TPMtv: Golden Fleece Award: BMW Direct
The late Sen. William Proxmire saved his Golden Fleece Award for federal government boondoggles but he might have made an exception for GOP direct mail firm BMW Direct -- which takes obscure Republican candidates and turns them into money-making machines for itself ...
High-res version at Veracifier.com.
--Ben Craw
Paying Attention?
When I read Jennifer Loven's AP piece on Obama, which I flagged in the post below, it made my eyes bleed so bad I hardly knew where to start in cataloguing the awfulness. But TPM Reader CO points out a good place to start.
We've seen many examples over the last couple days of reporters egregiously lapping up the McCain camp's nonsensical spin about Obama flip-flopping on Iraq. But some reporters can get spun so thoroughly that they actually retrospectively rearrange the facts of the campaign to accommodate the McCain camp's spin. Change the facts to suit the spin, as it were.
So here you have Jennifer Loven, a veteran journalist with one of the plum spots in the profession writing this sentence (emphasis added) ...
His problem is that his change in emphasis to flexibility from a hard-nosed end-the-war stance -- including his recent position that withdrawing combat troops could take as long as 16 months -- will now be heard loud and clear by an anti-war camp that may have ignored it before.
Sort of depends on the meaning of 'recent' because I think I've heard the 16 months line for some time. And, sure enough, from October 2007 ...
There is no military solution in Iraq, and there never was. I will begin to remove our troops from Iraq immediately. I will remove one or two brigades a month, and get all of our combat troops out of Iraq within 16 months.
If I'm not mistaken he has said this numerous times since.
Please. There's always, repositioning by both sides gearing up for the general. So let's note those. And I guess there's no stopping gullible reporters from getting jonesed up by each sides' spinners to find subtle shifts where there aren't any. But let's not get so bamboozled that we actually start making stuff up. Okay?
--Josh Marshall
Major Endorsement
Associated Press officially endorses McCain.
(ed.note: Well, pretty much.)
Late Update: Some recent fun AP-McCain moments (during the courtship phase) ...
McCain's moderators, the AP's Ron Fournier and Liz Sidoti, greeted McCain with a box of Dunkin' Donuts. "We spend quite a bit of time with you on the back of the Straight Talk Express asking you questions, and what we've decided to do today was invite everyone else along on the ride," Sidoti explained. "We even brought you your favorite treat."McCain opened the offering. "Oh, yes, with sprinkles!" he said.
Sidoti passed him a cup. "A little coffee with a little cream and a little sugar," she said.
--Josh Marshall
Happy Fourth
While the barbeques are getting underway and the fireworks are being prepared, a Happy 4th of July from TPM. Organize and vote. Do it for your country.
--Josh Marshall
Au Contraire ...
Says TPM Reader BH ...
I agree with the points of your "Please, please, reporters with brains" entry, but I think you might need to be included in the group of reporters/bloggers/etc. that is following the McCain script. As usual, there will basically be two responses to this story - both favorable to McCain. The first will be the hoards of dutiful reporters parroting whatever interpretation McCain feeds them. The second will be the righteously indignant Obama defenders with all their nuanced facts decrying his innocence. So, what we get is a strong and offensive position versus a correct, but overly cerebral and defensive argument. Strategy versus tactics? Come on - the wingnuts must laugh their asses off every time they see this script play out.Why cede the offensive position? The offensive rebuttal is to first completely ignore the way McCain framed the position and then just flip it around - "why does McCain so desperately want to convince the public that his Iraq policy is just like Obama's?" Because the public long ago figured out that he was stuck carrying Bush's turd and McCain damn well knows his campaign is swirling the drain along with it. What's more to be said than "John McCain would LOVE to convince the public that he and Obama don't differ in their Iraq policy - why is that? Because McCain and Bush got us into this Iraq nightmare and the public knows that Obama will get us out." Repeat after me - McCain and Bush got us into this Iraq nightmare and Obama will get us out. Repeat. Repeat.
--Josh Marshall
Jesse Helms Dead at 86
The conservative firebrand who represented North Carolina in the Senate for five terms until his retirement in 2003 passed away early this morning.
More here.
--David Kurtz
Election Central July 4th Roundup
Leading Republicans begin to worry that the McCain campaign is struggling to figure out how to "define" Obama. That and other political news of the day in today's Election Central July 4th Roundup.
--Greg Sargent
Please, Please, Reporters with Brains
I spent most of today in bed with some kind of nasty cold. So I only caught up on any news this evening. And I must confess to being little short of astounded by the avalanche of press BS I'm reading on Barack Obama's position on Iraq.
The McCain camp seems to have a lot of reporters eating out of its hands since many journalists don't appear to grasp the basic distinction between strategy and tactics. I've even had normally sensible journalist colleagues forwarding me RNC press releases like they're passing on the revealed truth. McCain's campaign actually put out a statement claiming that Obama "has now adopted John McCain's position that we cannot risk the progress we have made in Iraq by beginning to withdraw our troops immediately without concern for conditions on the ground."
I've watched this campaign unfold pretty closely. And I've listened to Obama's position on Iraq. He's been very clear through this year and last on the distinction between strategy and tactics. Presidents set the strategy -- which in this context means the goal or the policy. And if the policy is a military one, a President will consult closely with his military advisors on the tactics used to execute the policy.
