So Mitt Romney went to the NAACP to give a speech and received a "unpleasant" response. Later that evening he lashed out at them, accusing them of wanting handouts. Then this cat got disgusted and made a video response, that was then posted on Upworthy.

Of course I'll take any reason to post kittens!

President Obama sought to reassure Americans last night that his administration has made progress in reviving the economy and said his $3.6 trillion budget is "inseparable from this recovery." After sprinting through his first months in office, Obama is now facing heightened criticism from Republicans, who have called his blueprint irresponsible, and from skeptical Democrats who have already set about trimming back his top budget priorities. Obama came into office amid lofty expectations and the worst economic crisis in generations, and he succeeded in pushing through a $787 billion stimulus and launching expensive plans to revive the banking system. Last night, against a backdrop of a broad national anxiety that the economy may still be failing, he attempted to recalibrate the high hopes to more closely fit the challenges he said lie ahead. Although he spoke sharply once in response to Republican criticism, Obama struck a tone of common purpose throughout his second prime-time news conference, urging the country to be patient as he works on issues as divergent as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the malign impact of lobbying in Washington. "We haven't immediately eliminated the influence of lobbyists in Washington," he said from the East Room of the White House. "We have not immediately eliminated wasteful pork projects. And we're not immediately going to get Middle East peace. We've been in office now a little over 60 days. "What I am confident about is that we're moving in the right direction." [...] Responding with his most partisan comment of the evening, Obama said his Republican critics should look to their own history with the federal budget, accusing them of having "a short memory" when it comes to deficits. "As I recall, I'm inheriting a $1.3 trillion annual deficit from them," he said.

Shakesville: For Sarah Palin, Thursday night’s debate was an open-book exam. She spent much of the evening methodically reading and rehearsing answers. And what the hell was that in her ear?

OpEdNews: Palin hates native Alaskans, black folks, too

TalkLeft: McNasty abandons his promise to run a respectful campaign

They gave us a republic: Expect to hear a lot more stories like this

Bob Geiger: The Saturday Cartoons

ANNALS OF JOURNALISM: Newspapers happy to advertise 'Terror' DVD...Child O'Reilly remarkably similar to the old one...J-School prof at Palin's alma mater says candidate is wrong about 'ethics'...Right-wing bloggers leave their stain on the campaign...Republican shill comes to, notices that wingnuts are vicious...Conservative newspaper endorses a Democrat for the first time since 1936...Hate speech rises in the media...Missing the forest for the Acorn...Cable 'News'...Drudge's Influence...Fox sends Cease and Desist over McCain ad...Usual suspects hammer NYT...Fox 'News' spikes story on conservatives questioning Palin heft...FOX seems to attract creeps..

Wow, it's going down to the wire with many NO votes...207-226 right now.

The Market is tanking badly too...And Newt Gingrich issues a statement that I heard on MSNBC which says he would reluctantly vote for it...Hmmm....

UPDATE: It failed....No one trusts Bush and McCain did nothing....

This mess shows that Conservatism is a failure. I know we are dismayed by our politicians, but don't forget that under conservative leadership, we've had the total collapse of our financial sector and we can never stop saying that.

And if the media tries to portray Republicans as hero figures I'll start my own drinking game.

Crying Boehner is saying it's Pelosi's fault because she gave a partisan speech. What jokers. A speech made them vote against it. They are saying it is not a partisan crisis, but an economic one. Sure---that was caused by Republican/McCain hunger for deregulation.

Will McCain suspend his campaign again and try to cancel Palin's debate?

Be afraid, be very afraid...

President Bush said Wednesday that lawmakers risk a cascade of wiped-out retirement savings, rising home foreclosures, lost jobs and closed businesses if they fail to act on a massive financial rescue plan. "Our entire economy is in danger," he said.

"Without immediate action by Congress, American could slip into a financial panic and a distressing scenario would unfold," Bush said in a 12-minute prime-time address delivered from the White House East Room that he hoped would help rescue his tough-sell bailout package. "Ultimately, our country could experience a long and painful recession."

Said Bush: "We must not let this happen."[..]

"With the situation becoming more precarious by the day, I faced a choice: to step in with dramatic government action or to stand back and allow the irresponsible actions by some to undermine the financial security of all," Bush said.

You know, if we hadn't heard some variation on this "mushroom cloud" speech more than a half dozen times from Bush over the last eight years, it might actually have some more weight. Not that there isn't a crisis, but he's threatening us with a "long and painful recession"? Has he not been paying attention recently? Steve Clemons:

Tonight, George Bush succeeded I think in scaring Americans that this crisis could be a systemic threat. Bush said "our entire economy is in danger."

That's the fear button. He pushed it. And he said the clock was ticking.

This seems like a bad episode of "24."

What is shocking about the presentation by Bush -- and the deal that is unfolding is that we don't see any acceptance of responsibility for the failure of his team's stewardship of the economy. We didn't hear acknowledgment that the compulsive deregulation mantra of Bush's political and economic allies created a massive bubble where lots of billionaires were created and now tens of millions of less fortunate Americans are holding the bill.

