Palin is in for big trouble when they debate.

What!!!??? The rich to suddenly become a "giving" class? I'm not holding my breath. Most are rich because they nickel and dime anyone they hire, gripe if they are charged a penny more than they think something is worth, and belittle anyone not in their "class". The recent Mercedes-Benz commercial showing these elitists, selfish, arrogant snobs fighting over clothes and expresso machines says it all. I got mine.... and I'm gonna get yours, too.

I really love Joe Biden. He reminds me of my dad. No nonsense - straight arrow.

That is only half the equation.

Thirty years ago corporations accounted for 40% of the tax burden - today it is somewhere in the neighborhood of 6-8%.

Even less now if you are Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, .........

Thank you Joe for saying what needs to be said. I want to see follow through on the releasing of where the money "we Americans" are putting up to bail out these companies. I'm sick and tired also:
♦Sick and Tired of my government feeling I have no business knowing what they are doing.
♦Sick and tired of them telling me that our financial aid to Iraq is Necessary Still.
♦Sick and tired of an Administraton that put people in Charge of our Energy Program, who were in fact Oil Lobbiest.
♦Sick and Tired of the total ineptitude of our so called Commander in Chief.
♦Sick and Tired of the constant stream of Lies coming from those in power, who have been in power for the last two terms, who are now trying to place the blame for the Economic melt-down on the Democrats.

bablhous @ 4:

I really love Joe Biden. He reminds me of my dad. No nonsense - straight arrow.

Reminds me of the founding father image. That cheshire cat smile is engaging.

Hope he can crush her with grace and grit. Delicate matter. Due to the dumbing down of Americans

Either take the money of the rich, for the betterment of the 99% of the nation they SHIT all over and then lie to (see "Republican Voters"), or take their flesh.

The malfeasance of these repukelick'n...abominations...is the reason CHILDREN are starving to DEATH in AMERICA! How long must this go on before we start living up to the old song...and "eat the rich"?

Catch a clue all you jingoistic idiots: if you don't want to be the buffet at the next American Revolution, then you better DAMN well vote for Obama/Biden. They are the only ones in this race that can fix WHAT YOU FUCKED UP, and keep people fed without having to resort to cannibalism.

(smacks lips)

Aren't we all sick and tired of this phoniness!!

It is a shame that we have to borrow money to fight a war and can't pay for it as we go! What has happened to this country?

Captain Bitter Angry Kangaroo @ 13:

Kathleen @ 5:

Biden will crush Palin on foreign policy. I almost feel sorry for her. But she has asked for it. She can not keep getting away with "well Chaaarrrlieee what do you mean by the Bush Doctrine" Or her endless repeating of statements like "thanks but no thanks".

Well she can get away with dumbing down (obviously not hard for her when it comes to many issues) because the NO Bubba Left Behind of the McCain campaign has had some effect. You know I like her because I could go hunting with her and she has five kids feature. The "I would like to have a beer" with her effect.

Biden will crush her with intellectual depth and understanding. But many Americans would rather have someone that dumbs it down. (not hard for Sarah)

Never feel sorry for Palin. She is a scamming, lying, greedy scumbag Holy Republican. Never forget that!

Never feel sorry for Palin. She is a scamming, lying, greedy scumbag Holy Republican!!!!!
She is Chainey with lipstick.

Captain Bitter Angry Kangaroo @ 1:

Palin is in for big trouble when they debate.

In the words of Bill Maher, "Sarah Barracuda, meet Joey the Shark."

Johnny2Bad @ 17:

Liberal AND Proud @ 3:

I appreciate that Biden is a politician.

But the fact is that when tough times call for honest talk, the man is honest and tells the truth.

The GOP refuses to face the facts of life.

Honest? Biden? Joe Biden? VCome on. Its all one big happy bamboozle, both Dem and Rep. "Tax cuts for the middle class" is simply "Our bribe is better than their bribe." $1000 "oil rebate" just takes a grand from Exxon so we can buy 20 tank fulls back from them. Until they advocate dumping NAFTA, Impeachment/War crimes trials and single payer health insurance (as a start), I'm not impressed by their "honesty". What a crock.

I'd happily start by ridding ourselves of the current scum. We need to generate some political momentum.

Johnny2Bad @ 17:

Liberal AND Proud @ 3:

I appreciate that Biden is a politician.

But the fact is that when tough times call for honest talk, the man is honest and tells the truth.

The GOP refuses to face the facts of life.

Honest? Biden? Joe Biden? VCome on. Its all one big happy bamboozle, both Dem and Rep. "Tax cuts for the middle class" is simply "Our bribe is better than their bribe." $1000 "oil rebate" just takes a grand from Exxon so we can buy 20 tank fulls back from them. Until they advocate dumping NAFTA, Impeachment/War crimes trials and single payer health insurance (as a start), I'm not impressed by their "honesty". What a crock.

How come you and Dennis never appear together with your anti-Obama bullshit?

Captain Bitter Angry Kangaroo @ 13:

Kathleen @ 5:

Biden will crush Palin on foreign policy. I almost feel sorry for her. But she has asked for it. She can not keep getting away with "well Chaaarrrlieee what do you mean by the Bush Doctrine" Or her endless repeating of statements like "thanks but no thanks".