This is an elementary distinction the current occupant in the White House has continually tried to confuse by claiming that his policies are driven and constrained by the advice he's given by his commanders on the ground. There's nothing odd or contradictory about Obama saying that he'll change the policy to one of withdrawal of American combat troops from Iraq with a specific timetable but that he will consult with his military advisors about how best to execute that policy.
For the McCain campaign to put out a memo to reporters claiming that Obama has adopted McCain's policy only shows that his advisors believe that a sizable percentage of the political press is made up of incorrigible morons. And it's hard to disagree with the judgment.
The simple truth is that this campaign offers a very clear cut choice on Iraq. One candidate believes that the US occupation of Iraq is the solution; the other thinks it's the problem. John McCain supports the permanent deployment of US troops in Iraq. That is why his hundred years remark isn't some gotcha line. It's a clear statement of his policy. Obama supports a deliberate and orderly withdrawal of US forces from Iraq. It's a completely different view of America's role in the world and future in the Middle East. Reporters who can't grasp what Obama is saying seem simply to have been permanently befuddled by George W. Bush's game-playing over delegating policy to commanders.
--Josh Marshall
Obama Addresses Supporters on FISA
Confronted with growing dissension on his own website from supporters opposed to his reversal on FISA, Obama is forced to address the issue directly in an online statement.
In case you missed it, take a look at TPM's timeline on Obama's position on the issue.
--David Kurtz
Here We Go
Obama, perhaps ill-advisedly, said today he will "continue to refine" his proposed policies for troop withdrawals from Iraq. Ill-advised because you might expect that nuance to be seen as opening the door to backtracking on his withdrawal plans.
Sure enough, overheated coverage of his remarks has followed this afternoon.
Obama has just finished a second press availability to clarify his initial remarks.
We'll have the video shortly.
Late Update: As promised:
Later Update: The McCain campaign issued the following statement late today:
"Today, Barack Obama reversed that position proving once again that his words do not matter. He has now adopted John McCain's position that we cannot risk the progress we have made in Iraq by beginning to withdraw our troops immediately without concern for conditions on the ground. There is nothing wrong with changing your mind when the facts on the ground dictate it. Indeed, the facts have changed because of the success of the surge that John McCain advocated for years and Barack Obama opposed in a position that put politics ahead of country."Now that Barack Obama has changed course and proven his past positions to be just empty words, we would like to congratulate him for accepting John McCain's principled stand on this critical national security issue. If he had visited Iraq sooner or actually had a one-on-one meeting with General Petraeus, he would have changed his position long ago."
--David Kurtz
Slow Motion Recession
Dean Baker: "Total private sector job gains in the Bush years may fall below 3 million by November. The annual average for the Clinton years was 2.6 million."
--David Kurtz
Lazy Bums
There's no question Barack Obama has shifted his position on FISA. But I'm hearing more and more that Obama has clearly shifted his position on Iraq. I've been a bit under the weather the last few days. So maybe I've missed something. But can anyone show me any evidence that this is really true? I know the McCain campaign is saying it? And I know bleating, game-playing neocons are saying it. But now that I'm seeing network talking heads saying it, can I see some evidence beyond the fact that the idea is getting pitched by the McCain campaign? Many thanks ...
--Josh Marshall
Pop a Brew ...
The Fourth can't come soon enough, says TPM Reader JP ...
Before we all torpedo the best candidate we have had in 30+ years over this FISA thing, be aware of the two facts: (1) there is a long-established government contractor immunity doctrine in American law & what the telecoms did after 9-11 in obeying government demands for compliance is right in stride with that doctrine, and (2) in any event, the federal government is likely required to indemnify the telcos for any judgment or settlement they'd have to pay. Is this really the make-or-break litmus-test the netroots is clamoring for? No way. Is this just another example of liberals eating their own? You betcha. Pop open a brew, chill out, enjoy the 4th and then get back to the task of electing this guy president.
--Josh Marshall
Obama's Great FISA Flip-Flop
We've got what he said then -- and what he's saying now -- all laid out at TPM Election Central.
--David Kurtz
Rudy, Too!
The whole China-Cuba drilling for oil offshore Florida myth jumps the shark: Rudy Giuliani has signed on, too.
--David Kurtz
Today's Must Read
McCain supporters working hard to get around McCain-Feingold spending caps, with a little help from the Republican Governors Association.
--David Kurtz
FISA Revolt
Supporters urging Barack Obama to change his position and oppose the pending FISA bill are now the biggest group on his website.
--David Kurtz
Election Central Morning Roundup
Obama may shorten the Democratic National Convention by a day. That and the day's other political news in the TPM Election Central Morning Roundup.
--David Kurtz
McCain's Lobbyist Universe
There's been a lot of talk in the last few weeks and months about John McCain's ties to lobbyists. We decided to do a little digging to bring you a working guide to the presidential hopeful's staff's connections. Meet the Gang!
Jesse Helms Dies, Age 86
The race-baiting conservative from North Carolina served in the Senate for 30 years.
Obama Re-Reconfirms Stance On Iraq Timetable
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