Michelle Obama's speech

[Juana]

Clinton's speech tonight was awesome

[Artemis]

Yes, Clinton was in fine form for sure.

Like him or not there is no denying that he is a master public speaker.

One of the tools that made Clinton such a good politician was his ability to go negative on an opponent without appearing overtly personal. He killed with razor slices, not ax handles. His back-handed compliments left scars. And he relished the role of victim when it made his opponent look like a bully.

Remember, he used a government shutdown and impeachment to brand the GOP as extremist.

His old rivals will tell you about the classic Clinton bait-and-switch: Start a sentence with a compliment and end it with a punch. This is what Clinton did Wednesday night: "Though I often disagree with Republicans, I never learned to hate them the way the far right that now controls their party seems to hate president and the Democrats."

A less subtle politician would say he hates Republicans. Clinton says Republicans are hateful.

[mockbee]

It's all read meat, and man is there a room full of it.


I'm eating it though........nothing else to eat.


Also, Repubs today are absolutely repulsive...................


All this doesn't fix anything though............

[Hype]

I agree that people feel disenfranchised because of the stupid electoral votes where a candidate only needs 270 to win. People really feel their votes don't count.

We should just go back to the popular vote. Where every vote does count.

Dems would benefit from a popular vote. Al Gore won it against Bush. I forget how Kerry did with the popular vote, but it had to be better than the electoral outcome.

Too bad the South would probably try to secede again if were ever changed.

I seem to recall Kerry losing the popular vote by like 2 million.

[ellis]

Man bump that...thread jack!!!!

How many of us here actually feel they are part of the process of electing the President of the U.S.??? Cause I'm pretty sure my vote doesn't really count for much...I view local elections far differently, but I think the POTUS is not something the common man "elects"...

I believe options are predetermined by a few people... but the majority selects the winner. So in that regard I think it could be argued that no, technically the common man does not elect the president. The common man elects one of the predetermined candidates.

I've come to to a point in my life where I'm against supporting this massive duopoly that is the Dem and Rep party. I can't vote for them anymore without feeling filthy. Sure, sometimes a good one will pop up in the local elections. I'll give my vote to who I believe has my best interests in mind.

[Hype]

I'll give my vote to who I believe has my best interests in mind.

This is a good plan, but the parties have a vested interest in convincing most people to vote against their interests. That's why poor people vote Republican and rich people vote Democrat. Except in the latter case, voting against their (immediate) interests (in favour of the long-term best interests of everyone) is a good thing.

[LJF]

I wish Barney Frank had run a few years ago. I really respect him.

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA): Another perennial member of JW’s list of Washington’s “Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians” will soon be saying goodbye to Congress.

Rep. Barney Frank blamed redistricting for his decision to leave office, but the congressional ethics investigation of the OneUnited Bank scandal also implicating California Rep. Maxine Waters must have helped make it easier for him to flee the capital. Both Frank and Waters improperly intervened to secure taxpayer TARP bailout money for the corruptly-run Massachusetts bank, earning them placements on the 2010 “Most Wanted” list.

When asked about the scandal, Frank admitted that he spoke to a “federal regulator” but, according to The Wall Street Journal, “he didn’t remember which federal regulator he spoke with.” That seemed a lie at the time, so Judicial Watch investigated. Sure enough, according to explosive Treasury Department emails uncovered by Judicial Watch in 2010, it appears this nameless bureaucrat was none other than then-Treasury Secretary Henry “Hank” Paulson!

Frank will forever be tied to the implosion at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – and the resulting collapse of the housing market. Frank, a key member of Congress on the “take” from Fannie and Freddie, resisted any effort to subject the two Government Sponsored Enterprises to any effective oversight.

For example, during a hearing on September 10, 2003, before the House Committee on Financial Services considering a Bush administration proposal to further regulate Fannie and Freddie, Rep. Frank stated: “I want to begin by saying that I am glad to consider the legislation, but I do not think we are facing any kind of a crisis. That is, in my view, the two Government Sponsored Enterprises we are talking about here, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not in a crisis…I do not think at this point there is a problem with a threat to the Treasury.” Frank received $42,350 in campaign contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac between 1989 and 2008.

Frank’s corrupt behavior earned the attention of his congressional colleagues in 1990, when the House voted 408-18 to reprimand him for abusing his office to “fix” 33 parking tickets for Stephen Gobie, an acknowledged prostitute and former boyfriend of Barney Frank who had accumulated the tickets while driving Frank’s car. Frank wrote a memo intended to shorten probation for Gobie, who had been convicted of the sex and drug crimes of operating a gay prostitution ring out of the apartment he shared with Frank.

Frank also admitted in the book Reckless Endangerment that he helped yet another boyfriend gain a lucrative position with Fannie and Freddie, which is yet another abuse of office. When confronted on the controversy, Frank said, “If it is a [conflict of interest] then much of Washington is involved in [conflicts].”

That might be the most factual statement Barney Frank has ever made.



I can see why you would respect such a honest man.

[LJF]

[quote="Artemis"]Yes, Clinton was in fine form for sure.

