“After the last eight years, even our dogs and cats have learned that elections matter.” - Al Gore

Urging Americans to reject the Bush legacy of incompetence, negligence and failure, former Vice President Al Gore - who has become the de facto Democratic standard-bearer in the past seven years - endorsed Barack Obama Monday.

Gore said George W. Bush and his cronies have “dishonored and disrespected” the Constitution and led our country through “eight years of the most serious foreign policy mistakes in the entire history of our nation.”

[NOTE: Did anyone else watching this get the feeling that this guy would make an excellent Vice President? Just throwing it out there]

At a campaign rally in Detroit, Michigan, Al Gore called for Americans to move past partisanship and select, in Barack Obama, a great leader who can solve the global climate crisis and create a brighter future for the U.S. and the planet.

He didn’t stop at foreign policy and climate change, either.

Al Gore cited myriad concerns about the environment, lead-painted toys and food safety - even pet foods - as other reasons to vote Democrat.

Joining Obama in the midst of the Democratic nominee’s two-week tour of the U.S. to talk about ways to revitalize the economy, Monday marked Gore’s debut in this historic, often contentious 2008 election.

Gore praised Barack Obama as someone who could mobilize people, young and old, who had never before taken part in the political process.

Follow the jump for some terrific Al Gore quotes from the rally …

Continue reading this article …

Barack Obama’s Vice Presidential vetting team - what’s left of it - will come across compelling, perplexing and troublesome issues as it scours every last detail of the backgrounds of the Senator’s possible running mates.

Below is the first in a series in which Donkey Dish staff writers make their case for several Vice Presidential candidates we believe deserve consideration.

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Out of nowhere and into the forefront of many Democrats’ minds as a strong contender among many V.P. options for Sen. Barack Obama is Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, a decorated Vietnam veteran and former U.S. Navy Secretary.

Jim Webb is a former military leader who opposed the Iraq war from the start - a competent person for the job, first and foremost - and he just happens to be a former Republican hailing from the suddenly competitive state of Virginia.

But perhaps most intriguingly, he is in many respects the poster candidate of the 21st century Democratic Party, representing an emerging style and philosophy that have expanded the political map already since 2004.

Sen. Jim Webb introduces Sen. Barack Obama at a campaign rally.

The Democrats’ themes of change and populism have resonated on the campaign trail this year - as evidenced by the party’s chosen nominee.

Their only weak point - at least as far as many perceive it - is national security.

The military still doesn’t trust Democrats, even as the incompetent use of the troops in Iraq by the Bush-McCain camps have caused disgust.

Could Jim Webb be the Democrat who wins the military back?

Continue reading this article …

Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign says it’s out to fight the smears, and it’s off to a good start, making the candidate’s birth certificate public.

While it’s ridiculous that it would even be an issue, releasing the document helped clear up a trio of rumors about the Democratic nominee:

1. That Barack Obama was born in Kenya, not Hawaii
2. That his middle name isn’t Hussein, but Muhammad
3. That his real name is Barry, not Barack (the implication being that he rejected a traditional American name in favor of an “African” one)

Rumors #1 and #3 are attempts to reinforce morons’ fears that Obama is not “American” enough to be president … rumor #2 is just strange. How is the latter any worse than … forget it. Looking for logic here is an exercise in futility.

In any case, just in case you’re curious, Obama’s birth certificate - as requested by The National Review, and posted by DailyKos - appears below:

Dot com.

Looking to douse Internet smear campaigns against him before they begin, or at least quell them early, the Democratic White House hopeful has launched a new website devoted to debunking the mud slinging of critics.

The site, fightthesmears.com, addresses false rumors on the Internet and right wing media outlets - including one recent assertion that Sen. Barack Obama’s wife, Michelle Obama, was caught on tape bashing white people.

Barack Obama’s campaign website already had a fact-check page, but the new site goes further in inviting supporters to spread the word.

“With the site, we created an interactive tool to allow our supporters to fight back against these smears in the same way that they received them– on the Internet,” Obama campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor said.

“People can upload their address books and easily send fact-based emails to their friends and family,” he said. “Just knowing the truth isn’t enough - you have to proactively tell people the truth to fight back.”

The longest-running Obama smear, perpetuated by evil and/or ignorant morons, is that he is a Muslim or a terrorist and intent on destroying the U.S.

