http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/2008/ en-us Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:31:16 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050426/posts In any partnership, the coin of the realm is trust and responsibility - in other words, saying what you mean and doing what you say. In the dramatic rescue on July 2 of 15 hostages, including three Americans, held captive for many years by guerrillas and terrorists, deep in the Colombian jungles, we saw a powerful reminder that the United States has no better partner in South America than the government and people of Colombia. Colombia's leaders, especially President Uribe, had promised us that our three abducted citizens would be treated no differently than the many Colombian men and women... Real Clear Politics http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050426/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:31:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2050412/posts I can't recall details, but in one of G.W. Bush's election campaigns, I vaguely recall a Democrat operative being discovered...someone doing tv commercials or something, I think. Now I know Obama is the Anointed One, but he probably also has operatives spread across America like so many tentacles of a vast left wing organization. In fact, he PROBABLY has a friend or two in high ranking places in the McCain campaign...telegraphing to him and his lackies the next moves the Arizona senator will take. Anyone care to theorize on who that might be? :) FREEPer's opinions http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2050412/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:55:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050386/posts WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) -- It's official. Sen. Barack Obama's campaign will be among the TV sponsors of NBC Universal's Olympics coverage. In the first significant network-TV buy of any presidential candidate in at least 16 years, the Obama campaign has taken a $5 million package of Olympics spots that includes network TV as well as cable ads. AdAge http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050386/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:13:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050374/posts American Jewish leaders yesterday predicted a big turnout among Jews in November's presidential election in favour of Barack Obama, in spite of suspicions about his views on Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, an advocacy group with strong links to the Democratic party, said: "I think Obama will win the Jewish vote by a large margin. The question is how much?" Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Centre of Reform Judaism, said American Jews' political affinity with African Americans, born of a shared experience of discrimination, could outstrip concerns... guardian.co.uk http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050374/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:48:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050365/posts Squeezing his thumb and forefinger together in the back of a Manchester bar last night, Libertarian presidential nominee Bob Barr told a crowd of 80 that when it counts, there's that much difference between the Republicans and Democrats. Americans, he argued, are looking for something new. "The definition of throwing your vote away is to go into that voting booth and vote for one of two parties that will not change the direction this country's going in," Barr told a crowd of about 80 at Murphy's Taproom. "And that's the Republicans or Democrats." The Concord Monitor, Concord, NH http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050365/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:28:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050379/posts John McCain and Barack Obama have both changed positions in this campaign. That's OK. Voters understand that politicians can and, sometimes, should change their views. After all, voters do. Witness the wide swings in their answers to opinion polls. But before accepting the changes, voters typically ask themselves three questions: Does the candidate admit he's shifting? What's the new information that altered his thinking? Does the change seem reasonable and not calculating? The Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050379/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:53:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050369/posts Washington - In a campaign week dominated by Barack Obama's trip abroad, the pro-John McCain camp has made headlines by complaining about coverage of Senator Obama's trip abroad. For Senator McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, crying foul on the news media represents a double-edged sword. On the plus side, he plays into the longstanding narrative that asserts reporters are rooting for Obama, the likely Democratic nominee, to win in November. Hillary Rodham Clinton played that card during the primaries, to some effect, but ultimately unsuccessfully. The Christian Science Monitor http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050369/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:32:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050366/posts The media already have gone over the top with their coverage of Sen. Barack Obama's international man-of-mystery tour. The endless photo sessions with the troops, foreign leaders, waving crowds -- it's just the most contrived pack of junk I've ever seen. But shame on the folks running the McCain campaign. They knew this week of endless glory for Obama was coming. Their response? They tell McCain to attend a baseball game, hold another boring town-hall meeting, have his photo taken with another Bush, and visit an oilrig. Sounds like the work of strategists bound and determined to destroy their candidate.... Townhall http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050366/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:29:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050363/posts Political reporters have long been obsessed with conflict between presidential candidates and their running mates, at least since the days of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. That's probably one reason why McCain's