Tim Kaine and his campaign may have lost the election this morning in Virginia. It’s incredible to me that after the 2004 Kerry race and the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, Democratic operatives STILL don’t understand how to stand-up and respond to attacks.

The ad I discussed in a posting yesterday not only questioned Kaine’s position on the death penalty- but it was a hard-hitting, unfair attack that questioned his character (he’s too liberal for Virginia) and made the implication that he supports Adolph Hitler!!!! It was the Swift Boat ad of 2005.

The Kaine campaign did what Democrats always do- they responded with a weak response that offered insight into Kaine’s nuanced position on the death penalty but did nothing to reinforce the idea that Kilgore is an asshole who brought Adolph Hitler into a VA Governors race.

The Kaine campaign botched this race. They had a unique chance to fire back this morning with an emotional appeal that would have made voters question Kilgore’s judgment and whether a man who brought Hitler into a race is trustworthy of being Governor. THIS IS NOT ABOUT THE DEATH PENALTY. THIS IS ABOUT EMOTION AND HOW PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT THE CANDIDATES AT THEIR CORE. PLEASE PLEASE UNDERSTAND THIS.

Today is a sad day for Virginia Democrats and I hope they can recover from what seems this morning like an inoperable blow.

You can view the ad here. This is all about GOTV now and we need to get out and turn our voters out. Click here to get down to Virginia and pound the pavement!

I also am one of the growing number of Americans who answers “wrong track” when the CNN/Gallup folk call up during supper. To put it simply- I hate George W. Bush.

Luckily, I am able to come to you tonight heartened and giddy that our President risked his own safety to go to New Orleans just one day after the terrible storm Katrina drifted out to sea.

“What’s that, Skaroff”, I asked bewildered. I spoke once more, “What’s that you say, huh?”

WHAT???#@#%%#/ WHAT?????$#Q$#@$

GEORGE W. BUSH SPOKE TONIGHT 2 WEEKS AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA!!!!!!

Is this idiot a joke? Are you kidding me? Am I high? Yes, I must be high!!

George Bush, you are no President. You are no leader. You failed us when we thought you couldn’t fail us no more.

Don’t get on my television and pretend that ANY American citizen will trust you anymore. You have spent your Presidency lying and we’ve debated and questioned your decisions.

Now, it is all out for everyone to see. Too little, too late. You failed us. Shame on you, Mr. Bush.

Apparently our fair city; the city of brotherly love, the city of the cheeseteak, the city of ‘youse guys’ has been identified as the number one election fraud ‘hot spot’ in America.

Even if the Sixers, Eagles, Flyers and Phillies can’t ascend to #1 greatness…we can all sleep easy knowing that we are #1 at something! Congrats!

And the political reality of Radical Rick’s position is that no matter what questions talk show hosts or his opponents throw at him about his out of the mainstream positions on issues– the bottom line is he believes (or at least is in a position to claim that he does) what he believes and is resolute in those beliefs.

Hey, do you remember the 2004 election between John Kerry and George Bush? Well, more Americans disagreed with Bush’s positions on various issues (most notably the war in Iraq, handling of the economy, etc.) and and thankfully those same voters voted against Bush in November 2004 and Kerry won!!

Wait, ok– no. The very same folks who were against Bush’s policies went to their respective polling stations and voted for him. They felt that while Bush didn’t necessarily believe what they believe– he did BELIEVE IT STRONGLY.

Now, we know that Bush believes very little of what he says and is just a really great politician. And, I feel that Radical Rick is in a similar position today.

My advice: watch out! Early polls show that Radical Rick is trailing to Mr. Casey and that’s a good sign. However, as Radical Rick moves quickly towards to the center and away from his radical roots– people will view him (because, well, people ain’t smart) as a moderate guy who isn’t afraid to preach his beliefs and stand by them.

The moral of this story: the average American doesn’t care what politicians believe. All they care is that they believe in something and are willing to fight for those beliefs.

I’m a proud Democrat and I expect great things from Bob Casey. But let’s just all be clear that Radical Rick is in this race to win and his strategy to say whatever he feels, however dangerous or destructive, has been and will continue to be a winning strategy for Republicans.

Thank you for not interrupting my rant.

While I hold no respect for the man– I do not intend to smear him on SkaroffBlog or paint a picture that is not entirely true. Therefore, I wish to amend my previous post.

George Bush is NOT a cokehead. Ok? That was a mischaracterization. He was, however, a cokehead some years back but everyone deserves a second chance at sobriety. Stay on the wagon Georgie — we believe in you.

When I was watching Bush’s speech last night I was full of anger and had to vent to you — the loyal SkaroffBlog readers.

You see, I grew up in the 1990′s wishing that my generation would not simply be known for playing Nintendo or watching MTV but would have a true calling like our parents did.

In the aftermath of September 11th, we all wondered if that was our moment in history. It sure was. While we have been relatively effective in opposing the Bush doctorine in rhetoric– I worry that we aren’t answering our generational calling with the same fortitude and passion that our parents did circa Vietnam. Why are we not in the streets today–one million strong–telling this administration that it’s blatant lying is wrong and won’t be tolerated by the vast majority of Americans who oppose this war?