But the new initiative was launched after reports, by conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh among others, of a videotape existed showing Michelle Obama using the derogatory term “whitey” in the couple’s former church.

No such tape has surfaced.

Political candidates have traditionally refused to acknowledge such slander for fear of giving it respectability by association.

But given the slew of despicable attacks against Obama, and remembering how John Kerry was swift-boated out of the presidency in 2004, his campaign probably feels it has no choice. And it’s probably not the worst idea.

We’ve already examined them in a pop culture showdown, but John McCain and Barack Obama are as different in political ideology as they are in style.

The respective Republican and Democratic presidential hopefuls have conflicting philosophies about U.S. tax policy - specifically, how to cut taxes, raise revenue needed for programs, spur growth and ensure fairness.

But all you probably care about is whether the candidates’ views impact your personal tax bill - be it for better or for worse.

Like most people, we’re not experts on economics, but we’ve made broad assumptions about the tax policies of Obama and McCain anyway:

John McCain: The average taxpayer in every income group would see a lower tax bill, but high-income taxpayers would benefit more than anyone.

Barack Obama: High-income taxpayers would pay more, while everyone else’s taxes would be reduced. Lower- and middle-income groups benefit most.

Are these assumptions on or off the mark?

A new report released on Wednesday by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center in Washington, D.C., sheds some light on that question…

Basically, if you make between $66,000 and $227,000, or even $603,000, these tax cuts won’t impact you much. The differences are almost negligible.

Obviously, the people on the lower end of the spectrum could use that extra money, and it does make a difference. But for the most part, the middle- and upper-middle class remain largely unaffected, amazingly.

Whether these tax bracket shifts actually occur once either John McCain or Barack Obama occupies the Oval Office is a question for another day, as well.

Well-cast foes featuring stark distinctions in background, presentation, personality and policy, Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama are about to engage in a presidential campaign unlike any we’ve seen before.

George W. Bush and John Kerry had their differences, sure. But either way, we were guaranteed a Yale graduate and Skull & Bones member. This year’s Republican and Democratic contenders couldn’t be any less alike.

Over the next five months, McCain and Obama will spar frequently and campaign relentlessly as they seek votes of undecided Americans.

Debating economic policy, civil liberties, foreign policy views and whether or not the other is capable of keeping us safe and representing us around the world, each will offer many important reasons for you to support them.

Below, we will do no such thing.

But we’ve broken down the two candidates in the upcoming general election just the same, measuring strictly in terms of popular culture impact …

COOL SUPPORTERS

Barack Obama: will.i.am, Warren Buffett, George Clooney, Tom Hanks, Ellen Pompeo, Jessica Biel, Sidney Poitier, Samuel L. Jackson, etc., etc., etc.
John McCain: [withdraws name from ballot in this race]
Edge: Obama

NOT-COOL SUPPORTERS

Barack Obama: Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers
John McCain: Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt
Edge: McCain

BIGGEST YOUTUBE FANS

Barack Obama: Obama Girl
John McCain: McCain Girls
Edge: Obama

DAUGHTERS’ HOBBIES

Barack Obama: Riding bikes, dance recitals
John McCain: Blogging from campaign trail
Edge: McCain

Continue reading this article …

Swift-boating.

So damaging was the smear campaign against Democratic Sen. John Kerry - and his poor handling of it - in the 2004 presidential campaign that it has been permanently ingrained in the modern political lexicon.

Asked recently about his failed Swift-boat response strategy, Kerry said that he lost the presidential election not because he didn’t respond with the truth about what happened - “We did,” he said. “But we just didn’t do it right.”

The question is whether Sen. Barack Obama can avoid a similar fate. If he feels the best reaction is to simply keep answering back, he may end up like his predecessor, back in the Senate and wondering where he went wrong.

Ultimately, Kerry did respond to his swift-boat accusers. But his real mistake was making Vietnam a key part of his campaign in the first place.

He even took the stage at the Democratic National Convention in Boston with the introduction, “I’m John Kerry, and I’m reporting for duty.”

His Vietnam record thus became fair game - resulting in the intense scrutiny of personal events 30 years ago, which resulted in conflicting accounts, half-truths accepted as fact, faulty memories and lost electoral votes.