joke in Detroit last week that Mitt Romney was "doing a better job for me than he did for himself" sparked a wave of news stories speculating that McCain was seriously considering, for the vice-presidential slot, his bitter rival turned loyal surrogate. But while choosing Romney to be his running mate would make Washington journalists happy, it would be nothing short of political suicide for McCain. The American Spectator http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050363/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:21:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050350/posts The Drudge Report ran a juicy item about the fact that only one reporter showed up to cover Republican John McCain at a campaign stop in New Hampshire the other day. Just one. The lonely print reporter from the Manchester Union Leader stood on the tarmac, waiting for McCain's plane to land. McCain, obviously upset at being dissed by yet another meager media throng, didn't stop to chat. "Did you ever notice that when John McCain is on TV he's always grumpy?" asked a colleague in the cafeteria who whispered, lest others denounce him for Barackian Thought Crimes. "McCain's always... The Chicago Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050350/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:39:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050335/posts Bill O'Reilly Nails Robert WexlerTue Jul 22, 2008 at 09:11:12 PM Bill O'Reilly did a good number on "local" Congressman Robert Wexler tonight. And I think Wexler is in a bit of trouble. You see, the longtime Democratic rep says he lives in Delray Beach and he's required to maintain a residence in his district. But he really lives in Potomac MD. The house in Delray that he calls his "offical residence" is owned by Lawrence and Roslyn Cohen, the parents of Wexler's wife, Laurie. And it's in a restricted over-55 community, which makes it impossible for Wexler and and... Broward Palm Beach http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050335/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:55:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2050329/posts This morning while trying to contact an individual who claimed to be one “James Barry” at 202-449-9737 I received a heck of a shock. See the previous article so I do not have to repeat it here. Since posting the article this morning about the above phone number being answered by the DC Lobbyist Law Firm of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis, several things have become known that causes me to be of the opinion that HW&G is not being completely honest about the association between its firm and the owner of the phone number which I was called from and... Larrysinclair0926 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2050329/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:41:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050325/posts Obama's Premature Inauguration Syndrome is still giving him trouble, witness the mass Obama rally scheduled for Berlin's SiegessSaeule or Victory Column, to celebrate his penetrating insight in foreign affairs. Google's top listing of this Ueberphallic Prussian monument has to be seen to be believed: It is a favorite Berlin gay newspaper, as you can see. You have to admit those Germans have a sense of humor. What superficial American tourists never understand, of course, is that just about  all those magnificent European monuments stand for historical massacres. Even the big cathedrals symbolize the religious wars of the Reformation, which killed... American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050325/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:36:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050313/posts ROCHESTER, N.H. -- Far from Amman, Jordan, where the world's news media were fixated on Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. John McCain told a town hall meeting here that U.S. troops "have succeeded, and we will win the war in Iraq." In midday remarks to a lively crowd in the old Rochester Opera House, McCain criticized Obama for sticking to his proposal for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. "Now he wants to reverse the success we have had and set a date for withdrawal," McCain said. He did not address recent statements supporting withdrawal by 2010 from the... The Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050313/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:14:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050296/posts WASHINGTON -- The competing tax plans laid out by Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain would both add trillions of dollars to the national debt and could add to the tax system's complexity, a nonpartisan tax research group concluded Wednesday in a newly released report. Both campaigns have asserted that their plans to continue many Bush-era tax cuts and offer new reductions would aid the economy without requiring massive new spending. But the Washington-based Tax Policy Center warned that under either candidate, "the debt would likely continue to rise as it has over the past eight years." Obama's plan --... The Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050296/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:51:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050277/posts The Weekly Standard http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050277/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:12:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050271/posts Cheering is guaranteed at Barack Obama's speech in Berlin on Thursday, but his campaign is still frustrated and nervous. His appearance in the German capital will be a major test for Obama -- and 40 American journalists will be there to report any faux pas he makes back to the US. Barack Obama's campaign is frustrated over all the vehement discussions about his speech in Berlin on Thursday. SPIEGEL ONLINE has learned that the recent criticism took the campaign by surprise and frustrated Obama's advisors. At first many Europeans complained about Obama not coming to Europe, but then the criticism... Der Spiegel http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050271/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:05:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050275/posts