From The Daily Show:

The House of Representatives finally passes health care reform after the exciting pre-game festivities.

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Rep. Edward Markey on the Republican's "do nothing substitute" health care bill. Well said Congressman.

Markey: You know the G.O.P. used to stand for Grand Old Party. Now it stands for grandstand, oppose and pretend. They grandstand with phony claims about non-existent death panels. They oppose any real reform and with this substitute they pretend to offer a solution while really doing nothing. G.O.P.--grandstand, oppose and pretend and make no mistake about it the Republican substitute is not real reform. It does nothing to curb skyrocketing healthcare costs. It does nothing to provide real insurance coverage to millions who are now uninsured. It does nothing to stop the unfair practices of insurance companies. I urge my colleagues to vote no on the Republican do-nothing substitute.

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One of John Boehner's more childish moments on the House floor tonight, asking Charlie Rangel for assurances on what's going to come out of the Conference Committee in the final bill, and cutting him off before he has a chance to answer him.

h/t Jed Lewison at Daily KOS TV.

If Dick Cheney were one-tenth the man that Jesse Ventura is, he’d be at least twice as big a man as he really is.

Fine job with the mash up sir. Can we get Jesse a job on any of the cable news networks and let him interview Cheney face to face? I don't think Cheney would show up if invited.

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In response to Michael Steele's comments to the Washington Times:

Newly elected Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele plans an “off the hook” public relations offensive to attract younger voters, especially blacks and Hispanics, by applying the party's principles to “urban-suburban hip-hop settings.”

Stephen lays out this challenge:

So, Michael Steele, I hereby invite, nay challenge you to come on the Report for a frank discussion of core conservative principles in the form of freestyle rap. You and me are going to lay down some dope, yet fiscally responsible rhymes. Ball's in your court Steele.

Anyone think he'll take him up on it?

The UN says Zimbabwe's government is hiding the full scale of its cholera epidemic. Original video from the UK's Sky News.

Nicole Belle sent me a link today about a report by Physicians for Human Rights on the horror story Zimbabwe has become:

PHR found that the Mugabe government has withheld food aid, seed, and fertilizer to rural provinces in order to starve political opponents; that the regime nationalized and then withheld routine support for municipal water and sewer systems from cities that elected political opponents; that the health care infrastructure and the economy itself is nearing utter collapse; corruption is the rule not the exception; and that the regime brutally silences critics to cover its crimes, profound corruption and incompetence (see report here).

“While we were there,” Frank Donaghue, CEO of Physicians for Human Rights told Religion Dispatches, “human rights activists were imprisoned and tortured.”

“People think that the most compelling problem is cholera,” he said (and indeed, the cholera outbreak has been widely reported). But, adds Donaghue, it is also a symptom of more profound underlying problems. “The issue is the collapse of the government, the economy, and the health system” he said. “Human waste is running down the streets. Kids are playing in it. The sewage system is in such bad repair that you get sewage in tap water.”

 and added:

This could so easily be a big foreign policy headache for Obama, too easily reminiscent of the Clinton policy in Rwanda -- with Hillary Clinton at State...

And it wouldn't hurt progressives to get out ahead on this

Nicole's correct. But what to do? I just don't see the US being able to act alone or cobble together another Coalition of the Willing without the UN's blessing. Mugabe is as nutz as the neocons would like us to think Ahmadinejad is and has the military's backing - sanctions and political pressure likely won't do a thing. Zimbabwe has only 30,000 of an army and an almost non-existent airforce so intervention by force would be a "cakewalk"...in the primary (invasion) phase...

But then there's the many short and long term drawbacks of yet another invasion and occupation to consider. South Africa's support and basing agreements would be essential. There would certainly be an insurgency of some kind. Accusations of colonialism and imperialist invasions would echo and probably rightly so. The US and others are still not set up for nation-building. The UK already has military contingency plans in place but has said clearly it won't go it alone for these very reasons.

The best bet, to my mind, would be a UN-mandated relief effort, protected by a UN-mandated force - which would have to include African troops. That's likely inadequate to the problem, but it's what's feasible in both short and long terms and a bit of help is better than no help at all.

The situation is certainly dire enough that PHR is asking for UN intervention.

Control of Zimbabwe's shattered health system should be handed over to the United Nations, an independent doctors group has demanded.

As the official death toll from the country's cholera epidemic yesterday topped 2,000, Physicians for Human Rights said government corruption was killing innocent people. The international doctors' group also called for President Robert Mugabe to be investigated by the International Criminal Court at the launch of a report titled Health in Ruins – A Man-made Disaster in Zimbabwe.

Is Zimbabwe a justified cause for a UN-approved coalition empowered under the Responsibility to Protect principles as ratified at the 2001 ICISS summit and recognized under UN Security Council Resolution 1674 (2006)?  This resolution technically commits Security Council members to intervene in situations like this (if they are deemed to qualify as "genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity").

At that point, the first problem becomes one of getting such a resolution passed. China, which is heavily invested in Zimbabwe and thus the Mugabe government, might well veto any such move and some of Zimbabwe's neighbours including SA wouldn't be too happy at the prospect of refugees streaming across their borders. The second problem, of course, would be affording such a military-supported relief effort in the midst of an economic crisis. The third, stopping Zimbabwe turning into another quagmire.