Well she can get away with dumbing down (obviously not hard for her when it comes to many issues) because the NO Bubba Left Behind of the McCain campaign has had some effect. You know I like her because I could go hunting with her and she has five kids feature. The "I would like to have a beer" with her effect.

Biden will crush her with intellectual depth and understanding. But many Americans would rather have someone that dumbs it down. (not hard for Sarah)

Never feel sorry for Palin. She is a scamming, lying, greedy scumbag Holy Republican. Never forget that!

Yep. Most people keep remarking about her 'pretty face'. It ain't so pretty either, seriously.

Mainly, I can only see her brass balls.

Tell us about phoniness, Senator Scranton. Charity and patriotism begin at home, just not your home.

Adjusted Gross Income Charity

1998 $215,432 $195

1999 $210,797 $120

2000 $219,953 $360

2001 $220,712 $360

2002 $227,811 $260

2003 $231,375 $260

2004 $234,271 $380

2005 $321,379 $380

2006 $248,459 $380

2007 $319,853 $995

Total $2,450,042 $3,690

"To take Biden’s worst year, 1999, one percent of his adjusted gross income would have been $2,100. One half of one percent would have been $1,050. One quarter of one percent would have been $525. One eighth of one percent would have been $262. And one sixteenth of one percent would have been $131 — still a bit more than the Bidens gave."

This won't hurt him among liberals who empathize with his apparent belief that it's the government's job to fund all charities, but it is telling in light of his 'taxes are patriotic' rhetoric. I'd just like to know how managed to dodge his office's United Way drive for 10 years running. "Uh, yeah, leave the pledge card on the desk. I have to run out for lunch, I'll sign it later and just mail it in this year. (Heh-heh)"

I thought small business means you only own one multi million dollar corporation?

I liked Biden in the primaries. Having him join forces with Obama is a perfect marriage. Bring on the debates!

♠♠...Bangkok Bob...♠♠ @ 8:

Thank you Joe for saying what needs to be said. I want to see follow through on the releasing of where the money "we Americans" are putting up to bail out these companies. I'm sick and tired also:
♦Sick and Tired of my government feeling I have no business knowing what they are doing.
♦Sick and tired of them telling me that our financial aid to Iraq is Necessary Still.
♦Sick and tired of an Administraton that put people in Charge of our Energy Program, who were in fact Oil Lobbiest.
♦Sick and Tired of the total ineptitude of our so called Commander in Chief.
♦Sick and Tired of the constant stream of Lies coming from those in power, who have been in power for the last two terms, who are now trying to place the blame for the Economic melt-down on the Democrats.

Exactly! I wish that he would also look at the crowd and say "I don't know how many of you out there make more than $250,000 a year? (wait for laughter) If so you're the only ones I'm talking to."
BTW How is the unrest in Thailand? We are heading there this winter.

can you imagine that national nightmare Palin sitting in that seat answering those same questions. she's deep as a pie tin.

Just a little thing I noticed but hope is Biden's standard operation. Couric threw up Sarah Palin's comments to Biden, and Biden in his answer addressed McCain, not Palin.

The CBS video is loading really slowly.

I hope that's because so darn many of us are interested in what Biden has to say. The transcript was good, but the video was starting... to... look... even... better...

But just a tad slow.

Left&Left @ 19:

The wicked little church lady will have to blatantly cheat in the debates to beat this guy. She already knows she can't win fairly.

"Sarah, show us your tits!"

Wow, this is what I want from our leadership and Palin wouldn't know integrity if it landed on her face. It sickens me every time Palin opens her mouth, she shouldn't even be on the same stage as Biden. The polls should be 70/30 for Obama/Biden. Too bad Americans would rather be homeless and take the country into a depression then vote for a Black man! The gloves need to come off and stay off. We need to be talking Keating 5 24/7 until the election!

For the last six years I've been hearing politicians say "I am troubled.." by this and that.
Now they are saying.. "I'm sick and tired.." It's not enough for me. It doesn't cut it.
When are people going to get angry about criminals overwriting our Constitution.
When are people going to get angry about unjust wars being wielded for profit?
When are people.. etc.
Anthrax.
Private Voting Machines.
9/11 going unpunished.
Lost trillions from the Pentagon.
Veterans not being cared for.
etc.

19 Left&Left Says: The wicked little church lady will have to blatantly cheat in the debates to beat this guy. She already knows she can’t win fairly.

I'm thinking "Wardrobe Mal-function" ala Janet Jackson.
NO, NO I'm not. Biden has to almost rein in his intelligence and come across with short answers and not sound too high-brow. That's sad but true. I wonder if they'll let John McCain use 3x5 index cards pre-prepared for his debate answers. Watching him stump, he's never looking at the audience but at the cards. Nothing he is saying is coming out of his brain but the brain of his lobbyists, wait I mean advisors.

horrors, Biden actually said, "John McCain said, quote it was immoral, immoral, to take a nation to war and not have anybody pay for it. I am so sick and tired of this phoniness. The truth of the matter is that we are in trouble. And the people who do not need a new tax cut should be willing, as patriotic Americans, to understand the way to get this economy back up on their feet is to give middle class taxpayers a break. We take the tax cut they’re getting and we give it to the middle class.”

He forgot to close quotes! That means that McCain gets credit for the rest of what Biden said! Oh no! Run for your lives! McCain is now a liberal! Aaaaahhh!

