Mama moosehunter vs. the Commie menace

My favorite redhead at the Noo Yawk Times, Maureen "O'Sullivan" Dowd, has her panties all in a wad again. This time it's the audacity of McCain to pick a good lookin' babe, as Rush calls her.

Maureen dips her poison pen and comes up with what I'm sure she sees as a ridiculous movie script starring the Norse queen and formerly obscure moosehunter, VP Sarah Palin, who moves up to the top job and then has a showdown vs. the Commie menace:

The movie ends with the former beauty queen shaking out her pinned-up hair, taking off her glasses, slipping on ruby red peep-toe platform heels that reveal a pink French-style pedicure, and facing down Vladimir Putin in an island in the Bering Strait. Putting away her breast pump, she points her rifle and informs him frostily that she has some expertise in Russia because it’s close to Alaska. “Back off, Commie dude,” she says. “I’m a much better shot than Cheney.”

Then she takes off in her seaplane and lands on the White House lawn, near the new ice fishing hole and hockey rink. The “First Dude,” as she calls the hunky Eskimo in the East Wing, waits on his snowmobile with the kids — Track (named after high school track meets), Bristol (after Bristol Bay where they did commercial fishing), Willow (after a community in Alaska), Piper (just a cool name) and Trig (Norse for “strength.”)

“The P.T.A. is great preparation for dealing with the K.G.B.,” President Palin murmurs to Todd, as they kiss in the final scene while she changes Trig’s diaper. “Now that Georgia’s safe, how ’bout I cook you up some caribou hot dogs and moose stew for dinner, babe?”

I'm sure that's supposed to be ridicule, but there's one little problem, Maureen honey. It sounds like a movie I'd go to see, along with all my bitter, backwoods redneck buddies as we cling to our God and our guns. You can come with me to the show, Maureen, if you promise to shut up.

Palin panic projections from the leftwing

Have you ever noticed that sometimes people accuse you of things that seem to come from out of nowhere, but you later find out that the accuser is guilty of what they accused you of doing?

As Jesus said, before you try to pick that speck out of your brother's eye, better remove the 2x4 from your own eye. And that's exactly what Democrats are doing over McCain's pick of Palin, accusing him of making a panic move when in reality, it's the whole leftwing that's in full panic.

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air explains:

Democrats offered a little projection over the weekend and claimed that John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate exposed his panic during their convention, a claim that only made sense if one hadn’t endured it on television. Unfortunately for them, the meme of panic doesn’t apply, nor did it make any sense, given McCain’s position in the polls. The Washington Post reports that McCain favored Palin for months, and that it reflects a deliberate focus on reform and change:

The WaPo report says:

Far from being a last-minute tactical move or a second choice when better known alternatives were eliminated, Palin was very much in McCain’s thinking from the beginning of the selection process, according to McCain’s advisers. The 44-year-old governor made every cut as the first list of candidates assembled last spring was slowly winnowed. The more McCain learned about her, the more attracted he was to her as someone who shared his maverick, anti-establishment instincts.

Morrissey continues:

Far from being some sort of panic attack, McCain’s selection of Palin was a deliberate effort to craft a specific message for the general election and for his Presidency, should he win. He wants to challenge his party to recall their reform roots from the Reagan Revolution and the Contract with America. He cannot expect to have that taken seriously or effectively without having a real reformer, and not just a talker, on the ticket with him. He needs the conservative base energized and enthusiastic to make that message effective, and Palin provides both a track record of real reform and energy for the GOP base.

As the Times said on Friday, this shouldn’t surprise anyone. The panic seen from the Left shouldn’t surprise anyone, either. After their so-called reformer picked a 35-year Washington insider as his running mate, the ticket of true reform is obvious to even them.

Considering the Palin pick turned Obama's brief convention bounce into what one pundit called a "dead-cat bounce," wiping it out overnight, I'd say the leftwing is wise to go into full panic mode.

Look out lefties, Al Gore was right. The sky really is falling. And project not upon whom the sky is falling, because it's falling upon thee.

First woman president may be GOP's Palin

The London Sunday Times gets the jump on our so-called mainstream media and profiles Sarah Palin, the woman who has the Obama crowd and the MSM (same, same) totally bumfuzzled.

“We may be seeing the first woman president. As a Democrat, I am reeling,” said Camille Paglia, the cultural critic. “That was the best political speech I have ever seen delivered by an American woman politician. Palin is as tough as nails.”

With her beehive hairdo and retro specs, Palin, 44, has a “naughty librarian vibe”, according to Craig Ferguson, the Scottish comedian who stars on late-night US television. However, the selection of Palin, the governor of Alaska and a mother of five, as the first female Republican vice-presidential nominee is no joke for the Democrats.

Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio chat show host, exulted, “We’re the ones with a babe on the ticket” — one, moreover, with a reputation as a tax-cutter and corruption buster in her job as the first woman governor of Alaska.

Palin’s selection on the eve of the Republican convention in St Paul, Minnesota, has set the stage for an epic battle for the votes of women, African-Americans, evangelical Christians and the young. The demographic wars that dominated the contest between Obama and Hillary Clinton are now set to be replicated in the national election.

Read the whole thing and get ready to rumble. We're going all the way with John & Sarah.

Memorable birthday for 2 Johns

Yesterday was my 61st birthday and I started it off online in the morning because my new work schedule has me off on Fridays. The chatter about McCain picking Sarah Palin got me really stoked. I read about her months ago (she had me at Lifetime NRA member) as a possible McCain VP choice, but she seemed to disappear in speculation quickly, so I gave up hope that McCain was that smart.

But the more I read Friday morning, the more I was convinced that this pick would happen. I was so stoked that I found the premature button at right and printed it out and made myself a paper button to wear on my t-shirt when I left about 10 for a haircut, doctor's checkup and then to go gun shopping. And when I heard on the radio that McCain had announced the pick at noon, I hollered like a banshee driving down the road. As McCain and I share the same birthday, she was a birthday present to the both of us. Woot!

To sweeten the day even more, I traded a S&W Model 21-4 .44 Special revolver at a gun shop for a pistol I've been wanting for some time but couldn't afford, a Sig Sauer P226 in .357 Sig caliber. I'll report more on that sweet deal later.

I was sitting in the doctor's waiting room about 11:30 listening to Wolf Blitzer on CNN as he speculated about the Palin pick announcement coming up shortly and he got David Gergen on to give his view. Gergen has got to be the least conservative supposed Republican in history. He served in the Nixon, Ford and Reagan administrations then topped that off with stints as advisor to Clinton and Bush I. Any so-called conservative who can work for Clinton is not the real deal.

Blitzer asked Gergen for his view on a possible Palin pick and the "expert" said it would be a terrible choice for McCain because Palin "has no foreign policy experience." I knew immediately that McCain would indeed pick Palin as she had just passed "the Gergen test."

As usual, Gergen was full of bull. He could have said Obama has no foreign policy experience and therefore picked Biden because he supposedly does. But being a liberal in conservative clothing, Gergen reliably mouthed the anti-Palin sentiment that was all he could come up with quickly.

