin. If she flops, McCain could lose by a landslide.

On the other hand, if Palin exceeds expectations, and her selection ends up looking both bold and wise, McCain could win.

That's it. That's the full extent of the analysis either of these two serious people makes of McCain choosing a political novice as his potential successor as President of the United States of America: bold move, could help McCain, could hurt McCain.

As for the interests of the nation, the world? What was it Obama said Thursday night?-- a GOP society is a "You're on your own" society. I guess we'll have to figure out the Palin implications for ourselves. GOP touts do odds, not substance.

Oh, and don't forget to vote.

[Changed ending.]