Left&Left @ 19:

The wicked little church lady will have to blatantly cheat in the debates to beat this guy. She already knows she can't win fairly.

That SOP for the GOP...they simply cannot win on issues, so they lie, cheat, and steal.

43
liberalNmoderation Says:

McSpain/Plain 08

Nice.

the other thing I am remembering about Biden in recent history is during the John Bolton Nomination hearings. Senator Biden, Kennedy, Kerry, Boxer and Republican Senator Lincoln Chaffee (who was the only Republican to vote against the 2002 war resolution) were demanding the NSA intercepts that they had been demanding from the Bush administration. These are the NSA intercepts that allegedly had to do with John Bolton and his "alleged" wiretapping of Powell and other UN officials negotiating with Iran . During those hearings John Bolton was a smug and arrogant ass. At one point I thought Biden and the gang were going to jump over the Senate tables and try to kick Boltons ass. I thought for sure Senator Biden was going to rip out John Boltons jugular with his pearly whites. Senator Chaffee looked like he was going to blow a fuse. Senator Kerry went stone cold chlling. Senator Voinovich even chimed in with some dissent

Sidney Blumenthal writes about these NSA intercepts in this article " The good Generals revenge" (this is and important read)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/apr/28/usa.comment

"And after Bolton attempted to coerce a state department intelligence officer to agree to an unfounded report about nonexistent Cuban WMD, Powell personally assembled the entire intelligence staff to instruct them to ignore Bolton. When the British foreign secretary Jack Straw complained to Powell that Bolton was obstructing negotiations with Iran on the development of nuclear weapons, Powell ordered Bolton to be cut out of the process, telling an aide: "Get a different view." The British also objected to Bolton's interference in talks with Libya, and again Powell removed Bolton. But as much as he may have wanted to, Powell could not dismiss him because of his powerful patron: Vice-President Cheney.

The Bolton confirmation hearings have revealed his constant efforts to undermine Powell on Iran and Iraq, Syria and North Korea. They have also exposed a most curious incident that has triggered the administration's stonewall reflex. The foreign relations committee has discovered that Bolton made a highly unusual request and gained access to 10 intercepts by the National Security Agency, which monitors worldwide communications, of conversations involving past and present government officials. Whose conversations did Bolton secretly secure and why?

Staff members on the committee believe that Bolton was probably spying on Powell, his senior advisers and other officials reporting to him on diplomatic initiatives that Bolton opposed. If so, it is also possible that Bolton was sharing this top-secret information with his neoconservative allies within the Pentagon and the vice-president's office, with whom he was in daily contact and who were known to be working in league against Powell.

If the intercepts are released they may disclose whether Bolton was a key figure in a counter-intelligence operation run inside the Bush administration against the secretary of state, who would resemble the hunted character played by Will Smith in Enemy of the State. Both Republican and Democratic senators have demanded that the state department, which holds the NSA intercepts, turn them over to the committee. But Rice so far has refused. What is she hiding by her cover-up?"

I DON'T BELIEVE THOSE INTERCEPTS HAVE EVER BEEN HANDED OVER BY THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION.

Im watching the reruns of the west wing on bravo right now and there was quote from Prez Bartlet in one of the early episodes that has stuck with me and I think is true even now. When asked by one of the staff why poor people vote for the republican party on tax cuts that will only benifit the rich, Bartlet responded "B/c they all think that someday they will be rich too.", truer now than it was then.

Sue Them, Jail Them, Make Them Pay for Meltdown: Ann Woolner

Commentary by Ann Woolner

Sept. 19 (Bloomberg) -- As it stands, the rest of us will be paying much money over a long time for the greed and bad judgment of those who melted down the economy.

Hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars are propping up firms that a relative few money lenders and Wall Street wizards ruined.

If that weren't enough, the crisis is shrinking the money that Americans diligently socked away for retirement, down payments on first homes, college for the kids or this winter's heating bill. We might as well have opened our windows and tossed out cash.

Beyond crimping living standards around the globe, the crumbling of the U.S. financial system has prompted action radical for a nation devoted to free enterprise. However necessary, it's nothing short of astounding that the U.S. government essentially nationalized the largest insurance company in the country.

The real kick in the teeth is that the executives who inflicted all this financial pain, who forced unprecedented government takeovers, walk away with hundreds of millions of dollars. It's up to us -- innocent little us -- to dig into our pockets, into our futures and into our children's futures to fix their spectacular errors.

Stanley O'Neal took a $161 million package last year when he left Merrill Lynch & Co. (remember Merrill Lynch?), even without a severance package in the mix. Angelo Mozilo, founder and top executive at Countrywide Financial Corp., reaped almost $122 million during 2007 in stock options alone.

For a mere three months at the helm of American International Group Inc., Chief Executive Officer Robert Willumstad gets a $7 million package.

Selling Stock Options

And while the value of Richard Fuld's shares in Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. plunged roughly $1 billion, he still pulled in almost $490 million by selling options and share grants in the 14 years that the company's been public, according to Fortune magazine.

We now know those shares were grossly overpriced, resting as they did on subprime mortgages. Shouldn't he give back most of it? All of it?

At least the government is blocking the $24 million given to the fired top guns at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both taken over earlier this month.