I read a recent interview with Steve Schmidt, McCain's campaign manager, where he said when the campaign is undecided on an issue, they apply the Gergen test. Find out what Gergen has said about it and then do the opposite.

In this case, the obvious brilliance of the Palin pick was the last thing Gergen would admit. She puts into play all those Hillary voters and I suspect will corral a goodly portion of that 18 million away from Obama. Plus she brings the entire social conservative wing of the GOP, which is the heart and soul of the party, safely back under the McCain-Palin banner. Dr. James Dobson makes that clear with his endorsement of McCain-Palin on Dennis Prager's radio show. This influential Christian leader had previously said he just could not vote for John McCain.

And all those bitter, backwoods rednecks clinging to their guns and God who occupy the middle of the political spectrum can get excited about lifetime NRA member Palin, who hunts, fishes and packs her own heat. Palin is also an extremely strong advocate of drilling for oil right here in the good ol' USA, including the "pristine" ANWAR site in Alaska, which McCain has declared off limits. She obviously knows a lot more about ANWAR than McCain does as governor of Alaska, so I wouldn't be surprised at all if she convinces McCain to change his view on that crucial issue.

In fact, I would say that energy might just be the biggest issue in this campaign. It certainly is the issue that offers the clearest contrast between the two opposing camps, McCain and the GOP who say Drill Here, Drill Now! and Obama, Pelosi and Reid who tout windmills and hot air.

BTW, if you haven't joined the 1,465,146 Americans who have signed the Drill Here, Drill Now! petition, do it now.

With a united GOP behind McCain and a significant splinter of the Democrat Party longing for Hillary, Obama may end up with the only reliably Democrat elements left in November, unions, NAACP blacks, Code Pink, gay rights, university ivory tower elitists and assorted nutroots.

That leaves everything from the middle to the right for McCain-Palin. This may be a Mondale-type landslide. When Mondale kicked off his run against Reagan with an outright pledge to raise taxes, all he ended up with was his home state of Minnesota. This race is still up for grabs, but the Palin pick does change everything. It could all break away from Obama and towards McCain from this point forward. Or not.

Mark Steyn, a Canadian, offers a very succinct comparison of Obama-Biden vs. McCain-Palin.

First, Governor Palin is not merely, as Jay describes her, "all-American", but hyper-American. What other country in the developed world produces beauty queens who hunt caribou and serve up a terrific moose stew? As an immigrant, I'm not saying I came to the United States purely to meet chicks like that, but it was certainly high on my list of priorities. And for the gun-totin' Miss Wasilla then to go on to become Governor while having five kids makes it an even more uniquely American story. Next to her resume, a guy who's done nothing but serve in the phony-baloney job of "community organizer" and write multiple autobiographies looks like just another creepily self-absorbed lifelong member of the full-time political class that infests every advanced democracy....

Third, real people don't define "experience" as appearing on unwatched Sunday-morning talk shows every week for 35 years and having been around long enough to have got both the War on Terror and the Cold War wrong. (On the first point, at the Gun Owners of New Hampshire dinner in the 2000 campaign, I remember Orrin Hatch telling me sadly that he was stunned to discover how few Granite State voters knew who he was.) Sarah Palin and Barack Obama are more or less the same age, but Governor Palin has run a state and a town and a commercial fishing operation, whereas (to reprise a famous line on the Rev Jackson) Senator Obama ain't run nothin' but his mouth. She's done the stuff he's merely a poseur about. Post-partisan? She took on her own party's corrupt political culture directly while Obama was sucking up to Wright and Ayers and being just another get-along Chicago machine pol (see his campaign's thuggish attempt to throttle Stanley Kurtz and Milt Rosenberg on WGN the other night).

Mark Steyn is persona non grata in his own way-too-PC country and plain talk like this is why. I hope he moves here permanently because we need more voices like his to be heard. Unless this becomes Obama Land. Then God help Mark and all of us if it does.

Waking up with an '08 hangover

After all the hoopla of last night's coronation of Obama I, Lord of the Universe, I think it's time for some adult analysis. As usual Charles Krauthammer brings us down to earth with Self-Made Man or Mysterious Stranger?

When John Kerry was introduced at his convention four years ago, an honor guard of a dozen mates from his Vietnam days surrounded him on the podium attesting to his character and readiness to lead. Such personal testimonials are the norm. The roster of fellow soldiers or fellow senators who could from personal experience vouch for John McCain is rather long. At a less partisan date in the calendar, that roster might even include Democrats Russ Feingold and Edward Kennedy, with whom John McCain has worked to fashion important legislation.

Eerily missing at the Democratic convention this year were people of stature who were seriously involved at some point in Obama's life standing up to say: I know Barack Obama. I've been with Barack Obama. We've toiled/endured together. You can trust him. I do.

When you compare your candidate to John Kerry and come up short, that's not a good sign.

So where are the colleagues? The buddies? The political or spiritual soul mates? His most important spiritual adviser and mentor was Jeremiah Wright. But he's out. Then there's William Ayers, with whom he served on a board. He's out. Where are the others?

The oddity of this convention is that its central figure is the ultimate self-made man, a dazzling mysterious Gatsby. The palpable apprehension is that the anointed is a stranger -- a deeply engaging, elegant, brilliant stranger with whom the Democrats had a torrid affair. Having slowly woken up, they see the ring and wonder who exactly they married last night.

The big party's over. God help us all if America wakes up with a hangover and a wedding band.

The real story from Afghanistan

Retired Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North and his Fox News cameraman go along on a Special Ops raid deep in Taliban territory in Afghanistan and record a vicious gun battle that results in victory for the good guys and a defeat for the bad guys.

HERAT, Afghanistan -- A Taliban sentry fired the first shots shortly after 2:30 a.m. as Afghan commandos and U.S. Special Operations Command troops surrounded the compound at Aziz Abad. Though the Marine Special Operations Team had employed a daring deception to achieve surprise, they were engaged heavily by gunfire from AK-47s and machine guns almost immediately after deploying at the objective.

For the next 2 1/2 hours, the 207th Afghan Commandos and their U.S. Army and Marine counterparts were in a running gunfight with heavily armed Taliban fighters inside the walled compound. When enemy combatants on rooftops and in narrow alleyways could not be dislodged by fire from U.S. and Afghan troops on the ground, they were hit by supporting fire from manned and unmanned aircraft overhead.

By dawn Aug. 22, it appeared that the commandos and their American advisers had achieved a stunning success. Credible information received after a "Shura" -- a town meeting with local tribal leaders -- had revealed the timing and location of a Taliban gathering. The intelligence was confirmed painstakingly, and U.S. Special Operations Command officers sat down with their Afghan commando counterparts to carefully plan a "capture-kill mission" with the goal of taking several key Taliban leaders into custody. Fox News cameraman Chris Jackson and I accompanied the raid force.