Every generation will have its decisive moments and its out-of-touch political figures. For my parents it was Nixon. For me, it’s Bush. History will write the true story of this war in Iraq and of Bush’s lies and denials of what Americans know is happening in Iraq.

But, we can’t sit tight while events unfold. We–the vast majority of Americans who are not OK with being lied to by a (former) cokehead and current fraudster– need to make our voices heard and oppose this administration at a time in history when America needs us the most.

Also, John Kerry had a great answer last night when asked by Bob Costas about Bush’s assertion that Americans should “fly the flag, etc.” on July 4th…

“You know, the president said tonight that what we can do on July 4th is fly the flag and honor the troops. Well, every American that I know of flies the flag on July 4th and we always honor our troops. The question of honoring the troops, it seems to me, is to provide them with the best protection possible. And when you don’t address the borders that are sieves, when you don’t deal with this training issue, to provide adequate transformation on a rapid basis, we’re not doing all that is possible.

When you underfund the VA by a billion dollars and try to hide it, you’re not doing all that’s necessary to honor the troops.

So, I think Americans are smart. They know how to measure this. And, increasingly, as they’re beginning to become aware of the gaps in the performance from the promise, people want to demand more. We owe those troops more. We owe the American people more.”

A Campobello teen is accused of raping one neighbor’s dog and another neighbor’s two little girls. Now the dog has died and charges against the teen have been upgraded.

After receiving word that the dog died possibly because of the rape.[sic] Fox Carolina called the Solicitor’s office to see if now new charges would be filed against the teen. An hour later Solicitor Trey Gowdy called to say that the charges will be upgraded to the “most serious animal cruelty charges they have on the books.”

This clearly disturbed young man allegedly raped a dog – a horrible and disgusting act. But the quotes, the images, the headline, and the content of the article ignore the far more important fact that he also allegedly raped two HUMANS. Why, you might ask, do they gloss over this issue? My guess is because you can’t show pictures or video of innocent rape victims, let alone little girls, on the news. You can however show pictures of a cute doggy. And that really jerks at those heartstrings we all know “reporters” and “editors” are going for.

Blatant emotional manipulation instead of honest reporting. That is what passes for news in America today.

ahh, my entry to the blogosphere…cue John Williams music.

This whole world is new to me, its success astounds me, and honestly, baffles me. I watched a “report” on blogs by the distinguished Rob Corddry of the Daily Show. Mostly the banter, seen here, comments on the absurdity of the cable news world, and their newfound coverage of blogs. Yeah, you read right, Cable news is out of news, they’re covering blogs. Not that this is news to any of us anyway, Cable “news” has been out of news long before Terry Schiavo, a runaway bride, and Terrell Owens with Desperate Housewives.

I do make an attempt to diversify my news sources. I read the New York Times online, BBC News for an international flavor, and some blogs, but I join many of my generation who are growing in number getting their news from entertainment shows such as The Daily Show. It’s a part of a sad, and not so new trend, how can the media effectively engage younger generations in news and political culture? The answer that the cable news networks have come up with is infotainment, coupled with violent, irreverent stories and talking heads like Bill O’Reilly. Coincidentally Bill will meet his match with the forthcoming new Stephen Colbert show.

My answer is simple. Civic engagement must be addressed at an early age. All those studies that exist explaining how much easier we are influenced as children by what we learn should be applied to civic involvement, such as voting and community activities. Many schools utilize school service requirements, but this often makes it difficult for children to realize the impact one person can have on their community. Some school districts in PA have started to incorperate requirements to ensure students have contact with their local town or city councils.

The book I just picked up from my library is Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam, it addresses the decline of civil society in this country. Check it out.

Thanks for letting me rant. I’ll be back.

–jakesg–

During the previous administration (which if you didn’t know, is responsible for the current energy crisis) there were investigations of every single happening in the Clinton White House. In fact, the same wingnuts who made the federal goverment spend millions on Whitewater to turn up nothing, are still trying to go after Hillary.

So why is no one investigating JeffJames GannonGuckert spending 2 years in the WH press corps using a fake name, dubious credentials, and apparently coming and going as he pleased? Or the many cases of federal money going towards propaganda? Or the use of terror warnings to influence the campaign? Or even the simple fact that apparently the USA and the UK conspired as early as 2002 to launch an ILLEGAL war against Iraq?

As much as I loved Clinton, I do realize that he was not a perfect man, nor did he run a perfect administration. Maybe some of those investigations were well deserved. But the level of moral and intellectual dishonesty and hypocrisy that today’s Republican party operates on every day is simply astounding. And infuriating.

The buck stops…where?

Scott Young seems like he might be a very positive addition to the Eagles offensive line. The 6’4″ 312-pound OL from Brigham Young squats 700 pounds, benches 540 pounds, and did 43 reps of 225 pounds on the bench at the NFL combine. He says he would “really love to train [for strongman] events” when his football career is over.

The Sixers showed so much heart on Sunday. Yes Willie should’ve hit that free throw. They could’ve won. But no one (including me) really expected them to win this series. With AI and Webber able to combine for 59 points, Sammy D averaging 13.5 boards per game in his first playoff series, and all of the promise of KK and Iggy the Sixers could be good next year.

This is very cool: An personalized RSS feed of Yahoo traffic conditions.