As a rule, it isn't easy to take back money or benefits awarded as part of an employment contract, unless you can figure out some way the executive violated the contract's terms.

But it's worth a try. Consider these options.

Toss the rascals in jail. Criminal prosecution allows the government to seize ill-gotten gains. Snip the straps off those golden parachutes and grab them. Take over bank accounts, investment accounts, mansions, private planes and yachts.

Bear Stearns

The feds did bring charges against a couple of Bear Stearns Cos. hedge fund managers in June, and Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Mueller told Congress this week his agency is pursuing possible suspects ``as far up the corporate chain as necessary.''

The hitch is that proving executives lied in criminal ways is easier said than done, Enron and WorldCom convictions notwithstanding.

``Criminal prosecutions need to be specific, detail-oriented fact patterns where clear-cut criminality can be established,'' says Robert Mintz, a white-collar criminal defense lawyer and former prosecutor.

``These are broad, sweeping market failures that have swept up so many individuals and so many institutions that prosecutors will have a hard time singling out any entity, much less any institution, and hold them responsible,'' says Mintz, a partner in McCarter and English in Newark, New Jersey.

OK, so file civil suits.

Sue the Directors

WorldCom shareholders sued and wrangled $18 million from the pockets of directors, who agreed to pay more than 20 percent of their combined net worth. Another $36 million came from the directors' insurance carriers.

These days, collecting from an insurer might not be the best idea. If AIG is doing the insuring, it would be the taxpayers paying out.

William McGuire, former CEO of UnitedHealth Group Inc., agreed this month to personally cough up $30 million to resolve a lawsuit over stock-option backdating. That's on top of the $600 million in benefits -- mostly in stock options -- he said he will turn in to resolve another shareholder suit.

The problem is that it normally takes something akin to criminal conduct, such as options backdating or accounting fraud, for civil suits to take money out of the hands of the accused. And, as previously noted, it isn't clear we will have that here.

Stricter Regulation

Well, what about government regulators? The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission didn't do anything to prevent this meltdown. But at least, with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo leading the charge, federal and state regulators have forced investment banks to buy back billions of dollars worth of auction-rate securities said to have been sold under dubious claims of reliability.

The bankruptcy law may give Lehman Brothers creditors a chance to grab some of the bonuses the firm paid out last year.

If they can show bonuses were based on bogus claims of solvency, they can go after them, according to compensation expert Paul Hodgson of the Corporate Library, which analyzes corporate governance issues.

Some plaintiffs' lawyers apply the same principle when pushing for tougher corporate governance rules as part of settling a case.

The idea is that CEOs and CFOs who drew bonuses based on earnings that had to later be restated, for whatever reason, must automatically return the excess amount, according to Darren Robbins, a partner in Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins.

Frankly, it's only fair.

fastfeat @ 54:

43
liberalNmoderation Says:

McSpain/Plain 08

Nice.

"The planes flown by McCane fall occasionally in Spain"

biden misses a huge opportunity here;

tax breaks for the middle class are not lowering taxes, they are getting gifts back from the upper class we have provided since Reagan

contrary to corporate propaganda, Reagan did NOT lower taxes, he raised them more then any peacetime president

what he DID do was re-allocate middle class assets and put them in the lap of the wealthy, at the cost of retirement, college education, local school excellence, aging infrastructure, bridges falling down, cranes going inspected, coal mines collapsing around our labor force

Obama and biden can simply say;

"we are going to lower taxes, we will be rescinding the tax increases of Ronald Reagan and gw bush who merely redistributed the tax burden, we are lowering taxes to those rates before the Reagan tax increases

their heads will explode

I wish someone would pin the Repubs down and find out exactly how they plan to pay for the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, this bailout of Wall Street and the enormous debts we owe to China and other countries. If we aren't willing to pay for it, let's shut down the wars and bring our troops home. Let's let the financial district flounder and fail. Maybe we can just declare bankruptcy and avoid paying back our debts. Tax and spend is far far better than spend and spend. The Repubs are totally irrational on the issue of taxes. We have a president that looks like a deer caught in headlights. We can bail out Wall Street and corporate America, but can't help families keep their homes. I certainly think the CEOs and other top corporate executives should be happy to pay a little more because they have benefited more from this country than anyone else. The rules favor them, now it's time for them to pony up.

Dennis, your candidate is cooked.

I will bet dollars to dimes that the RNC is trying to figure out a way to dump him.

fastfeat @ 42:

Left&Left @ 19:

The wicked little church lady will have to blatantly cheat in the debates to beat this guy. She already knows she can't win fairly.

"Sarah, show us your tits!"

Sarah "Chhhaaarrlie what do you mean by the Bush Doctrine" No Bubbas left Behind (NBLB) that's the vote Karl Rove is going after here in Ohio. The folks who will vote on guns, god, gay and now race (and don't kid yourselve that racist piece is out there strong). The folks who think they are going to be "one of them" some day. they do not get it that that they have been voting against their own self interest for quite some time.

