opponent

George Will has bestowed upon himself the duty to name America’s “worst politician”, and declares Alan Grayson the winner:

There are hundreds of plausible nominees for the title of America’s Second-Smarmiest Politician, but surely the top spot is un-contested. Americans of all political persuasions can come together in affirming one proposition: Public life would be improved by scrubbing Rep. Alan Grayson from it. This act of civic hygiene probably will be performed Nov. 2 by voters of Florida’s Eighth Congressional District. Polls indicate that a majority of them plan to deny Grayson, 52, a second term by electing his resonantly named opponent, Daniel Webster.

Grayson, never missing an opportunity to live down to his reputation, ridicules Webster’s “18th-century name.” Given Grayson’s relentless advertising of his intellectual shortcomings, it is surprising that he recognizes the name.

I’ll admit that Grayson does go over the top in the rhetoric against his opponents at time, but to be labeled the “worst politician” – really? He is worse than Stephen Broden who thinks a violent overthrow of the U.S. government should be on the table?

I have to think that George Will is the worst columnist in America and one that uses his pen to push intellectual dishonesty.

Can you pick out the true Libertarian?

Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, is out with a strong new statement going after conservative critics of the Islamic community center near ground zero that implicitly criticizes his own son, Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul.

The background here is that Rand Paul has been on the record several times saying that, while he doesn't support any federal intervention, he does not think the so-called "ground zero mosque" should be built. "I think reconciliation is best promoted by -- instead of having a multi-million dollar mosque -- maybe having a multi-million dollar donation to the memorial site, would be better for all," he told the Daily Caller. (His opponent, Democrat Jack Conway, has said much the same.)

If you picked Ron Paul then you are correct. This also proves that Rand Paul is nothing but a sellout, who will say or do anything to become a Senator. In other words, Rand Paul is the worst kind of candidate out there. Here’s hoping his time in the spot light is very short lived.

They finally reached the remaining miners in West Virginia and the outcome was not good. Last night they finally reached the final four missing miners and all were dead. This now makes the disaster at Big Branch the worst mining accident in nearly 4 decades, and one that could have been adverted.

We have heard a lot this week about the countless safety violations that have piled up against Massey Energy, including in the days and hours leading up to the disaster. Massey boss Don Blankenship was a strong opponent of safety regulations and even thought he could pick and choose what laws to follow.

As much as I hate to politicize a disaster like this, it must be done to hopefully prevent repeat incidents in the future.

Don Blankenship was the epitome of right wing beliefs, so much that he was a big donor to the Tea Party. He was totally against government regulation and 29 innocent workers have paid the ultimate price for that ignorance.

This is the second time this year that we have been given a disastrous reminder that government regulations save lives. I posted the first last month:

This call is going out to Pennsylvania Democratic primary voters and is paid for by the NRSC.

So the Republicans have resorted to insulting an opponent by calling him “one of them”. This is the kind of stuff that Jon Stewart drools over – comedy that writes itself.

T wo weeks after losing, Marilyn Musgrave is no where to be found:

Two weeks after the brutal loss, Musgrave still hasn’t called her opponent to concede or to congratulate the victor, as is not only textbook but also mannerly to do.

Moreover, Musgrave’s ill manners bleed into her own team. Rumor has it she still — 14 days later — hasn’t even thanked her campaign staff. (Again, textbook.)

Musgrave press secretary Joseph Brettell tells us: “It’s a campaign matter, and I have no further comment.”

Those Republicans sure are a class act – aren’t they? I guess she really did take her ball and go home.

Following the hoax that is now known as Ashley Todd, Keith Olbermann offers a sobering campaign comment asking John McCain to finally speak out on all this racism coming from his supporters and show he is a leader:

John McCain does need to do this, not only for the country, but for John McCain. He is at a great risk of losing everything he has done for this country in the annals of history and instead being remembered as the man who tried to revive racism in a time where tolerance was on the rise. Think about it for a moment. There is no question that this election is historic. Even if McCain somehow pulls out a win, it will still be historic. We have the first black candidate on a major party ticket, so future generations will learn from it. When asked about their opponent, does John McCain want them to cite all the racist comments and actions done by his supporters? Does he want them to learn that his campaign did nothing to quell this hatred?

Obama made the gesture last night of crossing the aisle to say hello to his opponent:

He [Obama] walked over to where McCain was chatting with Republican Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida and Independent Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut. And he stretched out his arm and offered his hand to McCain.

McCain shook it, but with a “go away” look that no one could miss. He tried his best not to even look at Obama.

Finally, with a tight smile, McCain managed a greeting: “Good to see you.”

We are seeing the meltdown of McCain in real time, and its not pretty. If being down in the polls is causing this, can you imagine what he will be like on election night as the results come rolling in? I almost feel sorry for his campaign at this point.

So many pundits are asking where the landslide is in the presidential race. With the polls so close, it is raising the question even more. David Brooks latest article even asks this:

Why isn’t Barack Obama doing better? Why, after all that has happened, does he have only a slim two- or three-point lead over John McCain, according to an average of the recent polls? Why is he basically tied with his opponent when his party is so far ahead?

Shouldn't McCain be way ahead in the polls? The Republicans constantly say that people don't know who Barack Obama is, but McCain has had national fame for decades. Why is this famous Republican only equal to the unknown Democrat? It sure sounds like people would rather take a chance with an "unknown" than with the maverick himself.

But let's go beyond that little point the pundits seem to ignore and ask how well we can trust these polls. We are hearing constant news that Democratic voter registration is soaring and Republican voter registration is declining. This is a good indicator there is nothing to worry about. We don't have closed general elections, like we do primaries. In other words, you don't have to be a registered Democrat to vote for a Democrat, so people are more out to register for a party because they believe in the ideals of that party.

Also taking into consideration the new voter registrations, we need to remember the record turn out in the Democratic primaries. This is where the pollsters system of selection is at fault. They go by likely voters, meaning people who have previously voted in a general presidential election. The Democrats have had record registrations throughout the primary and now the general cycles, and those people never get polled. So this already skews the polls in favor of John McCain.