Sens. John Kerry and Barack Obama are the Democrats’ most recent nominees for president. Can the latter avoid suffering the former’s swift-boated fate.

The lessons for Obama - ones he has failed to learn so far in two pseudo-scandals that flared up during the Democratic race - are twofold:

1. Avoid categorical denials about the past. During the Rev. Jeremiah Wright controversy, Obama said his pastor’s most offensive comments were “not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews.” True? Possibly. But it doesn’t matter if people - whatever their motivations might be - come out of the woodwork with different versions.
2. Simply apologizing can be great for closing the book on a topic. If done right — admitting fault , showing regret, but raising the level of debate - it can turn a scandal on its head. Obama failed to do so amid backlash from “bitter-gate,” responding indignantly to critics (if at all).

Without a doubt, the biggest flaw in Barack Obama’s campaign strategy so far is the insistence on portraying the candidate as the second coming when he is - believe it or not, at least sometimes - fallible and human.

Obama’s responses to criticism thus far have left the door ajar and invited even greater criticism of his past, keeping what should be absurd non-issues very much alive, and hurting his credibility in the process.

John Kerry let himself be swift-boated out of the presidency. If Barack Obama doesn’t learn from the past, he may be doomed to repeat it.

What, are you taken aback by this headline?

Don’t you remember the fist bump Barack Obama exchanged with his wife the night he sewed up the Democratic nomination?

As Fox News rationally explains below, how else could this gesture be interpreted other than to categorize it as a “terrorist fist jab?” (We had no idea so many Major League Baseball players were terrorists.)

Madame President, she will not be. But she will do something.

Since formally suspending her campaign and endorsing Sen. Barack Obama on Saturday with a terrific speech in Washington, the subject of what Sen. Hillary Clinton will do next looms as the million dollar question.

Clinton threw her full support behind Obama, who narrowly defeated her, and has now turned his full attention to the general election.

In that fight, Hillary will almost certainly play a major role. But in what capacity is anyone’s guess. Will it be as Barack Obama’s Vice President?

So far, much of the talk has centered around whether Obama would select his former chief rival from a short list of possible running mates.

Having lost by the slimmest of margins, and commanding huge support among demographics he struggles with, Clinton has some leverage should she seek the Vice Presidency. Would Obama risk the fallout of saying no?

We think he might, despite the wave of bad publicity, as most tend to vote for the top of the ticket regardless. But no one ever asks about the reverse:

Could Hillary Clinton possibly turn down V.P. if asked?

REJECTED! Would Hillary Clinton potentially give Barack Obama the Heisman-style stiff arm should he ask her to be Vice President? Some believe she just might.

The Clintons, as we know, don’t like playing second fiddle to anyone. HRC also spent much of the past year getting out from the shadow of Bill Clinton (still a work in progress). Does she want to spend eight years as Barack Obama’s #2?

Not to mention the possibility of an Obama loss sparking another run by Clinton in 2012 - a scenario pundits have speculated about for months.

Continue reading this article …

Wednesday, Upper Deck revealed its Presidential Predictor baseball cards from its Series II set, with one showing a triumphant Barack Obama lifted into the air by Hillary Clinton, declaring him the winner of the Democratic race…

While each candidate is featured opposing Republican John McCain on several other cards in the set, the company announced that an alternate version of the above card - featuring HRC winning - was also produced, then pulled.

The company then yanked the card showing Hillary Clinton as the victor from its collating machines during packaging. However, a few did make it out into packs and (says conventional wisdom) are therefore more valuable…

“We had the version of Barack Obama lifting up Hillary Clinton pulled as it became clearer that Barack would be the victor,” said Jason Masherah, Baseball Brand manager for Upper Deck, told the Orlando Sentinel.

“Pulling these cards is a process done by hand so it is possible some of these cards made it into packs. Those are considered an error version.”

We enjoy how in each case, the runner-up is wearing catcher’s equipment, and hoisting up the victor as if he (or she) had just clinched the World Series with a final strikeout. It conjures up memories of last October here in Boston. *sniff*

You may remember that this is not the first time Upper Deck removed a Hillary Clinton baseball card from this collection - the first featured HRC as Morganna, a.k.a. the Kissing Bandit, which some felt was in poor taste.