Hey Dennis, if you're going to cut and paste an article you need to

A. site you source rather than make it seem that your post is an original thought (pffft as if)

B. when you cut and paste, you should include the WHOLE piece.

A spokesman for Biden, David Wade, says the figures on Biden’s tax return do not reflect the true extent of his giving. “The charitable contributions claimed by the Bidens on their tax returns are not the sum of their annual contributions to charity,” Wade said in a statement to NRO. “Like most regular churchgoers, they contribute to their church, and they also contribute to their favorite causes with their time as well as their checkbooks, whether it’s [Jill] Biden’s volunteer work with military families or the Biden breast-health initiative, or the way in which the family pitched in driving supplies to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, or the ways Sen. Biden has supported charities that help women, police, and veterans.”

By the way Dennis, care to share you income and charitable giving history?

Just Anonymous @ 59:

And, Denny, in fairness, can we see the repub candidates tax info, too?

Trust me, JA, you would not want to go there. And you wouldn't want to see Bush and Cheney's either. Not to mention they aren't out there calling people unpatriotic for believing lower taxes are a good thing.

Kathleen @ 5:

Biden will crush Palin on foreign policy. I almost feel sorry for her. But she has asked for it. She can not keep getting away with "well Chaaarrrlieee what do you mean by the Bush Doctrine" Or her endless repeating of statements like "thanks but no thanks".

Well she can get away with dumbing down (obviously not hard for her when it comes to many issues) because the NO Bubba Left Behind of the McCain campaign has had some effect. You know I like her because I could go hunting with her and she has five kids feature. The "I would like to have a beer" with her effect.

Biden will crush her with intellectual depth and understanding. But many Americans would rather have someone that dumbs it down. (not hard for Sarah)

I predict that Biden won't debate Palin, but rather debate McCain's policies, gaffes and flip-flopping. Render Palin virtually irrelevant, he wins the debate and the McCain campaign surrogates can't push "He's picking on her because she has to sit down to pee" without sounding like a bunch of out-of-touch imbeciles (which is what they do now).

To go after Palin would be like having USC play a low-tier Division II school.

I'm an outsider. I can't vote, I'm not even a US citizen. Here's my question.

Why does the democratic constituency not stand behind this man? The only field in which Palin still has an edge on Biden is the support among her own peers. She is more popular with the Republican voters than Biden is with the Democaratic voters. I simply can't understand why.

Sure, Palin looks better in lipstick and a cocktaildress but what is more important here is what's making their brain tick. In Palin's case it's nothing but air. In my mind Biden really knows what's going on in the world. Everything he said in the recent past cuts wood!

Again my question. Why is is not popular?

liberalNmoderation @ 67:

fastfeat @ 62:

fastfeat @ 54:

43
liberalNmoderation Says:

McSpain/Plain 08

Nice.

"The planes flown by McCane fall occasionally in Spain"

HA! Sweeet!

"Occasionally" wasn't my first choice--too many syllables--but "mainly" would have been a lie, so...

Thanks for the set-up.

Liberal AND Proud @ 68:

Dennis, your candidate is cooked.

I will bet dollars to dimes that the RNC is trying to figure out a way to dump him.

Indeed...it appears the Ice Queen's dumped him already.

and another thing,

the only thing joe needs to be concerned about when debating palin is being too rough on her. she's a dimwit and he needs to point that out delicately but with devastation. tricky, but i know he can do it.

and don't call her your friend!

This woman, when debating Biden, will have her hair covering her ears, guaranteed. This will allow easy concealment of the transmitter

Or to put it another way, this country gave up substance for style a long time ago (1980-ish?).

Liberal AND Proud @ 3:

I appreciate that Biden is a politician.

But the fact is that when tough times call for honest talk, the man is honest and tells the truth.

The GOP refuses to face the facts of life.

I think "honest" is going too far. He is giving you part of the story and is telling you what you want to hear.

If he was honest he would tell America that he and his fellow senators and congressmen have failed us... that their reckless fiscal policy has debased our currency making it difficult for the poor and middle class to get by. He would go on to say that their wreckless foreign policy has involved us in many needless and costly wars that have benefited the MIC at the expense of the rest of this country. They either passed legislation to make this happen or they failed to hold the executive branch accountable when it got out of control.

There have been democrats in the senate and the congress this whole time (last 8 years) and for the last 2 years they've held the majority. Where was their honesty back then? Or more specifically, where was HIS honesty back then? Where was HIS outrage back then?

It is election time people... it is time for politicians to pander.

I had my doubts but after seeing that. I have to say great VP pick.

I'm sick of the phoniness too and tax cuts, no matter which class gets them, are simply not going to effect anything.

I really, really like Joe Biden. But Joe, I am sick and tired of your saying McCain is your friend. How can you believe McCain is your friend when he lies about everything and you have to know it? How can you believe McCain is your friend when he is so desperate to become the next POTUS that he will do anything, say anything to get there? How can you say McCain is your friend when he picks Palin as his running mate knowing full well she is the most unqualified person on earth for the job? How can you continue to say, and you say it all of the time, that McCain is your friend when I know and you know that he would sell you down the river if he thought it would get him elected? McCain is not my friend, not your friend, not a friend of the American people. He is a senile, old man suffering from dementia.

Hear ... Hear ... Joe says things clearly, concisely and with great emotion!

These words of Joe Biden bring tears to my eyes. His righteous indignation at the hypocrisy of Republicans only needs to get louder. We need to call out and expose the evils of those who steal the legacy from our children that our parents left us: the legacy of freedom, of opportunity, of hope, of America.