Until recently, I thought that negotiations between the government and its main rival might provide a solution, but now it's obvious they won't. I'm not entirely opposed to the notion of using force for humanitarian interventions but I am very opposed to the notion that a new Zimbabwe effort would also open the door to more of the same after Iraq slammed it closed good and hard. The neo-whatevers, who have always loved war more than the humanitarian reasons they advance for those wars, would just love that. Since I'm no longer certain as to what to think, so this post is by way of asking for thoughts and debate.

Crossposted from Newshoggers

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Norah O'Donnell was in Kansas City, Missouri during the debate yesterday with a panel of undecided voters. Their responsiveness to the candidates on the specific issues of McCain's invoking of Bill Ayers and Obama's tying McCain to George Bush was emblematic of the greater take on the debate as a whole.

Look at the red line signifying registered Republicans. As McCain goes on the attack about Ayers, it drops below the horizon into negative territory, side by side with the Independent vote. As the voter O'Donnell interviewed said, the whole Ayers issue has been dealt with and it's just beating a dead horse.

But more telling, look at that same red Republican line when Obama says that the country can't afford another 8 years of Bush policies. Up, up, up! No matter how petulantly McCain tries to distance himself from Bush, it's clear that the voters aren't buying it for a minute.

Clearly, in all his debate prep, no one thought to coach McCain not to go to the third rail of the abortion issue. Boy, was that an oversight. Because not only did McCain go there, he jumped right on to it.

In trying to paint Obama as being for the great Republican bugaboo of late term abortions (because, you know, there are so many women running around and deciding after being pregnant for six or more months that being pregnant is no longer convenient for them), Obama replied that he didn't vote for the late term abortion ban because it had no provision for the health or life of the mother. And that's when McCain proved how heartless and clueless he is:

Again…just again, an example of the eloquence of Senator Obama, health (indicates air quotes) of the mother. You know that’s been stretched by the pro-abortion movement to mean almost anything.

Really? Not a legitimate concern? Tell that to these women.

(h/t Jesse)

Probably a good idea to study your opponent's stance when you plan to attack him on it in front of millions of potential viewers. Otherwise you end up like Grampy McCrankypants with his total deer-in-the-headlight look when Obama set him straight:

Obama: I'm happy to talk to you, Joe, too, if you're out there. Here is your fine: Zero.

McCain interrupts: Zero??

Obama: Zero. You won't pay a fine because as I said in our last debate, and I'll repeat John, I exempt small businesses from the requirement for large businesses that can afford to provide health care to their employees who are not doing it. I exempt small businesses from having to pay into a kitty...

With Henry Paulson on record that he would not continue past the Bush term as Treasury Secretary, debate moderator Tom Brokaw asked who the candidates would choose as a Treasury Secretary. McCain's response:

You know that’s a tough question, and there’s a lot of qualified Americans. But I think the first criteria, Tom, would have to be somebody who immediately Americans identify with. Immediately say we can trust that individual. Supporter of Sen. Obama’s is Warren Buffet. He’s already weighed in and helped stabilize some of the difficulties in the markets and with companies and corporations, institutions today. I like Meg Whitman. She knows what it’s like to be out there in the marketplace. She knows how to create jobs. Whitman was CEO of a company that started with 12 people and now, 1.3 million people in America make their living off eBay. Maybe someone here has done business with them. But the point is, it’s going to have to be somebody who inspires trust and confidence.

Confidence? Hmmmmm....I guess McCain didn't read today's LA Times:

Online retailer EBay Inc., which is trying to reverse years of slowing growth in its auction business amid rising competition and a spreading financial crisis, said Monday that it would cut 10% of its global workforce even as it spends $1.3 billion to buy three Web businesses.

Even after announcing the largest reduction in its 13-year history, which EBay said would save $150 million in annual operating costs, the San Jose company saw its shares tumble by as much as 12% to their lowest level in more than five years. They recovered to close at $17.89, down 5.5%.

Investors are concerned that EBay's bread and butter, online auctions, is showing increasing vulnerability to slowing consumer spending, the slumping U.S. housing market and high fuel prices.[..]

Although EBay said the layoffs (of about 1,000 full time employees) were not a result of the economic downturn, Chief Executive John Donahoe acknowledged that the weakening economy and the strengthening dollar were affecting sales. Donahoe, who took the reins from Meg Whitman in March, has been trying to lead a corporate overhaul.

Yeah, that inspires confidence, doesn't it? But I'm curious, as the Obama debate record site shows, McCain has mentioned his good friend Phil Gramm several times as a likely Treasury Secretary. Wonder why he didn't bring him up last night?

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John McCain tried to once again attack Obama over his assertion that if he found OBL he would take him out. Somehow in McCain's mind, Obama is giving out classified secrets to the enemy by announcing that to the world. It was interesting that Obama won the foreign policy of the debate pretty easily last night. Charles Krauthammer was shocked over that development on FOX in the post debate wrap up.