After Barack Obama's opening day in Iraq this week, the New York Times headline read, "For Obama, a First Step Is Not a Misstep." The story, by Richard Oppel Jr. and Jeff Zeleny, noted, "Mr. Obama seemed to have navigated one of the riskiest parts of a weeklong international trip without a noticeable hitch." That was the big nail-biter: Would Obama, the first-term senator and foreign-policy newbie, utter an irrevocably damaging gaffe? The nightmare scenarios were endless. Maybe he would refer to "the Iraq-Pakistan border," or call the Czech Republic "Czechoslovakia" (three times), or confuse Sunni with Shiite, or say... Slate http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050275/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:10:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2050267/posts Glenn has pretty well covered the imbroglio-inducing statement, but here’s a less-examined claim that really shows how separated from reality Klein has become: Obama, the poker player, has drawn to an inside straight: the Iraqis favor his plan over McCain’s long-term bases. Only the most intellectually dishonest reading of the situation could justify that statement; the WaPo has devoted an entire op-ed to debunking the ridiculous notion that Iraqis would rather see al-Ameriki withdraw on a fixed timetable from Washington without regard to conditions on the ground: But an Iraqi government statement made clear that Mr. Maliki’s timetable would extend... Dean's World http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2050267/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:59:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050249/posts One day after it was revealed that Sen. John McCain was to hold a closed-door meeting with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican, Jindal said Wednesday that there is no way he will fill the bottom half of the GOP presidential ticket. "I'm not going to be the vice presidential nominee or vice president," Jindal told Fox News. "I'm going to help Sen. McCain get elected as governor of Louisiana." "Let me be clear: I have said in every private and public conversation, I've got the job that I want," Jindal said. It's not uncommon for those being considered for... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050249/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:17:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050237/posts WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Party Unity My A--! Not exactly the slogan you want heading into your presidential nominating convention, but one that is being repeated online and in neighborhood bars by a group of disenchanted Democrats, who have dubbed themselves PUMAs. Why are they angry? It all depends on whom you ask. Some of the PUMAs accuse Democratic leaders of rigging the primaries to favor Sen. Barack Obama, while others feel that he is not qualified to be the party nominee, let alone competent enough to lead the country. Kim Mann said she thinks that Obama is too liberal. Webster... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050237/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:54:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050222/posts Hillary used to go ballistic in frustration at the latest rather shameless incarnation of Obama, and McCain should not fall into the same malady. He understandably is angry because Obama, whose opposition to the surge and erstwhile desire to be done with Iraq by March 2007 would have lost the war, rode the anti-war wave when it was popular, and now, in his current metamorphosis to centrist, has piggy-backed onto the good news in Iraq as if it had nothing to do with the surge — as if McCain's lonely support for it either never happened or was irrelevant. And... The National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050222/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:33:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050213/posts If, like many Americans, you are alarmed at the thought of a Barack Obama’s leadership potential and are committed to Stop-Him-Now, we invite you to join the newly created “Obama’s Enemies List.” In true Nixonian style, Sen. Barack Obama’s paranoid website links a list of political enemies that are allegedly conducting a covert internet campaign against him. The information on the site is not only inaccurate, it does the very thing it is claiming to stop, a smear campaign. Obama may be thinking he is JFK but he is acting like Dick Nixon, completely paranoid. To Obama, engaging in... Spotlight From Townhall ( Newsletter) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050213/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:26:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050208/posts If you want to start worrying about the presidential election this year, you can look at the comparison between 1996 and 2008. John McCain is a similar candidate to Bob Dole--a war hero, running on his experience, but also somewhat past his political prime. The Democrats had the advantage of incumbency in 1996, but of course Bill Clinton had been rebuked by voters in 1994. In July 1996, Democrats only enjoyed a 5.1 percent advantage in generic congressional polls. Yet in late July, Clinton was ahead of Dole in one Harris poll by 22 percent and in a Gallup poll... The New Republic http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050208/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:19:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050196/posts Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- One year ago this week, Barack Obama promised activists with the nation's largest abortion business that the first thing he would do as president is overturn every pro-life law in all 50 states. He said his first action would be signing the mislabeled Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). The measure, if it becomes law, would codify Roe v. Wade by making the infamous Supreme Court decision allowing unlimited abortions the law of the land. But it would go further and overturn hundreds of state laws that have put limits on abortion like parental involvement, partial-birth abortion... LifeNews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050196/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:59:25 GMT