How can you borrow money with no means to pay it back? If America were looking for a mortgage, they would send her packing: too much credit card debt.

The Obama/Biden ticket needs to draw a contrast between what this Administration has done and what we had in the last Democratic Administration. Remember the gloom and doom that GOP hacks tried to paint when Clinton was going to raise taxes? Remember what really happened? People who invest would be more than happy to see a return to the type of gains they saw under Clinton AFTER TAXES than what they've seen under the Bush Regime.

I know I would.

Just tell the Republicans that we've heard it all before and you were wrong then and you're wrong now.

We can't afford four more years of GOP control.

Whitehouse @ 78:

I'm an outsider. I can't vote, I'm not even a US citizen. Here's my question.

Why does the democratic constituency not stand behind this man? The only field in which Palin still has an edge on Biden is the support among her own peers. She is more popular with the Republican voters than Biden is with the Democaratic voters. I simply can't understand why.

Sure, Palin looks better in lipstick and a cocktaildress but what is more important here is what's making their brain tick. In Palin's case it's nothing but air. In my mind Biden really knows what's going on in the world. Everything he said in the recent past cuts wood!

Again my question. Why is is not popular?

Because, this administration has done their best to make it a liability to be intellectual, if you're smart, you're a weak sissy-boy.
The uneducated and ignorant voters only worry about very few issues. Abortion, guns, gay marriage, and an unquestioning worship of the military.
If you don't care about those, you're unpatriotic, gay and a devil worshiper.
In this country, to vote republican IS to vote against your own interests.
That being said...I don't think all that is going to work like they'd hoped this election.
Most republican friends of mine here in south Florida, are ashamed they voted for Bush, ashamed that their party is primarily responsible for the market meltdown, and are voting Obama.
This fact is not being reflected in the polls, because the powers that be, want a horserace right up to election day. So they can fudge the votes in McSpains favor.
But so many will be voting for Obama, it won't matter. Obama is going to win by very large margin.
Making history, not only because he'll be the first African-American elected to the highest office in the land, but also by the sheer magnitude of his victory...
I am looking VERY forward to that day.

VietVet8666 @ 83:

liberalNmoderation @ 65:

VietVet8666 @ 49:

Whenever I get misty-eyed and gooey about something Joe Biden says, I snap out of it by recalling his Iraq war vote and his bankruptcy (more $$$ to MBIA) vote. Thanks, but no thanks.

So...then, it's McSpain and the Ice Queen for you then eh?
Yeah...they're pristine...no bad votes from those two right?
No scandals, no shady deals with lobbyists ever right?
No cover ups, no blatant lies, no denial of subpoenas right?
Just straight talk, and no bridge to nowhere right?

No, for me (here in Connecticut), it's "none of the above." It was Ralphie in 2000 and 2004 and probably will be Ralphie in 2008. The way I see it, a vote for Barry or Johnny is a vote for the system that gave us the Iraq war, a seriously fucked up financial system, NAFTA, and the rest.

Um, yeah...if people like you hadn't voted for Nader, we wouldn't be in Iraq. I appreciate your sentiment, but if you think there's no difference between what McCain will do compared to Obama (as if there was no difference between Gore and Bush), you're delusional. Please rethink what you're contributing to your country by your "protest" vote (akin to the hillary protesters voting for McCain).

VietVet8666 @ 83:

liberalNmoderation @ 65:

VietVet8666 @ 49:

Whenever I get misty-eyed and gooey about something Joe Biden says, I snap out of it by recalling his Iraq war vote and his bankruptcy (more $$$ to MBIA) vote. Thanks, but no thanks.

So...then, it's McSpain and the Ice Queen for you then eh?
Yeah...they're pristine...no bad votes from those two right?
No scandals, no shady deals with lobbyists ever right?
No cover ups, no blatant lies, no denial of subpoenas right?
Just straight talk, and no bridge to nowhere right?

No, for me (here in Connecticut), it's "none of the above." It was Ralphie in 2000 and 2004 and probably will be Ralphie in 2008. The way I see it, a vote for Barry or Johnny is a vote for the system that gave us the Iraq war, a seriously fucked up financial system, NAFTA, and the rest.

Fair enough...though the way I see it. A vote for Nader is vote for McSpain.

Boring Scott @ 72:

Hey Dennis, if you're going to cut and paste an article you need to

A. site you source rather than make it seem that your post is an original thought (pffft as if)

You're right, I should have. I put quotes around the text that was not mine out of expediency and the fact I'm focused more on the historic stock market rally going on right in front of my eyes. But I almost always do include the link, as I have on this particular story before. No excuse, but I'm not a blogger and I'm not a journalist and this isn't a college lit class.

B. when you cut and paste, you should include the WHOLE piece.

I don't agree with that completely. If you're curious, you can do your own research. I'm just making a comment, not an investigative report.

A spokesman for Biden, David Wade, says the figures on Biden’s tax return do not reflect the true extent of his giving. “The charitable contributions claimed by the Bidens on their tax returns are not the sum of their annual contributions to charity,” Wade said in a statement to NRO. “Like most regular churchgoers, they contribute to their church, and they also contribute to their favorite causes with their time as well as their checkbooks, whether it’s [Jill] Biden’s volunteer work with military families or the Biden breast-health initiative, or the way in which the family pitched in driving supplies to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, or the ways Sen. Biden has supported charities that help women, police, and veterans.”