Obama: You're doing a great job, Tom. Look, I -- I want to be very clear about what I said. Nobody called for the invasion of Pakistan. Sen. McCain continues to repeat this.

What I said was the same thing that the audience here today heard me say, which is, if Pakistan is unable or unwilling to hunt down bin Laden and take him out, then we should.

Now, that I think has to be our policy, because they are threatening to kill more Americans.

Now, Sen. McCain suggests that somehow, you know, I'm green behind the ears and, you know, I'm just spouting off, and he's somber and responsible.

McCain: Thank you very much.

Obama: Sen. McCain, this is the guy who sang, "Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran," who called for the annihilation of North Korea. That I don't think is an example of "speaking softly."

This is the person who, after we had -- we hadn't even finished Afghanistan, where he said, "Next up, Baghdad."

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I thought this was a powerful moment in the debate for Obama. When a candidate can get personal about an issue it always rings true and in this case Obama draws on the the horrible experience his own mom had to endure during her final days fighting cancer and the insurance company. I'm still trying to figure out what Lisa Schiffren of the NRO was complaining about.

CNN:

Brokaw: Privilege, right or responsibility. Let's start with that.

Obama: Well, I think it should be a right for every American. In a country as wealthy as ours, for us to have people who are going bankrupt because they can't pay their medical bills -- for my mother to die of cancer at the age of 53 and have to spend the last months of her life in the hospital room arguing with insurance companies because they're saying that this may be a pre-existing condition and they don't have to pay her treatment, there's something fundamentally wrong about that.

So let me -- let me just talk about this fundamental difference. And, Tom, I know that we're under time constraints, but Sen. McCain through a lot of stuff out there.

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During the presidential campaign season, every pundit -- regardless of political affiliation -- has touted the "town hall" format as the strongest and most comfortable debate setting for John McCain. Unfortunately, McCain performed miserably in Tuesday's town hall debate with Barack Obama, once again looking desperate, rambling and uncomfortable. So how is the GOP going spin it?

C&L sources who are on GOP e-mail lists report that at least a half hour before the debate was even finished, they started receiving e-mails spinning and whining about the format and how it wasn't a REAL town hall -- therefore, it's unfair to poor John McCain. Ben Smith at Politico got the ball rolling:

I wrote earlier that this would likely be an empathy contest, but between the odd rules, the candidates, and the visibly displeased moderator, that's not really happening. The questions are basically impersonal, and the questioners then disappear.

Right. It's not the debater who failed....it's the debate format that failed him.

Let's see how many of the right wing water carriers pick up and run with that lame excuse.

During tonight's Presidential Debate Senator John McCain made the claim that he "warned" about the impending economic crisis. That's amazing, seeing as he said in 2007 that he was in fact surprised by it and failed to predict the disaster he, President Bush and the GOP brought upon America. Think Progress has the video and more:

I don’t know of hardly anybody, with the exception of a handful, that said “wait a minute, this thing is getting completely out of hand and is overheating.” So, I’d like to tell you that I did anticipate it, but I have to give you straight talk, I did not.

Obama nails him in tonight's debate:

Obama: Now I've got to correct a little bit of Senator McCain's history, not surprisingly, but let's first of all understand that the biggest problem in this whole process was the deregulation of the financial system. Senator McCain as recently as March bragged about the fact that he is a deregulator. On the other hand two years ago I said we've got a subprime lending crisis that has to be dealt with, I wrote to Secretary Paulson, I wrote to Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke and told them this is something we have to deal with and nobody did anything about it. A year ago I went to Wall Street and told them we have to re-regulate, and nothing happened.

Download | play    Download | play   (h/t Heather)

MSNBC goes to the strange bedfellows tag team of Rachel Maddow and Pat Buchanan to give the post-mortem on the performance of the Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin.  I'm reminded of my reaction to the first presidential debate.  I had been disappointed in Obama's performance, noting far too many opportunities to score points not taken by Obama.  John Amato reminded me that it's not the decideds like me for whom Obama performed; it was the undecideds.  Similarly, Maddow's and Buchanan's perceptions mirror exactly how the Palin's performance will strike the decideds on both sides of the fence:  Maddow found her scripted, lacking in genuine emotion and light on substance.  Buchanan responded to her viscerally, caring neither for her flubs nor her lack of details, but just finding her stimulating through her attractiveness.

But will it sway the undecideds?  According to the CNN poll, it looks like substance won over folksiness: 

Fifty-one percent of those polled thought Biden did the best job in Thursday night's debate, while 36 percent thought Palin did the best job.

But respondents said the folksy Palin was more likable, scoring 54 percent to Biden's 36 percent.

Both candidates exceeded expectations - 84 percent of the people polled said Palin did a better job than they expected, while 64 percent said Biden also exceeded expectations.

But on the question of the candidates' qualifications to assume the presidency, 87 percent of the people polled said Biden is qualified while only 42 percent said Palin is qualified.

So perhaps Rachel wrapped it up correctly:  "Boring, But Right" versus "Exciting, But Wrong."   That’s America’s choice.

Transcripts below the fold

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