But wait, that's not the end of the story. That's only the beginning. The Taliban did what they always do when they're defeated. Lie. Lie, lie and lie some more, telling ever bigger lies. About the only lie they didn't tell this time is that it was a wedding party. And then the investigations begin and the "Haditha massacre" is replayed in Afghanistan . All this sad tale lacks is Lyin' John Murtha.

On Aug. 24, with several investigations under way but not yet complete, the commando battalion commander was "suspended." That evening, in a report on Fox News, I noted that neither cameraman Chris Jackson nor I had seen any noncombatants killed and that "the Taliban and their supporters are running a very effective propaganda campaign to discredit coalition efforts. Exaggerated claims of damage often result in demands for more money in compensation."

The next day, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan concluded that 90 civilians had been killed during the raid at Aziz Abad. Then, as we were departing for Herat, we were informed that the government in Kabul was offering $200,000 to settle the claims and was planning new restrictions on Special Operations Command missions.

Let's hope that won't be the end of this story. U.S. commanders here are appealing to the Karzai government to look at the evidence -- including our videotape -- and to continue to support intelligence-driven operations against the Taliban. Brig. Gen. Khair Mohammad, chief of staff of the 207th Corps, Western Military Region, told me: "We need to have America's help to win this fight. Your enemy is our enemy."

It's like the famous lawyer who told the jury, "Who are you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes?" Ollie was there and he's got the videotape to prove the truth. God help our troops.

This is the 4th in a series by Ollie reporting on the war in Afghanistan. Here's the previous ones:

Friday Aug 22, 2008

Report From a Forgotten War

Friday Aug 15, 2008

Report From a Forgotten War (2nd in a Series)

Friday Aug 22, 2008

Report From a Forgotten War

Long walk from LBJ to Obama

Barack Obama will make his acceptance speech tonight, Greek temple columns, magically rising stage platform and all, but regardless of whether he wins or loses this election, it will be historic: the first American black leader rising to lead the banner of a major political party.

I have read volumes I through III or biographer Robert Caro’s incomparable profile of the life of President Lyndon Baines Johnson and I look forward to the fourth and final volume he is working on now. In today’s New York Times, Caro takes a look at LBJ’s legacy leading to tonight.

If LBJ, a Southerner, had not overcome seemingly impossible odds to ram a series of civil rights bills through Congress, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that finally gave American blacks the right to vote, there would not be Democratic Party Presidential Nominee Barack Obama.

Read Robert Caro’s op-ed to get a historian’s bird’s-eye-view of this climactic moment.

The heroism of the march at Selma, the heroism all across the South, the almost unbelievable bravery of black men and women — and children, so many children — who marched, and were beaten, and marched again, for the right to vote, created the rising tide of national feeling behind the passage of civil rights legislation, the legislation not only of 1965 but of 1964 and 1957. That feeling did so much to make the legislation possible. It has taken me scores of pages in my books to try to describe that heroism, and all of them inadequate. But it also took Lyndon Johnson, whom the black leader James Farmer, sitting in the Oval Office, heard “cajoling, threatening, everything else, whatever was necessary” to get the 1965 bill passed and who, with his legislative genius and savage will, broke, piece by piece, in 1957 and 1964 and 1965, the long unbreakable power of the Southern bloc.

“Abraham Lincoln struck off the chains of black Americans,” I have written, “but it was Lyndon Johnson who led them into voting booths, closed democracy’s sacred curtain behind them, placed their hands upon the lever that gave them a hold on their own destiny, made them, at last and forever, a true part of American political life.”

LOOK what has been wrought! Forty-three years ago, a mere blink in history’s eye, many black Americans were unable to vote. Tonight, a black American ascends a stage as nominee for president. “Just give Negroes the vote and many of these problems will get better,” Lyndon Johnson said. “Just give them the vote,” and they can do the rest for themselves.

If Obama wins, he should thank LBJ on his inauguration day. If he loses, no doubt many cries of racism will again be heard. There are many reasons he may lose: his colossal ego, his sleazy and radical friends; his invisible list of accomplishments, his most-liberal-in-Congress voting record, his anti-war, anti-gun, anti-born-alive radical, left-wing, socialist worldview; his doubtful patriotism, his “GDA!” pastor … but racism is the least of these.

Now that I'm finished being magnanimous, Peter Kirsanow at National Review's Corner lists a few more firsts Obama will accomplish.

It's a great and historic moment. We have the first black presidential nominee of a major party in the United States. As Jonah (Goldberg) notes, however, it's unfortunate that the nominee is a liberal with little experience and poor judgment.

And it won't be the only first. In addition Obama will be

• the first presidential nominee known to have a terrorist as a friend and working associate
• the first presidential nominee to vote against a measure designed to prevent a form of infanticide
• the first Commander-in-Chief nominee to dismiss as an elitist a veteran who spent 5 1/2 years being tortured by the enemy
• the first presidential nominee to favor giving habeas corpus rights to foreign terrorists
• the first presidential nominee known to have a pastor who exclaimed "God damn America "
• the first presidential nominee to state that he will talk without precondition to the leaders of state sponsors of terrorism
• the first presidential nominee to support giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants
• the first presidential nominee to assert that he's embarrassed that his countrymen don't speak French or German
• the first presidential nominee to compare the U.S. infrastructure unfavorably to that of a communist country
• the first presidential nominee to have a more extreme position on life issues than NARAL

Is whatever societal benefit that may be derived from electing the first black president worth having a president who has established the other firsts?

Obama cites his lack of readiness

Ed Morrisey at Hot Air says:

John McCain went to the vault from the Democratic primaries and found a treasure trove of comments from Democrats on the unreadiness of Barack Obama to lead the nation. It includes the comments we’ve seen before from Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, but adds Chris Dodd and others — including perhaps the most effective spokesman:

Obama: Emperor of the World!

You think the Big O's Berlin "Citizen of the World" speech was over the top? Stand by. He's going to top it tomorrow night at Mile High Stadium with his coronation, uh, acceptance speech.

Here's the facts from Reuters: Obama speech stage resembles ancient Greek temple

DENVER (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's big speech on Thursday night will be delivered from an elaborate columned stage resembling a miniature Greek temple.

The stage, similar to structures used for rock concerts, has been set up at the 50-yard-line, the midpoint of Invesco Field, the stadium where the Denver Broncos' National Football League team plays.

Some 80,000 supporters will see Obama appear from between plywood columns painted off-white, reminiscent of Washington's Capitol building or even the White House, to accept the party's nomination for president.

He will stride out to a raised platform to a podium that can be raised from beneath the floor.

Honest to God, folks, I couldn't possibly make this stuff up. The man is bat-sh!t crazy!

P.S. I stole the awesome photoshop from Mike O at The Political Inquirer

P.S. II, Big Bill says after his speech in Denver tonight, he's blowing town. (Did Monica call?) Bill chatted today about "candidate x" and then said he won't stay to hear the Greek god speech.

As usual, Charles Krauthammer has the definitive word on Obama, the Greek god coronation:

Has He Lost His Mind?

