McCain adviser: Bush is ‘a political asset.’
The New York Times reports:
With Mr. McCain facing resistance from conservatives, Mr. Bush has also emerged as the man Republicans, including the McCain camp, are counting on to unite the party. One McCain adviser, Charlie Black, called Mr. Bush “a political asset” in an interview last week. Another, speaking anonymously to discuss strategy, said Mr. Bush needed to “put his arms around John McCain,” by figuratively linking himself with the senator in public comments.
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here’s the photo you want up there…
February 10th, 2008 at 12:14 pmCharlie Black, called Mr. Bush “a political asset†in an interview last week. Another, speaking anonymously to discuss strategy, said Mr. Bush needed to “put his arms around John McCain,†by figuratively linking himself with the senator in public comments.
Can it be true? Can they really be so stupid as to think Dumbya is a “political asset” and not just a political a$$?
Or are they just so knitted into their “Party Before Country” mentality, so bound by their sense of loyalty that they can’t cut loose the Worst. President. Ever?
Or maybe they’re just so contrarian that if Democrats say Bush is a millstone around the neck of ANY Republican nominee, they’ll say the opposite just because they can’t admit a Democrat is right about something?
I don’t care, frankly. Please just let them keep thinking that tying their nominee to Bush is a Good Thing.
Please.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:15 pmCaption: A wimp and a blimp
February 10th, 2008 at 12:17 pmOh please please please please tell me that they will continue to believe this. And PLEASE tell me Bush plans to campaign for McCain. Can you thik of anything more wonderful than Bush at the Repug Convention touting McCain? This is WAY too good to be true. Who is pulling my leg? McCain can say buh bye to the con-mod vote. The only thing anyone is gonna be discussing is do we think McCain might take Utah as his only state in Nov or will he also get Texas. You make em stupid . . . we make em Republican stupid.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:18 pmThey are blinded by their own stupidity. Good! Let them have Bush and see how far it gets them.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:19 pmHow can you rig an election with 29% of the popular vote…I hope they keep this up!
February 10th, 2008 at 12:23 pmMr. Bush has also emerged as the man Republicans, including the McCain camp, are counting on to unite the party.
That should be fun to watch. It’s great watching Bush’s monumental ego drive the Republican party further into the ground.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:26 pmThe Democrats can save tons of money by firing their advertising consultants and writers. Just run 30 second ads of that picture.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:27 pmhere’s the photo you want up there…
Comment by katy
Wow, that’s a great photoshop job!
February 10th, 2008 at 12:27 pmIf I were running for President, I would only pick advisors that do not watch FAUX news.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:28 pmI was just reading an article that referenced Reagan’s campaign chief, about the conservative movement’s distaste for McCain. He said the same bunch of “aginers” were attacking Reagan in his first campaign.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:29 pmNOTICE:
i wrote a note to FAIZ about the trolls - particularly the pat2/3, who had been banned several times under different names and keeps coming back… here is the repyl:
He hasn’t violated any terms. Just ignore him, but that seems to be asking too much of our commenters.
it’s true - the trooll feeders are the biggest problem here.
i wonder, how we can fix that?
February 10th, 2008 at 12:30 pm“aginers†were attacking Reagan in his first campaign.
Comment by barfly — February 10, 2008 @ 12:29 pm
what’s that word?
February 10th, 2008 at 12:31 pmMcCain said to his followers…:” MY opponent can call himself Huckabee, but this picture shows I’m the ‘Hugg a bee’, my dear friends..”
February 10th, 2008 at 12:33 pmDemocrats need this picture in their run for the Presidency…
February 10th, 2008 at 12:34 pmOkay, I was SUPER guilty of feeding Pat2 last night. I will try to avoid the temptation again. I let myself get baited with the “liberals are fascists” thing, because there is no one I find more loathsome in the punditocracy than Goldberg.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:35 pmi wonder, how we can fix that?
Comment by katy — February 10, 2008 @ 12:30 pm
Change the Report Abuse to a Troll Alert, 10 hits and they’re off the thread.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:39 pmREAL Americans and the WORLD:
Bush is an azshole.
The WORLD will CELEBRATE when he DROPS DEAD and goes to hell with his MASTER Satan.
Can’t come SOON ENOUGH…
February 10th, 2008 at 12:39 pmThis picture indicates that politics has no heart…After shredding McCain to pieces in year 2000 for his run for presidency, Bush now claims McCain ‘is the man’…and he loves to hug him too.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:41 pmPolitical asset?! Let me make this necessary correction. Political Asshat!
February 10th, 2008 at 12:41 pmI can’t find it on teh google, but wasn’t Charlie Black the genius who said 1992 that “real Americans” supported Republicans.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:43 pmKeep telling yourself that!
I think the Republican strategists are operating under the assumption that voters personally dislike Bush, but that his policies are still popular. Bush himself has signaled this time and again when he talks about how he believes history will view his presidency or when he claims that even a Democratic president will continue his policies because the ideas are so strong.