Yes, but all those are perfectly acceptable deductions for tax purposes. Why he didn't include those when his percentages compared to national averages are horribly lacking is a mystery. Every church sends a receipt at the end of the year totaling your checks. Why not take the deduction and with the tax savings, give it back to the government or better yet, donate that to charity? Doesn't hold water, doesn't add up. Weak defense.

By the way Dennis, care to share you income and charitable giving history?

No. I don't have the slightest effect on tax legislation and no one would believe me anyway, but I can assure, making Biden look like a skinflint in comparison is not a hard thing to do, nor worthy of boasting about, not that I would. 1/16th of one percent, are you kidding me?

Kathleen at 93

Thank you for your comments, but I have to say I was vehemently against the invasion of Iraq, as I believe Biden should have been, on purely legal grounds. The Nuremberg trials established for all nations the principle that aggressive, unprovoked war is punishable as a war crime. Biden, a lawyer, chose the easy path, not the correct path.

those who earn more have more to lose. they should be willing to pay more to protect what they have. they should not expect the middle and the poor to lose their lives in the wars to protect the rich's way of life and not give something in return.

dennis, so what is the govt charities? aig? bear stearns? the hypocrisy is unbelievable.

dennis @ 74:

Just Anonymous @ 59:

And, Denny, in fairness, can we see the repub candidates tax info, too?

Trust me, JA, you would not want to go there. And you wouldn't want to see Bush and Cheney's either. Not to mention they aren't out there calling people unpatriotic for believing lower taxes are a good thing.

You have got to be kidding!!! To simply ASK a question during the run up to Iraq invasion was considered TREASON!! UNAMERICAN!! The empty brain of the likes of Brittney Spears.... we should trust our president.... what a load of crap!! (doubt she's even registered to vote, but that's her choice). When the Republicans get caught with hold the bag, they start spewing "now is not the time for fingerpointing and blame.... we much come together to solve the problem".... That was very popular during the questions following Katrina, and I just heard one of the republican congressmen spew that same crap to Chris Mathews. He wasn't buying any of it. It is high time for some serious fingerpointing and blame. Accountability was their mantra for 2000... Reform and cleaning up corruption was their song. Seems they just wanted better seats in the choir loft and can't stand the critiques they rightfully deserve.

Zenrage @ 94:

I'm sick of the phoniness too and tax cuts, no matter which class gets them, are simply not going to effect anything.

No, they will help add to the national debt.

Fanon @ 95:

Plus, a lot of people find itemizing their charitable contributions to be a pain in the ass. There's a standard deduction that you can take (varies by bracket) where you don't have to give receipts, etc. to show your deduction. If you'll notice the amounts are the identical in some years and probably just reflect a standard deduction.

Sorry, fanan, but that's ridiculous. If Biden wants to poor mouth everyone as being the least wealthy Senator in the Senate, fine. But if he's too lazy to itemize deductions, which should take almost no effort at all since charities provide end of year receipts, then I'm not sure I'd want him as the VP for that alone. 10 years running of not taking deductions that are perfectly allowed for a guy who acts like he's struggling is just not believable. Neither is this argument, for that matter, unless you've just checked the tax table for what that standard deduction is for all those yearly income levels and they match exactly.

I love the term "trickle down econimic." It should be called "trickled on economics." They trickle piss on my head and tell me it's money.

liberalNmoderation @ 119:

VietVet8666 @ 110:

Kathleen at 93

Thank you for your comments, but I have to say I was vehemently against the invasion of Iraq, as I believe Biden should have been, on purely legal grounds. The Nuremberg trials established for all nations the principle that aggressive, unprovoked war is punishable as a war crime. Biden, a lawyer, chose the easy path, not the correct path.

Remember...we were being lied to about WMD's and so were the Senators.
Mushroom clouds, smoking guns, and all that.

Lies or not, Iraq had done nothing to provoke an invasion by the U.S. Nothing.

Kathleen @ 29:

Johnny2Bad @ 17:

Liberal AND Proud @ 3:

I appreciate that Biden is a politician.

But the fact is that when tough times call for honest talk, the man is honest and tells the truth.

The GOP refuses to face the facts of life.

Honest? Biden? Joe Biden? VCome on. Its all one big happy bamboozle, both Dem and Rep. "Tax cuts for the middle class" is simply "Our bribe is better than their bribe." $1000 "oil rebate" just takes a grand from Exxon so we can buy 20 tank fulls back from them. Until they advocate dumping NAFTA, Impeachment/War crimes trials and single payer health insurance (as a start), I'm not impressed by their "honesty". What a crock.

34 years ago in Denver Colorado an 84 year old bricklayer from Sicily named Frankie Buscarello gave me this
piece of advice "kathleen you have some crumbs in your pocket(meaning some money)? The Republicans will steal those crumbs and the Democrats will let you keep a few crumbs. That's all you need to know Kathleen that's all you need to know" Frankie was right

The Democrats will let you keep a "few crumbs"

thats what i allways used to say, the democrats are an inch better then republicans, however today republicans run for office as democrats and get voted in, nowadays the inch better has shrunk to a quarter of an inch!

liberalNmoderation @ 117:

odanny @ 86:

This woman, when debating Biden, will have her hair covering her ears, guaranteed. This will allow easy concealment of the transmitter

Then they should try to jam it somehow.