The Berlin folly -- in English.

The Superbowl Halftime Show -- without the game.

What's the finish? Maybe Obama’s got Zhang Yimou to do the hidden-rope trick, and have him lifted, Beijing-style, to the heavens when he’s done. Will he reappear three days later at the Bird’s Nest?

Or maybe he'll just do a Napoleon and coronate himself. By the time Napoleon made himself emperor, he had won the Battles of Lodi, of Arcole, of Rivoli, of the Pyramids and of Marengo. And had promugulated the Napoleonic Code. He had yet to write a single autobiography.

Three G’s worrying Democrats

As Democrats prepare to anoint their Obamessiah at their convention, there are more signs than just PUMA screams from jilted Hillary lovers that all those happy faces are whistling past the graveyard. When the Washington Post (AKA Obama PR campaign newspaper) has a story titled For Those From Swing States, The Watchword Is . . . Worry, that just might be a sign that all is not hunky-dory under the big Democrat tent.

The story is full of doubters (who Michelle Obama lectured to Monday night), but I offer just one quote from that must-win Midwest state, Ohio:

Sarah Hamilton, a Clinton supporter who works for the Ohio Federation of Teachers, linked Obama's challenges in the state to the resistance that other Democratic presidential candidates have faced in trying to trump social issues with economic ones. "I really think it still has to do with 'Gods, guns and gays.'”

Uh, Sarah, I hate to be nitpicky, but God is usually singular, not plural, at least that’s the way we say it down here in the Bible Belt. But thanks for the thought anyway. On the three G’s, we’re for the first two and try hard to ignore the third, at least those who are out of the closet and strutting their stuff on Main Street. As my daddy used to say, a skunk don’t stink near as bad down on the branch as it does up on Front Street.

As for Obama getting a few of the “God votes,” I’d say that went down the tubes along with the Youtubes of the not-rev. Wright’s “GDA” rants.

A.W.R. Hawkins says it’s getting about time for Obama to get out his six-shooter and go duck hunting to try to bag a few of us guns’ voters.

But though Obama and the Democrats are trying to steal a few of our God and guns votes, but I don’t think too many of us bitter, backwoods rednecks are buying either line. So that leaves the third G, gays, who are an important part of the left-wing fringe and Obama openly says so.

In a letter to the party’s LGBT Caucus — the acronym stands for Lesbian/ Gay/ Bisexual/Transgender — Obama said the group “will be crucial to bringing our Party together and sweeping us to victory on November 4th.”

OK, Mr. O. You can have the LGBT vote. Us God and guns voters like BLTs, but hold the LGBTs, please (with gloves). So yeah, I gotta agree with Sarah. This is shaping up to be a three G’s election and from where I stand, we’ve got the first two and Obama’s got the third unchallenged.

I’m a bit math challenged, but I think in elections, two out of three ain’t bad odds. In election math, we could even call that a landslide victory.

Meanwhile, back at the big party, Michelle Obama issued marching orders last night, telling Democrats "to stop doubting and to start dreaming."

That oughta do it. Just tell ‘em what to do Michelle and they gotta do it. Hey, ain’t she the wife of the man who can tell the oceans to recede?

And speaking of Mr. Oceans-Recede-at-My-Command, guess what he’s up to? Remember his Chicago neighbor, Weatherman-terrorist buddy Bill Ayers? If you need a refresher, Confederate Yankee has the details. Anyway, Obama’s got his panties in a wad over an independent political ad that dares to point out his political ties to Ayers, so guess who he’s asking for help? He’s calling for President Bush’s U.S. Justice Department to investigate the ad. Mr. Bushitler’s DOJ to the rescue? I’m not sure if that’s big brass gonads or just sheer stupidity from the Amazing Mr. O.

Rick Moran at American Thinker says it’s both:

Obama's response is being hailed as a monumental blunder. First of all, it is extraordinarily weak in that it 1) admits Ayers is a "radical;" 2) wonders why McCain is worried what happened 40 years ago when the issue is how Ayers feels now about what he did; and 3) mentioning that Obama was 8 years old when Ayers committed his terrorist acts is not only irrelevant, but weird - a jarring disconnect between the issues raised in the ad and any coherent response by the Obama campaign.

The question of why Obama is on a first name basis with a terrorist is a legitimate one to bring up. But Obama's first response was to try a little hardball and sic the Justice Department on the group putting it out. Not only that, Obama is threatening an advertiser backlash directly to TV stations that run the ad.

As I said, this is hardball politics as it’s played in the Windy City. And those who believe Obama can't get in the muck and root around with the worst of them are underestimating where this guy comes from and of what he is capable of doing if he falls behind.

I have more thoughts about Obama playing hardball and "The Chicago Way" here.

Mark Hemingway at National Review’s Corner also comments on Obama’s request for a DOJ investigation of the Ayers ad:

So let me get this straight — the job of the Justice Department is not to go after unrepentant domestic terrorists such as Bill Ayers, but rather to police campaign ads about Bill Ayers. Real smooth way to handle this, Obama. Doesn't look at all overly defensive or like your campaign is losing control of their bowels over this, nosiree.

Hillary Democrat abandons Obama

Debra was a Hillary supporter. Now she's a McCain voter. May her tribe increase.

Obama’s brilliant Biden pick

I had a flash of insight about Barack Obama’s choice of Joe Biden for his VP. It really is a pretty smart choice for Obama because he picked one of the very few candidates among liberal Democrats who, when standing next to Obama, has the quality to make him look “Presidential.” Making Obama look presidential by comparison is a pretty neat feat, but IMHO Biden is one of the few who can pull off that difficult task. Well played O.

On the other hand, Rick Moran points out that by picking the underachieving Biden, Obama did McCain a huge favor in making his choice of VPs.

McCain's choice won't have to be a stretch. Just about anyone he chooses will stack up with the Delaware senator so no one can accuse him of picking someone less brilliant or less talented or with less "heft" than Biden.

Obama’s Anti-Gun Running Mate

Snowflakes in Hell has the rundown on Obama's VP pick, Joe Biden, anti-guns. Watch the video of Biden's anti-gun rant in the Presidential debate: Obama’s Anti-Gun Running Mate

1. He takes pride in writing gun bans.
2. He’s F-rated with NRA - the worst among almost all of the most talked about candidates.
3. NRA highlights his recent threats to gun owners via his work on his Senate committee:

   NRA has been tracking the U.N.`s gun-ban activities for well over a decade, and thanks to the Bush administration`s appointees to the U.N., the U.S. position on any global gun-ban treaty has been consistent and uncompromising: Hands off the Second Amendment rights of American citizens! However, all that could change, now that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee–which approves or rejects our U.N. representatives and assesses international treaties for possible ratification–is chaired by anti-gun U.S. Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware.
   Like Schumer, Biden is rated “F” by the NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) for his countless votes against firearm freedom. Like Schumer, Biden voted to expose the lawful firearm industry to crippling lawsuits; to extend and expand the Clinton gun bans; to allow a ban on most hunting-rifle ammunition; and to deny the free-speech rights of groups like the NRA during elections.
   Now, as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden can use his power to sabotage pro-freedom nominees for U.N. ambassador–as he did with Second Amendment defender John Bolton–and bully fellow senators into accepting whatever gun-ban treaty the U.N. concocts in the name of fighting international terrorism.
   