We didn't hear Bush say that it's time to reverse the tax cuts that he put in place to help those who have already benefited from the perverse finance and housing bubble that was pumped up.

We didn't hear a firm commitment from Bush to help the working families who hold these sub-prime and adjustable rate mortgages to stay in their homes and to help stabilize the lives of hard-hit Americans, their neighborhoods and their jobs. All the while, the macro players and big firms and their stakeholders are bailed out.

We probably do need to float major funds into the financial sector -- but there needs to be a quid pro quo written in to the deal, a new social contract that does away with the "winner takes all syndrome" that has helped rot out America's economic promise.

And we need to hear what comes after the bail out. This nation is heading into recession -- and is probably already there.

This is Obama's chance to take away the news cycle from McCain and expose what a fraud he is about his economic approach. McCain suddenly wants to be a reformer. Well, what was he doing all these years in Congress to reform Wall St? Nothing. Obama gives a powerful speech in Golden, CO on the #1 issue in America.

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Make no mistake: my opponent is running for four more years of policies that will throw the economy further out of balance. His outrage at Wall Street would be more convincing if he wasn't offering them more tax cuts. His call for fiscal responsibility would be believable if he wasn't for more tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, and more of a trillion dollar war in Iraq paid for with deficit spending and borrowing from foreign creditors like China. His newfound support for regulation bears no resemblance to his scornful attitude towards oversight and enforcement. John McCain cannot be trusted to reestablish proper oversight of our financial markets for one simple reason: he has shown time and again that he does not believe in it.

They call this the ownership society but what it really means is you're on your own. And we know the results...

And McCain's admitting that conservatism does not work. He has to run away from his own party and his own words to try save himself from the incredible collapse on The Street. America is watching now.

McCain, May 29, 2007:

"You are interviewing the greatest free trader you will ever interview, and the greatest deregulator you will ever interview," he said.

We all have to follow rules in our lives, register our cars, get a license to drive, but to McCain---corporations need NO regulations. Well, if AIG goes next---good night now....(Youtube and transcript under the fold)

Continue reading »

Billmon is back!

TBogg; Cry. Wolf.

The Pump Handle: Bayer CropScience officials repeatedly refused to give local emergency responders details about last week's explosion and fire,

Crooked Timber: Presidential speech wordles

OFF THE BEATEN PATH: CharlieHipHop, Mortaljive, Politicker, Olly's Onions

ANNALS OF JOURNALISM: The media's other new crush...ABC, CBS aired no analysis from Dems during RNC...The state of journalism...WaPo death spiral watch...Maverick no matter what...Philly radio talker called NOW the "National Organization for Whores"...Fox recycling 2004 attacks...Obama is winning the Web...Discover what the world thinks about U.S...Al Jazeera covers the conventions...Journos should write what they know and think...How would NPR cover the emergence of a police state?...Covering religious views...Van Susteren plays PR agent for Palin...Brokaw warns Dems to lay off McCain, and tells a lie...Possibly staged news pics...

I think Jeff and I are on the same page here.

"I thought it was the worst speech by a nominee that I've heard since Jimmy Carter in 1980. I thought it was disorganized, I thought it was it was themeless, I thought it was very, very boring [...] I personally cannot remember a single policy proposal that he made because they had nothing connecting them. I found it shockingly bad."

Not only was the speech poorly delivered and mind-numbingly boring, it was without substance. Obama's speech was a generational call to arms to disaffected Americans who are sick and tired of the paralyzing partisanship and unacceptable status quo. Mccain's was boilerplate

While he tried his damndest tonight to distance himself from the past eight years, at the end of the day, John McCain has voted with George W. Bush more than 90% of the time. Hell, we have him on tape bragging about it.

It remains to be seen if the GOP can successfully convince a majority of Americans that John McCain is not responsible for the Bush/McCain legacy.

Apparently Kelly has been held captive for five years, too. There simply is no other explanation.

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"Well I want to tell you in about nine months of traveling with John McCain and hearing hundreds of speeches I have never heard him talk in such great detail about his own personal story with respect to his time as a P.O.W. He has been resistant to do that over time."

That was a joke, right?

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Tonight Show: McCain plays POW card again

McCain Camp’s Overplaying of POW Card Called to Account From All Corners

Fred Dalton Thompson At The RNC: Palin’s Great, Biden’s a Partier…and Did You Know McCain’s A POW?

MediaMatters has more.

Orcinus: FBI wanted Obama plotters charged, but a Rove appointee said no

Average Bro: RNC night three recap

The Rude Pundit: Perfectly pitched critique of Palin's speech

World-O-Crap: Wingnuts say the darndest things

Hannah's Blog: Did McCain's mole sell US on invasion od Iraq?

The Satirical Political Report: Palin's 'contributions' to women