Graham decides to go on the attack (And Goes From Merely Eccentric To Flat Out NUTS!!!)

Miami Herald ^ | September 16, 2003 | PETER WALLSTEN

[PJ-Comix]

Sen. Bob Graham, Florida's nice-guy senator and cellar-dweller in the presidential campaign opinion polls, is finally on the attack in his quest to win the Democratic nomination.

It's not a shock-and-awe assault like Sen. Joseph Lieberman's aggressive questioning in recent days of front-runner Howard Dean's flip-flopping and fitness to serve, but for a get-along guy like Graham, it's about as vicious an attack as he'll ever deliver.

''Frankly, the Congress gave this president a blank check,'' Graham said last weekend.

He was speaking about the resolution authorizing President Bush to use military force in Iraq -- a resolution he voted against. While his remarks sound like a dig at Bush, they are in fact aimed squarely at his fellow Democratic rivals who voted for what is now a highly unpopular war among primary voters: Sens. Lieberman of Connecticut, John Kerry of Massachusetts, John Edwards of North Carolina and Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri.

The senator's new website, www.stoptheblankcheck.com, carries the attack directly to his rivals, quoting the resolution that allowed Bush to ''use the armed forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate,'' and adding: ``Those who voted for this resolution need to be held responsible.''

In Graham's own way, it's also a slap at Dean, the former Vermont governor who has fueled his rise to the top of the Democratic candidate pile with his own opposition to the war -- essentially undermining Graham's whole reason for running.

Graham's new message about Dean: I voted against the war, he's just against it.

In a news conference in Arizona on Monday, Graham honed his aim on the front-runner, quoting Dean claiming he was the only candidate to propose a plan to trim the deficit.

''That's not true,'' Graham said. ``I've had a plan out now for two months to do exactly that.''

Asked whether he has a problem with Dean's apparent penchant to misspeak and shift positions, Graham at first said he would not be ``induced into the type of negativism that is sometimes tempting.''

Apparently the temptation was too great.

Reeling off his own résumé as Florida's two-term governor and the former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Graham said: ``If Gov. Dean had had the kind of background as governor of a large and complex state and service that would put him in direct contact with international issues, then he wouldn't have to backtrack.''

The new attack mode is timely for what has been so far a campaign struggling to be taken seriously by the pundits and donors who anoint front-runners and losers.

Nothing else has worked so far for Graham, who maintains he is a serious candidate in a crowded field despite hovering near 1 percent in key primary states and struggling to raise money.

He has sponsored a NASCAR truck, taken his family on ''vacation'' through Iowa, performed his campaign song across the nation, even signed autographs with baseball great Fergie Jenkins -- but through it all Dean has emerged carrying the anti-war mantle while Graham is viewed as an oddity.

[PJ-Comix]

but through it all Dean has emerged carrying the anti-war mantle while Graham is viewed as an oddity.

"Oddity" is a polite way of saying flat out NUTS!

[PJ-Comix]

I just checked Graham's StopTheBlankCheck.Com website and he has really gone off the deep end. Here is the wording of part of that website next to this pic of the White House:

President Bush: You are being served an eviction notice from the White House.

[gov_bean_ counter]

My son describes him as a crazy a$$.

[gov_bean_ counter]

My son describes him as a crazy a$$.

[corkoman]

During the Harkin weenie roast Graham was positioned right behind Bill Clinton - so as Clintoon yapped, Graham's bulbous head bobbed back and forth and swayed. His face looked a little purple and the shadows under his eyes and nose gave hima mask-like appearance. He didnt smile or change facial exprerssion for 15 minutes of prime-time coverage. I was getting creeped out and then my 15 yo daughter walked by the TV, glanced at it and squawked - Who is THAT!?! This assured me that I was not hallucinatin

What a creepy dude.

[PJ-Comix]

HEY! It's gets even better (funnier) on Graham's new website. Not content to want to "evict" Bush from the White House, he now wants to toss Bush off his ranch. Some folks might think this is going over the edge in viciousness. I attribute it more to Graham's NUTTINESS. And the funny thing is he has no clue as to how BIZARRE he appears to the public. Anyway, here is the wording and photo Graham is using to ask to kick Bush off his ranch (and what would the purpose of that be?):

President Bush: Foreclosure proceedings have begun on your Texas ranch.