4. Needless to say, he didn’t sign on to the Heller brief and doesn’t support efforts to reform DC’s gun laws.

Biden is bad news all around for any gun owner. Pair him with Obama, and it’s a far left gun ban ticket.

Joe Biden on Barack Obama

Mr. Not-Quite-Ready-For-Primetime proves it yet again. Joe Biden? Even Biden says that Obama ain't ready for the big show. And Obama proves it for sure by picking Biden. Is he nuts? Or is the strategy that Biden doesn't make him look quite as much an amateur as picking Hillary would? Well, I guess now Biden's going to have up with something better to say about Obama than he's "clean."

I suspect there's a party going on over in McCain HQ today. Keep your eye on the ball, Big John.

Amanda Carpenter at Townhall.com has the first blush from media on the Biden pick.

Here's a roundup of media reaction to the Biden pick. It's not pretty:

The AP's Ron Fournier says the pick shows "lack of confidence."
Time examines "six key" unflattering moments
The San Diego Union Tribune highlights his gaffes, like "I exaggerate when I'm angry."
Politico headline here is: A Statesman Known for the Slip of the Tongue

I wasn't on Obama's VP text message list, but Amanda Carpenter was and she says hers didn't come through until well after CNN had announced the Biben pick.

This guy can't even announce his VP smoothly (you know what I am going to say next) How can he run a country?

"Hype: The Obama Effect" movie

His supporters claim he is the new Martin Luther King, Jr. He is hailed as this generation's John F. Kennedy. This documentary explores the HYPE behind Barack Obama.

Obama's buddy, Weatherman Bill Ayers

You don't need a Weatherman to tell which way this wind blows. It blows ill for Obama.

Read all about it in Bill & Barack's Excellent Adventure at American Thinker.

Obama's Rezko 'Housing Problem'

McCain campaign fires back at Obama's slam about McCain's heiress wife's properties. Do you really want to talk about "housing problems" Obama? The McCain campaign fired back yesterday with the statement below and today with this ad.

"Does a guy who made more than $4 million last year, just got back from vacation on a private beach in Hawaii and bought his own million-dollar mansion with the help of a convicted felon really want to get into a debate about houses?"

"Does a guy who worries about the price of arugula and thinks regular people 'cling' to guns and religion in the face of economic hardship really want to have a debate about who's in touch with regular Americans?"

Maybe not. Wesley Pruden at the Washington Times gives the rundown on Rezko:

The contretemps may (or may not be) irrelevant to the consideration of presidential qualifications, but it brings to the fore the figure of Tony Rezko, the Chicago fixer who has loomed large in Mr. Obama's life, and who the campaign has worked mightily to keep in the shadows.

Rezko was convicted in June of wire and mail fraud, money laundering and aiding and abetting bribery, nothing in particular to blemish a Chicago pol's reputation, but a reputation-killer everywhere else (excluding New Jersey, Louisiana and Bill Clinton's Hot Springs). Mr. Obama himself has so far not been fingered as accomplice or unindicted anything, but his long association with Rezko and others threatens the story line that he was born in a stable in Bethlehem.

When questions were raised in the past about what he and Rezko did together, and when did they do it, Mr. Obama retreated to bromides about all the good things he has done for little children, cute kittens and adorable puppies. "I've always held myself to the highest ethical standards," he told the Chicago Sun-Times on one occasion when reality seemed to be closing in. "I know what people expect of me." That's enough for his glassy-eyed cult, but it's a story line likely to wilt in the heat and glare of a presidential campaign.

How did he get his house for $300,000 less than the asking price on the same day that Rezko's wife paid the full price to the same seller for a vacant lot next door? Why did he later pay Rezko $104,500 for a 10-foot wide strip of that vacant lot that appraisers had said was worth $40,000?

These are happy coincidences in the Chicago world of Barack Obama, but in the place where the rest of us live who could sell such cheerful explanations?

Tip to the Obama campaign. When you've got a skeleton in the closet, don't open the door and point to it. What the late Casey Stengel said about the fumbling, bumbling newborn N.Y. Mets applies to the Obama campaign, "Doesn't anybody here know how to play this game?"

P.S. How many houses does McCain actually own? Answer, none. All the properties in the family are owned by his wife, the beer baron heiress. Hey, how can you fault a guy who marries a beautiful blonde who owns a beer company? Works for me.

2 Marine heroes in the 'other war'

Retired Marine Lt. Col. Ollie North is in Aghanistan and he reports on two Marine heroes there:

On July 23, 2007, Lance Cpl. Garrett Jones was a fire team leader on patrol in Fallujah, Iraq, with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, when an improvised explosive device detonated practically beneath him, shredding his left leg. At the hospital, surgeons amputated the shattered limb above the knee to save his life.

Today Garrett Jones is a corporal -- still with 2/7 -- and serving here in Afghanistan. In less than a year, he has suffered life-threatening wounds; recuperated from surgery; endured rehabilitation; been fitted with a prosthetic leg; proved that he can perform in combat; and returned to duty. An avid snowboarder, he plans to compete in the 2010 Paralympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Cpl. Jones could have taken a disability discharge and a pension for his wounds. Instead, he fought to stay on active duty and to return to a war zone with those he calls his "battle buddies." When I asked him why, he replied: "These are my brothers. I want to be where they are and continue to make a difference." He is.

While we were embedded with 2/7, the battalion suffered a dozen serious casualties. Three Marines, Lance Cpl. Juan Lopez-Castaneda, Lance Cpl. Jacob Toves and Cpl. Anthony Mihalo were killed in action by improvised explosive devices. One of the wounded, Lance Cpl. Bryan Fisher, was flown to the British shock-trauma hospital at Camp Bastion. Here is an excerpt from a message sent to me by the battalion's chaplain, Lt. Russ Hale:

"I went to the hospital to see LCpl Fisher, the 'E' Co. Marine who was wounded in the IED attack and had the unenviable task of sharing with him the names of the KIA from his platoon that were med-evaced after him. Like any human, he broke down and began to weep at the loss of his friends and brothers-in-arms. We spoke for a bit about loss and grief and how these kinds of events are not something a person 'gets over,' rather, we 'get through' and with God's grace, we learn to cope in a healthy manner. As our conversation turned towards ways to honor the loss of his friends and his own future, LCpl Fisher floored me with his plans: 'I'm glad I'll be here at "Bastion" for awhile before I go back to the field. This will give me time to process my re-enlistment paperwork to stay in 2/7 and then I can return to my guys.'

