What I like most about Mark Penn is his ability to take a situation in which his candidate is in a decent position and push them decisively over into looking like an idiot. You’ve seen Hillary’s new ‘red phone ringing in the night‘ ad. Is it like the 2004 wolves ad or Johnson’s daisy ad? Not at all, says Penn, “a positive ad. Very soft images.”
Campaign sources tell CNN that John McCain raised a little more than $12 million in February.
It was quite a week: John McCain forgetting which party he’s in, Pat Buchanan and Tucker Carlson saying they’re not going to take anti-White Man prejudice any longer, Tim Russert channels angry Iraqi nationalists and so much more …
McCain’s statement on Hagee, his new endorser, who calls the Catholic Church the “great whore” and “anti-christ” …
“Yesterday, Pastor John Hagee endorsed my candidacy for president in San Antonio, Texas. However, in no way did I intend for his endorsement to suggest that I in turn agree with all of Pastor Hagee’s views, which I obviously do not.
“I am hopeful that Catholics, Protestants and all people of faith who share my vision for the future of America will respond to our message of defending innocent life, traditional marriage, and compassion for the most vulnerable in our society.”
So he welcomes Hagee’s endorsement for president, though that doesn’t mean he agree with all his views.
Let’s run down some specifics.
Hagee says that if America presses Israel allow the Palestinians to found a state in the West Bank and Gaza God will “release the terrorists” to come to America to create a “bloodbath.” (See this video, at approximately time mark 3:00)
Hagee says that God brought the Katrina disaster down on New Orleans because of a planned “homosexual parade there on the Monday that the Katrina came … that it was going to reach a level of sexuality never demonstrated before in any of the other Gay Pride parades.”
Then there’s Hagee on why the Jews have had such a rough time of it for the last couple thousand years …
“It was the disobedience and rebellion of the Jews, God’s chosen people, to their covenantal responsibility to serve only the one true God, Jehovah, that gave rise to the opposition and persecution that they experienced beginning in Canaan and continuing to this very day….
How utterly repulsive, insulting, and heartbreaking to God for His chosen people to credit idols with bringing blessings He had showered upon the chosen people. Their own rebellion had birthed the seed of anti-Semitism that would arise and bring destruction to them for centuries to come…. it rises from the judgment of God uppon his rebellious chosen people.” [“Jerusalem Countdown: A Prelude To War”, paperback edition, pages 92 and 93]
White House announces resignation of plagiarizing Special Assistant to the President.
This evening Attorney General Michael Mukasey, as expected, refused to prosecute the contempt of Congress resolutions against White House officials Josh Bolten and Harriet Miers for their refusal to testify in the U.S. attorneys scandal.
The House had referred the contempt citations to the Department of Justice only yesterday.
In response to Mukasey’s refusal, Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised to pursue a civil lawsuit to enforce the congressional subpoenas. House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers issued a statement saying:
[T]odayâs decision to shelve the contempt process, in violation of a federal statute, shows that the White House will go to any lengths to keep its role in the US Attorney firings hidden. In the face of such extraordinary actions, we have no choice but to proceed with a lawsuit to enforce the Committee’s subpoenas.â
Our exhaustive coverage of this story is here.
Seems the folks from back in Jack Kingston’s (R-GA) district are following him around with a video camera to see if he’s started wearing that flag lapel pin yet. Still no luck …
Don’t know the backstory to this one? See here.
From the Salt Lake Tribune (courtesy of TPM Reader DB)
A supervisor at a motivational coaching business in Provo is accused of waterboarding an employee in front of his sales team to demonstrate that they should work as hard on sales as the employee had worked to breathe.
In a lawsuit filed last month, former Prosper, Inc. salesman Chad Hudgens alleges his managers also allowed the supervisor to draw mustaches on employees’ faces, take away their chairs and beat on their desks with a wooden paddle “because it resulted in increased revenues for the company.”
Prosper president Dave Ellis responded that the allegations amount to “sensationalized” versions of events that have gone uncorroborated by Hudgens’ former coworkers.
“They just roll their eyes and say, ‘This is ridiculous . . . That’s not how it went down,’ ” Ellis said.
The suit claims that Hudgens’ team leader, Joshua Christopherson, asked for volunteers in May for “a new motivational exercise,” which he did not describe. Hudgens, who was 26 at the time, volunteered in order to “prove his loyalty and determination,” the suit claims.
Christopherson led the sales team to the top of a hill near the office and told Hudgens to lie down with his head downhill, the suit claims. Christopherson then told the rest of the team to hold Hudgens by the arms and legs.
Christopherson poured water from a gallon jug over Hudgens’ mouth and nostrils – like the interrogation strategy known as “waterboarding” – and told the team members to hold Hudgens down as he struggled, the suit alleges.
Over at Swampland, even Joe Klein is taking notice of the McCain-Hagee nomination and McCain’s refusal to renounce or reject.
Says Klein …
A McCain rejection of Hagee’s support would be seen as another sign of weakness by Rush and such. An acceptance of Hagee’s support would spell trouble for McCain with catholics and sane people everywhere. So, what’s it to be, Senator?
As Chris Matthews once so aptly put it: “The press loves McCain. We’re his base.” So for McCain to lose Klein would be like a conservative losing James Dobson.
I fear that Klein probably finds some way to let McCain off the hook. But the temperature does seem to be rising.