Like him or not there is no denying that he is a master public speaker.


He is an incredible speaker and we've also heard he is very good with a cigar.

[Hype]

I wish Barney Frank had run a few years ago. I really respect him.

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA): Another perennial member of JW’s list of Washington’s “Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians” will soon be saying goodbye to Congress.

Rep. Barney Frank blamed redistricting for his decision to leave office, but the congressional ethics investigation of the OneUnited Bank scandal also implicating California Rep. Maxine Waters must have helped make it easier for him to flee the capital. Both Frank and Waters improperly intervened to secure taxpayer TARP bailout money for the corruptly-run Massachusetts bank, earning them placements on the 2010 “Most Wanted” list.

When asked about the scandal, Frank admitted that he spoke to a “federal regulator” but, according to The Wall Street Journal, “he didn’t remember which federal regulator he spoke with.” That seemed a lie at the time, so Judicial Watch investigated. Sure enough, according to explosive Treasury Department emails uncovered by Judicial Watch in 2010, it appears this nameless bureaucrat was none other than then-Treasury Secretary Henry “Hank” Paulson!

Frank will forever be tied to the implosion at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – and the resulting collapse of the housing market. Frank, a key member of Congress on the “take” from Fannie and Freddie, resisted any effort to subject the two Government Sponsored Enterprises to any effective oversight.

For example, during a hearing on September 10, 2003, before the House Committee on Financial Services considering a Bush administration proposal to further regulate Fannie and Freddie, Rep. Frank stated: “I want to begin by saying that I am glad to consider the legislation, but I do not think we are facing any kind of a crisis. That is, in my view, the two Government Sponsored Enterprises we are talking about here, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not in a crisis…I do not think at this point there is a problem with a threat to the Treasury.” Frank received $42,350 in campaign contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac between 1989 and 2008.

Frank’s corrupt behavior earned the attention of his congressional colleagues in 1990, when the House voted 408-18 to reprimand him for abusing his office to “fix” 33 parking tickets for Stephen Gobie, an acknowledged prostitute and former boyfriend of Barney Frank who had accumulated the tickets while driving Frank’s car. Frank wrote a memo intended to shorten probation for Gobie, who had been convicted of the sex and drug crimes of operating a gay prostitution ring out of the apartment he shared with Frank.

Frank also admitted in the book Reckless Endangerment that he helped yet another boyfriend gain a lucrative position with Fannie and Freddie, which is yet another abuse of office. When confronted on the controversy, Frank said, “If it is a [conflict of interest] then much of Washington is involved in [conflicts].”

That might be the most factual statement Barney Frank has ever made.



I can see why you would respect such a honest man.

Well, That description of the "Gobie affair" is a bit truncated. Here's a more thorough version:

Amid calls for an investigation Frank asked the House Ethics Committee to investigate his relationship "in order to insure that the public record is clear."[30] The Committee found no evidence that Frank had known of or been involved in the alleged illegal activity and dismissed all of Gobie's more scandalous claims; they recommended a reprimand for Frank using his congressional office to fix 33 of Gobie's parking tickets and for misstatements of fact in a memorandum relating to Gobie's criminal probation record.[31] The House voted 408–18 to reprimand Frank.[32][33] The attempts to censure and expel Frank were led by Republican Larry Craig, whom Frank later criticized for hypocrisy[34] after Craig's own arrest in 2007 for lewd conduct while soliciting gay sex in an airport bathroom.

I guess the question is how bad you think that crazy issue with that crazy person Frank was living with in the late 1980s makes the rest of his political career, which I think has had some pretty damned good things in it.

The Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac/TARP thing could be much worse, but if you look into it... it's again spin from Republicans... $40,000 over 19 years is $2105 a year. And on one cared until they imploded anyway. What exactly is that evidence of?

Oh wait, I know why it makes no sense... it's cherry-picked nonsense from Judicial Watch.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_Watch
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2010/02/01 ... osi/159883

[Artemis]

I must say the music in the Democrats Convention is 1000x better than the Republicans.

I'm kinda hooked on watching this convention. Scarlett JOhanssen just spoke and the Foo Fighters played earlier.

[Romeo]

hey....come on....republicans have the Nuge & Dave Mustaine OH and probably all of Nashville Everytime they try & use "popular" music without permission they get shot down!

[Essence_Smith]

this piece is pretty cool...it shows what Bill Clinton had prepared for his speech vs his adlibs...DAMN can dude adlib...

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics ... ote/56562/

[Juana]

this piece is pretty cool...it shows what Bill Clinton had prepared for his speech vs his adlibs...DAMN can dude adlib...

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics ... ote/56562/

Yeah, he is still one of the best public speakers in history

[blackcoffee]

this piece is pretty cool...it shows what Bill Clinton had prepared for his speech vs his adlibs...DAMN can dude adlib...

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics ... ote/56562/

Yeah, he is still one of the best public speakers in history

By comparison I don't think Biden was anywhere near as successful in his speech last night. He was a lot less polished and fluid.

[LJF]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07fTsF5BiSM

I thought this was funny