"Here is a Marine who just lost three of his friends, could easily have been No. 4 of the KIA's, and his way of honoring his friends is to re-enlist to stay in the same battalion in order to return to the same place his friends were killed so that he can continue to carry the fight to the enemy. And what's most important is that his actions are not an act of vengeance but an act of love; a way to honor his comrades. He inspires me."

Take a minute and pray for our troops, in Iraq, Afghanistan, around the world, fighting for us.

Top 10 Funniest Country Songs

10. I Hate Every Bone In Her Body But Mine

9. I Ain't Never Gone To Bed With an Ugly Woman But I Woke Up With a Few

8. If The Phone Don't Ring, You'll Know It's Me

7. I've Missed You, But My Aim's Improvin'

6. Wouldn't Take Her To A Dogfight 'Cause I'm Scared She'd Win

5. I'm So Miserable Without You It's Like You're Still Here

4. My Wife Ran Off With My Best Friend And I Miss Him

3. Dropkick Me Jesus Through The Goal Posts of Life

2. She's Lookin' Better with Every Beer

And the Number One Funniest Country Song is...

1. It's Hard To Kiss The Lips At Night That Chewed My Ass All Day Long

I stole this list from Ace. My personal favorite as a gun nut is number 7. And I’ve quoted number 4 on occasion when I was feeling a bit low.

Actually, “Dropkick Me Jesus” is the only one I’m sure is a real song. But the rest of them oughta be. And there’s one left off this list.

If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body, Would You Hold It Against Me?

I’ve heard that one so I know it’s real. Another real one is “Dead Skunk In The Middle Of The Road” by Loudon Wainwright III. If memory serves (and frequently it don’t) I think The Beatles included a line from that one on their White Album, right after “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?”

And no list of funny country songs is complete without mention of David Allen Coe, who sings The Ultimate Country Song, which includes drinking, mama, trains, rain, trucks and prison all in one verse. Coe’s sorta like a cross between Hank Jr. and ZZ Top, both drunk and stoned. Here it is:

Well, I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison

And I went to pick her up in the rain

But before I could get to the station in my pickup truck

She got runned over by a damned old train

And then there’s Merle Haggard’s best bar song, “Think I’ll Just Sit Right Here And Drank.” (Yep, Merle don’t sing “drink,” he sings “drank” which is present tense for drunk in Southern Redneck. If the Hag ain’t a genuine redneck, there ain’t none.) Feel free to add your favorites to the list.

There probably ought to be George Jones tune or two on the list, but his drinking songs really aren’t funny. He was always a real serious drunk.

“Charlie’s War” replaying in Georgia?

Is there really nothing our military can do about the Russian invasion of the former Soviet republic of Georgia? That’s what all the “experts” are saying. But I don’t think so. That’s what experts said in 1979 when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan back during President Jimmy Carter’s watch.

Carter had gutted military funding after the Vietnam War and nobody wanted to go to war with the Soviet Union over Afghanistan. So Carter did nothing but boycott the Olympics as a lame protest. That’s all the “experts” are suggesting today, another Olympic boycott against the Russians. Nobody wants to go to war with the Russians over Georgia with our troops already fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. But history may well repeat.

As the nonfiction book and movie “Charlie’s War” chronicles, in the ‘80s President Reagan, the CIA and a few friends in Congress quietly financed an insurgency against the Soviet occupation, arming the Afghans with Stinger missiles and other equipment that eventually led to Soviet defeat.

And if I was a betting man, I’d bet a similar campaign is already under way by our Spec Ops troops with the blessing of President Bush. And Georgia may be a small country, but they do have a trained army, air force and navy which succeeded in some damage to the Russian invaders.

With that core group to work with, the Russian troops might just find out it’s a whole lot easier to invade than it is to occupy a country against insurgents who are armed and supported by powerful friends. Might be a replay of Iraq and I’d bet the Russians don’t have a Gen. Petraeus.

Deebow at Blackfive.net speculated that the U.S. Air Force C-17 that landed in Georgia with humanitarian supplies probably had a few “ringers” mixed in amongst the Air Force crew, Spec Ops experts to sneak and peek a sitrep on the Russian occupation.

How many of you believe that there were soldiers on those relief flights that belonged to the RRC, AFSOC, ODA (insert number here), SOF-D or some other Special Mission Unit? I think they are likely giving ground truth to Tampa right now.

It is an axiom of modern combat that when you deploy Special Forces, you are at war...

Here’s what Strategy Page says about our troops who are already in Georgia as trainers for the Georgians: American Troops Help Defend Georgia

As Russian troops invade, from bases in southern Russia, 127 American military trainers remain in Georgia (the one in the Caucasus). They weren't the only foreign troops around, as at the end of July, a thousand Ukrainian, Azeri, Armenian and U.S. troops departed after holding joint training exercises with their Georgian counterparts.

For the past three years, several hundred American military trainers have run the GSSOP (Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program), which has trained over 5,000 Georgian troops, many for eventual service in Iraq. The trainers were American soldiers and marines, who imparted their combat experience to the Georgians.

…Georgia has a population of about 4.6 million, and an active duty military of about 28,000 troops. Russia has a population of 142 million, and an active duty military of about a million personnel. The U.S. has been helping Georgia train and equip an army reserve force of about 100,000. Only about a fifth of that force has been organized so far. Georgia was hoping to develop a sufficient qualitative advantage to discourage the Russians.

If a few thousand Afghans with bolt-action rifles and Stinger missiles could make the Russians turn tail and run, the Georgians can do it too.

Big Trouble in River City

The Noo Yawk Times sent a reporter to tromp through the boonies of rural Pennsylvania to talk to the folks in Raccoon Township about Obama vs. McCain. Despite a majority of folks there having voted for Al Gore and John Kerry in the last two presidential elections, this is bitter, backwoods, clinging-to-guns-and-God country, and the outlook is not good for Obama there, the reporter reports.

James Stanford, a retired and still heavily muscled steel worker, stood at his door and spoke of a pension that had evaporated. “Obama got one thing right,” he said. “We are bitter here.”

…In Raccoon, Kelly Dobbins, a middle-aged factory worker, offered the same. “I’m like a duck in the water — I float there but underneath I’m paddling hard as I can go,” Mr. Dobbins said. “What’s pushing me toward McCain is Obama. Who is he? Where does he stand?”

Ruh roh! We got big trouble here in River City. If Obama loses Pennsylvania (as he did in double-digits to Hillary) he probably loses the election.

And the national polls ain’t looking good for the Obamessiah either, showing McCain either tied or in the lead on the eve of the conventions.

What in the world has happened to The Anointed One? Has his halo slipped? Maureen Dowd, the best-looking redhead on the NYT op-ed board, has a conspiracy theory. I read Maureen’s rants just because I like looking at her mug shot. Always had a weakness for pretty redheads, even when they’re bat-sh!t crazy like her. She’s always good for a laugh and even has an occasional flash of sanity. But it always passes quickly.

Her latest rant is an imaginary vodka-shot party between Hillary and McCain, celebrating their conquest of Obambi and planning his final demise.

