Great new site that calculates your tax cut under Obama's tax plan and compares it to McCain's planned cuts for you.

http://taxcut.barackobama.com/

Under Obama's plan I'd save $1,300 compared to only $200 for McCain's plan.  Sounds good me! 

This is yet another fantastic online campaign tool and you know that the McCain campaign is pissed too!  I can just picture McCain with his "Joker" smile; asking "where does he get those wonderful toys! 

Step 1:  Do Something Dramatic!  (Anything dramatic will do)Step 2: Publisize Dramatic Action (go on some news shows to tout your dramatic action)Step 3: Stir Up Further Conflict (make sure some alternate plan is presented, anything will do here even if it's just to launch a federal program to cross our fingers and hope that the banks don't fail)Step 4: Take Credit For Everything (Really even if there hasn't been any success claim that the fact that they are even talking is because of your great leadership even though they were in a week's worth of negotiations before you even flew into town)Step 5: Take A Nap on the Plane While Starting the Read the Paulson Plan on Your Way to the Debate

Last night on Rachel Maddow's show, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell made a great point that there isn't anything for McCain to do in DC right now.  He's not on the committee that is negotiating this bill so he's not invited to the discussions... period.  We know that he'll be at the White House this afternoon but other than that, what is it that he is going to be seen doing that would preclude him from being able to debate Obama?  
Link to the O'Donnell Video at about the 4:00 minute mark: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/26878384#26878384                         

There are several posts noting that Sarah Palin has been cancelling a number of her up comming events and while it would be interesting if she were on her way out; I don't think that is the case.  I believe that the McCain camp are planning allowing the public's & media's expectations of her ability to perform in the debate to continue to be low or even decrease up until the debate with Biden.
The reason for this is that by then if she can even speak in complete sentences and actually answer a question or two the bar will have been set so low that she will have an amazing night by these low standards.  
I won't be surprised if she begins to take a low profile until the debate.  To be clear I don't think it will work very well; but that is what I'm guessing that they are going to do.

As we have all read, Palin hasn't taken any strong public positions on Iraq and Afganistan other than her comments about God's role in the whole thing; so it will stand as a sharp contrast when suddenly she starts giving interviews or speaking again that she will sound like a Cheney Neocon!
We know that it's going to be McCain's neocon policy advisors who are going to be prepping her so we should be ready to contrast the "I don't know what the plan is" Governor with the "Bomb Iran" VP candidate she is sure be shortly.

Rudy just spent several minutes peddling in the old "present" issue that has long since be debunked even by Republicans from Illinois as just part of how they vote up there.

The GOP is utterly without integrity!

Rudy just spent several minutes peddling in the old "present" issue that has long since be debunked even by Republicans from Illinois as just part of how they vote up there.

The GOP is utterly without integrity!

John McCain's obviously political choice of Sarah Palin for VP shows that fits right in with Carl Rove's "politics of division".  The entire choice here was based on the political idea that the GOP can find an issue and in this case real frustrations of women in this country and exploit the hell out it!

Obama can be respectful to Palin and at the same time call out McCain's choice what it is a political tactic to divide the country in yet another way just to win elections.  Not only a lack of judgement, but just more off the same old Rove politics!

John McCain's obviously political choice of Sarah Palin for VP shows that fits right in with Carl Rove's "politics of division".  The entire choice here was based on the political idea that the GOP can find an issue and in this case real frustrations of women in this country and exploit the hell out it!

Obama can be respectful to Palin and at the same time call out McCain's choice what it is a political tactic to divide the country in yet another way just to win elections.  Not only a lack of judgement, but just more off the same old Rove politics!

The most obvious differences between Obama's & McCain's VP choices.  Obama's was clearly about governing with little bit of politics which will always be part of the puzzle; however McCain's was 100% about politics.

Let's look at what Palin brings to the table:
 - Does she deliver a state that he wouldn't win?  NO
 - Does she have economic experience that balances McCain's national security side?  Not Much
 - Does she bring years of experience that will make Obama look even less experienced?  Not at all

What does she bring then?  Well McCain is insulting women everywhere by assuming that women will just move over to her for no other reason than she is a female. 

Are Palin's positions in any way similar to Hillary Clinton's at all?.. Of course not!  They are simply planning on female democrats who don't agree with anything Palin says to vote for her anyway because of her gender.

This pick was 100% a sign of political weakness from McCain. 

The most obvious differences between Obama's & McCain's VP choices.  Obama's was clearly about governing with little bit of politics which will always be part of the puzzle; however McCain's was 100% about politics.

Let's look at what Palin brings to the table:
 - Does she deliver a state that he wouldn't win?  NO
 - Does she have economic experience that balances McCain's national security side?  Not Much
 - Does she bring years of experience that will make Obama look even less experienced?  Not at all

What does she bring then?  Well McCain is insulting women everywhere by assuming that women will just move over to her for no other reason than she is a female. 

Are Palin's positions in any way similar to Hillary Clinton's at all?.. Of course not!  They are simply planning on female democrats who don't agree with anything Palin says to vote for her anyway because of her gender.

This pick was 100% a sign of political weakness from McCain. 

The crew from Morning Joe for example are sitting around the morning being led from on false lead to another by the McCain camp but what does this desperate attempt at getting attention say about "Mr. Straight Talk"?  Why can't McCain's camp do the "honorable" thing and just keep their mouths shut until they are actually going to announce like Obama did?

I truly wish the media would jump off the tire swing and say how dishonest this campaign tactic is and call him out on this childish behavior.

McCain's lame I didn't have a house for 5 years line on the Tonight Show with Leno for God's sake officially puts his POW excuse for everything in silly land.

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/08/mccain_powpowpows_yet_again_th.php

MSNBC was hammering away at this tonight finally (god I love Rachel)!  Hopefully this is just the beginning of the press questioning the POW excuse for every single gaff.

When the "flip flopper" narrative was used by the Republicans against John Kerry in August 2004 it was effective as we all know, but why?  I believe that it was effective because when the masses started paying more attention in September, they saw a guy in Kerry that pretty much looked like the guy that Republicans said he was.  It was effective because to the casual observer it seemed like a pretty good description.

This however is why I have strong hope that McCain's August attacks on Obama won't have the same effect.  I believe that when the fall campaign starts and the general public watches the conventions & even more so the debates; they aren't going to see an empty suit "celebrity".  What McCain is actually doing is lowing the publics' expectations for Obama which we all know he is more than ready to outshine. 

I also don't believe that the "empty celebrity" charge is as hard to overcome as "flip flopper".  To combat a flip flop charge you have to go back and defend particular Senate votes which most people will just tune out anyway.  But to combat an empty charge, one must only demonstrate that they are not empty.  Obviously we still have a long way to go over the next 2 1/2 months but I think we are in for a series of small but meaningful bounces over the next couple months.

According to this new site on Google.com Barack Obama reads Talking Points Memo along with these other sites in his top list:

"Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, ESPN, Talking Points Memo, Barack Obama Blog, Daily Show"

http://www.google.com/googlereader/powerreaders/index.html

Enjoy!