[mabelkitty]

He must have gotten wind that Clark is getting in.

[PJ-Comix]

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Graham is so NUTS that he also has a promo to repossess Bush's pickup truck! Here is the wording and the photo:

President Bush: Your pickup has been repossessed to help pay down the deficit.

[CaptRon]

Maybe that should be StopTheBlankStare.com, considering the source.

[PJ-Comix]

Yeah. Graham is getting DESPERATE. We could really use Registered's skills here to do parodies of these pathetic pictoral pleas by Graham. Maybe Registered could do a pic of Graham's brain being repossessed by men in white coats in order to restore some sanity to politics.

[PJ-Comix]

Maybe that should be StopTheBlankStare.com, considering the source.

LOL! Maybe we could set up a parody website along those lines and include parody photos and copy as I suggested in my previous post. Crazy politicians are FUN to watch!!!

[Petronski]

LOL!

I'd love to read this dude's OCD journal he keeps daily. That ought to be some funny reading...

[KellyAdmirer]

From the Honorable Senator Graham's personal Diary:

7:15 Awoke. Looked out window. Sun shining.
7:16 Stumbled into bathroom. Shaved, 15 strokes on left, 13 on right.
7:20 Showered. Had to twist "Hot" knob a quarter turn, "Cold" knob a little more
7:25 Dressed. Chose the dark suit, the one with the extra button
7:32 Ate breakfast. Ham and eggs. Two eggs. Two pieces of ham.
7:43 Called webmaster. Little punk. He asked for more money. I told him, "No blank check for you!"
7:44 Webmaster started getting excited. Got off the phone. Like I need him?
7:46 Drove to work. Three red lights. Saw a cop, slowed down.
8:03 Saw a bird on way to work. Nice bird. Green feathers. I love birds.
8:15 Got to office. Said hello to secretary.
8:17 Looked at website. Something about a blank check! Where did that come from??
8:23 Received call from Janet Reno. She likes the blank check thing. I asked her why? She mumbled something and got off the phone. Never did like her voice.
8:37 DNC called. Asked about the blank check. I said I had it in my desk somewhere. Guy didn't seem to follow me.
8:42 Press called. I said, doggone it, I ain't giving anyone no blank check! Reporter thanked me.
8:44 Reporter asked me about the economy. Told him I had a plan, had it for months. It was right here on my desk. Think I lost it. Know I had it here. Where is the plan? Will have to have secretary look for it.

[oyez]

Its middle school mentality. I get a cold feeling that this will be the order of the day, untill the Democrats learn to discuss the issues.

[ServesURight]

FReepers should stop posting Graham newsarticles. All that's doing is giving him attention he doesn't deserve. Screw him - he's a nobody loser.

[oyez]

What's that SNL charactor, Brian Fellows?

[TheBigB]

8:03 Saw a bird on way to work. Nice bird. Green feathers. I love birds.

HAHAHAHAHAHA!! That's just excellent! :) But I thnk you left out some detail...

9:37 Need new underwear. Went to K-Mart. Scary people. Too many people. Boxers or briefs. Buy mesh low-rise thong. I like K-Mart.

[PJ-Comix]

FReepers should stop posting Graham newsarticles. All that's doing is giving him attention he doesn't deserve. Screw him - he's a nobody loser.

Maybe but he's a great source for LAUGHS! He's like the eccentric high school teacher many of us had and who didn't realize that his weirdness was the real reason for all that giggling in class.

[Cicero]

Can our country afford to have a nutcase like this as a senior member of the Intelligence Committee?

[PJ-Comix]

Can our country afford to have a nutcase like this as a senior member of the Intelligence Committee?

That is frightening. The guy is the senior Demmycrat on that committee and he is a complete LOON. Dr. Strangelove is going to have a lot more credibility with me the next time I see it.