Lordy, Maureen! Did you go off your meds again!? Check your roster girl. McCain’s not even a member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, the Reagan-Goldwater wing of the party hates him almost as much as Hillary. And Hillary is the one who first noticed the VRWC way back when Bill was its target. She is a lifetime member of the Vast Left Wing Conspiracy, but the VRWC wouldn’t touch her or McCain with a 10-foot pole. That may be the only thing they have in common, other than they’re both Senators. But a conspiracy’s what the left always sees when they’re losing.

Maureen, if you really want to know who’s conspiring for the downfall of Obama, you need to read the funny papers. There you’ll find the famous words of Pogo, the swamp ‘possum: “We have met the enemy and he is us.” Obama’s worst enemy looks back at him in the mirror.

Who else could possibly be to blame for hatching that idiotic idea of the fake presidential seal with the “Vero Possumus” Latin logo on it? Pogo?

Pride goeth before the fall, the Good Book warns. I bet that’s one sermon that crazy ‘ol Uncle Jeremiah never preached to adopted son Obama.

Batman & Rush vs. ‘the Flake’

I’ve seen a couple of unusual but yet plausible theories recently on why Obama will lose and McCain will win. Few are daring to make that call.

J.R. Dunn at American Thinker advances the theory that Obama is doomed to defeat because he’s a “flake.” You need to read it all to get it.

It's time to throw my hat in the ring as regards predicting the election results. So here it is: Barack Obama will be defeated. Seriously and convincingly defeated. Not due to racism, not due to the forces of reaction, not even due to Karl Rove sending out mind rays over the national cable system. He will lose for one reason above all, one that has been overlooked in any analysis that I've yet seen. Barack Obama will lose because he is a flake.

I'm using the term in its generally accepted sense. A flake is not only a screwup, but someone who truly excels in making bizarre errors and creating incredibly convoluted disasters. A flake is a "fool with energy", as the Russian proverb puts it. ("A fool is a terrible thing to have around, but a fool with energy is a nightmare".)

Barack Obama is a flake, and the American people have begun to see it.

And Jeffrey Lord at American Spectator has another defeat theory that’s a bit offbeat, but also may prove true. Call it the Batman-Rush Theory.

OK. I'll walk out on a limb.

This election has already been decided. It's over. The winner is John McCain.

How, you are asking, could anybody be so utterly stupid to say such a thing in August? What about the polls showing Obama ahead? Haven't I heard about Obama-mania? The conventions haven't even been held!

Well, since you asked, I'll tell you.

Read Batman and Rush: Why McCain Will Win

Golden girls keep volleyball crown

The United States beach volleyball team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh won their second consecutive Olympic Gold Medal Thursday in Beijing, China. To make it even sweeter, they beat the “home girls,” the Chinese team of Tian Jia and Wang Jie, for their 108^th straight victory.

The New York Times reports: May-Treanor and Walsh have proved again that they remain leaps ahead of the competition. Who in Olympic sports has had a better 2008? They have not dropped a set since July 13 and they won all 10 tournaments they entered on the American beach volleyball tour.

And how could they lose with the personal pat on the back they got pre-game from President Bush, who passed up a chance for a rump slap? They thanked the President in their victory celebration.

Makes me proud to be an American! I’d have to turn in my Southern Redneck card if I didn’t like to watch girls in bikinis play beach volleyball.

The incredible shrinking Obama

Michael Gerson pens what I think is perhaps the most perceptive comment thus far in this political season, summing up Barack Hussein Obama.

Obama is one of those rare political figures who seems to grow smaller the closer we approach him.

Gerson made that comment reviewing the McCain vs. Obama showdown at Saddleback Church, hosted by pastor Rick Warren on Saturday. Like everyone else but Andrea Mitchell and the leftwingnuts, Gerson is also impressed by the growing stature of McCain vs. the shrinking of Obama.

Speaking of Andrea’s “McCain cheated!” parroting of the Obama camp’s whining about mean ol’ John McCain whupping up on poor, little Obama, here’s a quote from Andrea about why McCain must have cheated: “He seemed so well prepared.” Hey Andrea, maybe he seemed so well prepared because he actually was well prepared and ready for prime time, unlike the incredible shrinking Obama who can’t talk without reading a teleprompter with the answers to questions that he asks himself. What a concept, a candidate who’s actually “well prepared” to be President!

Getting back to Gerson, he concludes:

McCain's performance at the Warren forum helps change the political psychology going into the conventions. Republicans have spent the past few weeks pleasantly surprised at the closeness of the presidential race. But they have generally chalked this up to Obama's weakness, not McCain's strength. After Saturday night, even Republicans most skeptical of McCain must conclude: "Perhaps we aren't doomed after all."

Of such small hopes are large upsets made.

I’ve been gobsmacked from the get-go in this campaign that such a lightweight newcomer, birthed by the corrupt Chicago political machine, could even be seriously considered for the highest office in our land. Perhaps the closer Obama is examined, the more this political midget will shrink.

Barry H. Obama: All-American

The Noo Yawk Times (AKA Obama campaign PR department) says Democrats plan a magic trick of David Copperfield proportions at their upcoming convention, transforming their “candidate with a most unusual background” into the All-American boy next door. The plan is For Convention, Obama’s Image Is All-American

Democrats face a number of imperatives at their convention, none trickier than making more voters comfortable with the prospect of putting a candidate with a most unusual background — the son of a black Kenyan father and a white Kansan mother, who grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia — and his family in the White House.

… Through four nights there will be testimonials from family members like Mr. Obama’s wife and sister who will tell his “very American story,” … there will be appearances by lesser known “Americans from all walks of life, from across the country” speaking about their support for Mr. Obama. Combined with a film featuring the candidate in all-American scenes by Davis Guggenheim — the director of “An Inconvenient Truth”… aides to Mr. Obama are using the convention to tackle what members of both parties see as his greatest vulnerability with undecided voters: his “otherness.”

If Guggenheim can sell Al Gore’s Chicken-Little, the-sky-is-falling global warming theory, maybe he can sell Barry H. Obama, All-American Boy.

The introduction of a candidate is a task facing every presidential campaign, but one that carries unique challenges for Mr. Obama because of his race and questions about his patriotism, values and faith that Republicans have already vigorously sought to raise and exploit.

So there’s the plan. The fella who wears the now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t flag lapel pin; whose values and voting record are more liberal than anybody else in Congress, including avowed Socialist Bernie Sanders; whose faith record consists of 20 years of listening to the openly racist sermons of the not-very-rev. Jeremiah Wright ranting about “whitey” and “G—D--- America!” All that goes down the memory hole, like Alice’s rabbit. Presenting the new, improved Barry H. Obama, All-American Boy! And if you’ll buy that, I’ve got some oceanfront property in Arizona…

Above Obama’s pay grade

It appears at least one of Obama’s stumbling, fumbling answers during Saturday night’s forum at Saddleback Church is becoming the latest catch phrase that will hang around and haunt him in these last 100 days of the campaign: “Above my pay grade.”