Ahh, Rove whispering sweet nothings shit into her ear...

masha @ 123:

imagine if we had sufficient regulation, this 1 trillion could have been used for education and universal healthcare.

Or getting us off of oil. To me, there is nothing more important to our future. Not only would all of the money we spend on oil stay home, but we would no longer be giving it to our enemies.

VietVet8666 @ 110:

Kathleen at 93

Thank you for your comments, but I have to say I was vehemently against the invasion of Iraq, as I believe Biden should have been, on purely legal grounds. The Nuremberg trials established for all nations the principle that aggressive, unprovoked war is punishable as a war crime. Biden, a lawyer, chose the easy path, not the correct path.

Me too. Organized buses of protestors in 2002 from our community. Went to two protest in Washington the Fall of 2002 and the one in New York in Feb 2003. Was arrested yada yada (just like during Vietnam I am 57) Millions of middle americans marched against the invasion. Millions of soccer moms (which I was at the time) teachers, teamsters, WWII, ( I walked with two WWII vets in their 90's) Korean, Vietnam, Desert Storm Vets (large groups of Vets), students, families pushing children in strollers and elders in wheelchairs. I was there i saw it.(audio taped hundreds of people and their reasons for being there). But what did the MSm show the rest of the American public who were wondering about the wisdom of such an invasion see on the MSm of those marches. Some footage of the 20 people with black hoods over their heads that kicked in some windows.

The MSM played along they did not show the world who was at those marches. They helped create the myth.

I kept saying that Senators needed to be on the internet and listening to Amy Goodman and Diane Rehm (who had expert after expert on questioning the intelligence.

But I do believe that Senators and Congress people were in a touch position receiving so much false intelligence from Micheal Ledeen and the office of Special Plans Lie Team (Douglas Feith, ). They were in tough position. The very least they could have done is delayed that vote and had a wide varieity of experts come in and sift through the intelligence and give their opinions.

Hell IAEA El Baradei told the world that the Niger Documents were false false false in early march of 2003. NO ONE LISTENED

Liberal AND Proud @ 107:

noitaluspacne @ 90:

Liberal AND Proud @ 3:

I appreciate that Biden is a politician.

But the fact is that when tough times call for honest talk, the man is honest and tells the truth.

The GOP refuses to face the facts of life.

I think "honest" is going too far. He is giving you part of the story and is telling you what you want to hear.

If he was honest he would tell America that he and his fellow senators and congressmen have failed us... that their reckless fiscal policy has debased our currency making it difficult for the poor and middle class to get by. He would go on to say that their wreckless foreign policy has involved us in many needless and costly wars that have benefited the MIC at the expense of the rest of this country. They either passed legislation to make this happen or they failed to hold the executive branch accountable when it got out of control.

There have been democrats in the senate and the congress this whole time (last 8 years) and for the last 2 years they've held the majority. Where was their honesty back then? Or more specifically, where was HIS honesty back then? Where was HIS outrage back then?

It is election time people... it is time for politicians to pander.

The only pander bear in this election is McCain.

He's spun his position around so many times...he may actually drill himself into the ground and strike oil.

Nice dodge, it must be that you don't have an answer to my question.

Don't be suprised if Sarah Palin misses the debate, the repiglicans will probably manufacture an excuse why she can't make it............

Mark @ 61:

Those that have the ability to pay more need to pay more. Freedom isn't free.

Bingo.

Amen, Biden, Amen.

liberalNmoderation @ 111:

That's all they have L&L...that's ALL they have.

If I had a dime for every time you said 'that's ALL they have!' libNmod, I'd send the total to Joe Biden with the stipulation he give it to his favorite charity (not his clothier) and make sure I CC'd his accountant so he claimed the deduction.

dennis @ 142:

liberalNmoderation @ 111:

That's all they have L&L...that's ALL they have.

If I had a dime for every time you said 'that's ALL they have!' libNmod, I'd send the total to Joe Biden with the stipulation he give it to his favorite charity (not his clothier) and make sure I CC'd his accountant so he claimed the deduction.

I keep saying it because it's true.
I know, you know it, everyone here knows it.
Give it up dennis. Your side has lost.

I LOVE THIS MAN!!!!!!

Left&Left @ 135:

tyree @ 126:

Kathleen @ 29:

Johnny2Bad @ 17:

34 years ago in Denver Colorado an 84 year old bricklayer from Sicily named Frankie Buscarello gave me this
piece of advice "kathleen you have some crumbs in your pocket(meaning some money)? The Republicans will steal those crumbs and the Democrats will let you keep a few crumbs. That's all you need to know Kathleen that's all you need to know" Frankie was right

The Democrats will let you keep a "few crumbs"

thats what i allways used to say, the democrats are an inch better then republicans, however today republicans run for office as democrats and get voted in, nowadays the inch better has shrunk to a quarter of an inch!

Tyree, no one is hearing your "flip a coin" voting philosophy. There is a real choice this time.... even Stevie Wonder could see this.

Oh, come on. That's an illusion "Real choice"? More like Sophie's choice. Bad or ridiculously bad.