Thomas Lifson at American Thinker cites that as just one of many clear differences between answers from the two candidates at Saddleback:

…(McCain) stating that life begins "at conception" in stark contrast to Obama, who mumbled the famous "above my pay grade" answer. In an attempt to appear overly spiritual, Obama simply appeared overly liberal.

Helen Cadogan at American Thinker takes that thought and runs with it in: Ten things above Obama's pay grade

In no particular order:

1. Cogency, concision, and conviction.
2. Ease of manner without a teleprompter.
3. Maintenance of American defense systems.
4. Pro-American assertions.
5. Rejection of moral and cultural relativism.
6. Decision-making.
7. Qualification to lead the United States.
8. Loyalty.
9. Respecting America and her symbols.
10. Understanding Christian doctrine.

McCain wins Saddleback Showdown

Drew M. at Ace of Spades calls the McCain vs. Obama "debate" at Saddleback Church:

Nearly forty minutes in...McCain is kicking Obama's ass. You'd think this friendly, personality setup would favor Obama but it's not.

I don't agree with McCain on a lot of things but compared to Obama he's simply filled with substance. I don't mean on policy prescriptions (though McCain is stronger there) but just on being a man. McCain has lived, he's succeed, he's failed and he just come off as someone who knows himself and the world he lives in.

The Weekly Standard Blog catches Captain Bullshit...well, bullshitting.

If this were a fight it would have been a knockout for McCain.

Final thought...

McCain big time. I think my position on McCain is well cataloged on this blog (I'm not thrilled to put it mildly) but even I was impressed. Yeah there were no immigration or global warming questions tonight and the luster will likely wear off from this performance in time but he did nothing but help himself tonight.

Matt Lewis at Townhall.com also calls it a McCain win:

Obama did well, but McCain just came on -- and I think it is clear who has the gravitas. McCain looks good without the necktie. He is humorous tonight. And though he has been criticized for being uncomfortable talking about religion, I think talking about character is his wheelhouse.

Obama did well during his opening session. But McCain is doing great. I'm not just saying that because I'm a conservative. Quite often, I've written that though I favor McCain against Obama, that McCain has not been an effective communicator (usually, this has been when each were giving speeches -- which is different from answering questions).

I'm not sure what it is, but McCain seems extremely focused tonight -- like a baseball player who is "in the zone". He is quick and eloquent tonight. He is blunt and delivering "straight talk". He has a passion and seriousness about him which I have not seen in a while. But perhaps more than anything, he looks extremely comfortable tonight ...

Amanda Carpenter at Townhall.com concluded:

The biggest contrast of the evening between the two candidates came down to their ability to answer questions clearly and forthrightly. McCain did, Obama didn't. You can see this in the Q & A I transcribed below. The very first question alone shows how "safe" Obama stayed all night. When asked who he admires the most he relied said his wife, his grandma and didn't even name a third. He even ducked the softballs!

Amanda Carpenter transcribes both candidates' responses: McCain at Saddleback and Obama at Saddleback.

Byron York at National Review writes How McCain Won Saddleback: In an unusual setting, his experience overwhelmed Obama.

Mark Hemingway at National Review writes McCain As Good As Obama Was Bad

I don't want to get to overheated about what occurred tonight, but I do think McCain had a clear and decisive victory over Obama. It all comes down to something that Phil Bredesen, the Democratic governor of Tennessee recently said about Obama: “Instead of giving big speeches at big stadiums, he needs to give straight-up 10-word answers to people at Wal-Mart about how he would improve their lives.”

By that standard, McCain did extremely well and Obama did very poorly. McCain's answers were direct, confident and, most importantly, serious. When asked about what leaders he would consult as president, he first suggested Gen. Petraeus, architect of the surge, who he correctly praised as one of America's all-time great military leaders. By way of contrast, Obama suggested he would seek out the advice of a typical white person, er, his grandmother and his wife Michelle, who's still trying to decide whether she's proud of her country.

Boycott MSM to defeat Obama

A black minister, The Hon. James David Manning, PhD, calls for a total boycott of the mainstream media as the key to defeating Obama. He specifically names CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, the New York Times and Oprah and urges everyone to "pull their money strings" with a boycott. This is the "last weapon left" during this last 100 days of the campaign to defeat Obama from "putting his hand on the Koran and becoming the first Muslim President of the United States of America."

"The One": Higher taxes, pain at pump

Remember Walter Mondale's famous rallying cry for President? "I will raise your taxes."

McCain remembers and Obama hasn't been around long enough to know who Mondale is.

The return of Bill and Bruno II

Jonah Goldberg uses a monster movie theme to chronicle the umpteenth return of Bill and his lovely wife Bruno, and guess who the victim in the shower is in Nightmare on Dem Street?

The Clintons are back. The coffin lid has sprung open, the seal of the crypt has been broken, the mutant virus has escaped the lab. Both Clintons will speak at the Democratic convention, and Hillary will get her I-told-you-so's.

...But fixating on the plot is never a good idea with monster flicks. The point is that the story is always the same. And so it is this time as well. Bill and Hillary are back. And forever more, Barack Obama won't be able to take a shower without fear of that curtain snapping back, as a woman - or is that a man? - prepares to plunge the knife into his back.

Amanda Carpenter at Townhall.com says the Clinton pair's starring role at the Democratic Convention reveals just one more reason Obama is not quite ready for prime time.

While Obama slipped away to Hawaii, Hillary Clinton finagled herself a roll call vote at the Democratic convention and her husband a prime time speaking slot.

In other words, Obama got rolled by Hillary for his own convention. That should tell you something about his ability to stand up to hardknuckled political leaders.

Ollie roughs it with Afghan Marines

Retired Lt. Col. Oliver North is roughing it with the Marines in Taliban country in Afghanistan and sends in the second in a series with Report From a Forgotten War ... It's well worth a read and if you missed it, here's his earlier Report From a Forgotten War (1st in a Series)

Lt. Col. Richard Hall, the task force's commander, describes the nearly nonstop gunfights, indirect fire and improvised explosive device attacks as "a very dynamic, complex and often hostile environment." That's putting it mildly.

Because there were no police stations or Afghan army units in most of the remote districts where TF 2/7 is operating, the Marines had to construct their own security outposts -- a herculean effort, given the lack of paved roads and primitive infrastructure. As Lt. Col. Hall puts it: "We have had to simultaneously fight the Taliban, build more than a dozen defensive strongpoints, train new Afghan National Police and conduct civic-action programs to win over the local population, and we're doing it. Our motto, 'Ready for all, yielding to none,' says it all."

He's right. Though his Marines and Navy medical corpsmen have suffered more than 100 casualties from enemy action since they arrived, they have confronted the Taliban, unrelenting heat, innumerable exhausting patrols wearing 40 pounds of armor, and persevered in the roughest living conditions I have experienced since Vietnam. More than half the task force has served previously in Iraq or Afghanistan -- some in both. Yet the unit's re-enlistment rate is 118 percent -- among the highest in the U.S. armed forces.