I think they are wrong. I believe that it is Mr. Bush’s policies that are unpopular. The President, though I can’t pretend to understand why, is personally actually quite popular. It his gross incompetence which extends down through all his political appointees, his failure to execute war or peace, his dismantling of the government regulatory process, his failures of leadership during times of crisis, his failures to get signature legislation passed, his empty promises (some as recently as *this* years state of the union) that are unpopular.
McCain promises more of the same. More de-regulation. More incompetent foreign policy. More loss of American prestige. More erosion of civil rights. More borrowing. More military adventures without just cause or careful planning. Ultimately, I believe that voters will reject the platform of more of the same and embrace the Democratic candidate.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:43 pmBush is still living in his hermetically-sealed Bubble of Fascism… By the way, why does ThinkProgress refuse to even discuss Obama’s big sweep Saturday of Nebraska, Washington, Louisiana and the Territory of the Virgin Islands? It would seem that Obama is our best vehicle for “progress,” so why can’t we “think” and chat about it here?
February 10th, 2008 at 12:43 pmit’s true - the trooll feeders are the biggest problem here.
i wonder, how we can fix that?
Comment by katy
I’ve got an idea; maybe when enough of the ‘regulars’ get pissed enough, they can start their own blog in protest, call it, let’s say ‘Zoo II’, but this time allow a few trolls in there, then fondle them there and not here.
A∞Ω
February 10th, 2008 at 12:44 pmI SEE BUSH HAS ROLLED OUT HIS HYPOCRITE COMEDY TEAM THIS MORNING
GREATEST DEFENDER OF CIVIL RIGHTS?
HAHAHA…NOW THAT’S COMEDY
February 10th, 2008 at 12:49 pm#1 Katy: Unbelievable! I can’t stop laughing! You should post that pic everywhere that you can.
As for feeding the trolls, sometimes it’s hard not to. I know it can have the snowball effect, but you have to fight willful ignorance with the truth. Especially with some people whose only goal in life is to be a dumbed down subserviant minion.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:49 pmW’s the iceberg; McBush is the Titanic. Titanic meet iceberg. Doom, dooming, doomed.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:51 pmwhat’s that word?
Comment by katy
“Aginers” - as in, they’re “agin” (against) things, and candidates. They don’t know who they’re for, they just know who they’re “agin.”
February 10th, 2008 at 12:51 pmBush used McCain as an asswipe in the Repuke debates years ago. Ever since McBush began to click his heels and yell “Heil Dumbya”, he’s lost both his soul and his way.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:52 pmMcInsane McBush’s campaign hit the skids with his Beach Boys rendition. Now with this fool stumping for him, he will seal it’s fate once and for all. McCain’s campaign is like a trainwreck. Besides, there’s no fool like an “old fool” and McBush qualifies on both counts - as old as Methusela and as much a fool as the Fool On the Hill.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:54 pmIt’s true - the trooll feeders are the biggest problem here.
i wonder, how we can fix that?
Comment by katy
That is quite true. The minute I saw the thread with 400+ comments I knew it had been a troll fest. And that was the number after all the original posts by pat2 & 3 were removed. With them counted, I suspect the number would have been more around 600.
It is very easy not to validate the trolls. If they are someone as blatant as pat2&3, ignore them. It was very obvious from it’s first post that it was here simply to disrupt and it worked brilliantly.
For trolls like keloti and others who do try, somewhat, to put forth a point, try talking about them rather than to them. You will be surprised how it feels. I know I am not feeding their egos, but I am addressing some of the misinformation or distorted information they are trying to disseminate.
So my rule is that I totally ignore trolls who are here simply to disrupt and talk about, not to the trolls who are spreading disinformation or lies.
It would help, though, if TP would ban these people by their IP address rather than by their e-mail address. pat2&3 yesterday were proof positive that banning by e-mail address is futile.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:54 pmI am salivating at the thought of McBush debating anything beyond war mongering. When it comes to economic principles, he’s a moron. When it comes to foreign policy, he’s totally out of sync. Barack or Hillary (hopefully Barack) will make mincemeat out of McCain’s mush brain on national television. Pop the popcorn because it promises to be comedy extraordinaire.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:56 pmThe pundits on Potato-head’s program are saying that since the polls all show a democratic landslide, McCain will get blamed for the republican loss.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:56 pmAs for feeding the trolls, sometimes it’s hard not to. I know it can have the snowball effect, but you have to fight willful ignorance with the truth. Especially with some people whose only goal in life is to be a dumbed down subserviant minion.
Comment by Mr. Evil
I agree that addressing misinformation is a good thing. You can do that by talking about the troll not to the troll.
But, wasn’t it obvious after the first 2 or 3 posts that pat2 was there only to incite a riot? And it was very successful in doing that.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:56 pmGood old Charlie Black.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:56 pmHe’s one of those right wing Repubs who thinks “If I say it, it must be true”.
Like he’s some kind of Star Wars Jedi performing the “Jedi Mind Trick” on everyone.
Either that, or he’s delusional.
When the dust settles maybe McBush can be the poster boy for senile dementia and maintain his notoriety.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:57 pmThe pundits on Potato-head’s program are saying that since the polls all show a democratic landslide, McCain will get blamed for the republican loss.
Comment by barfly
Got it. It’s actually quite a brilliant plan. They can say that McCain lost because he was too liberal and that the policies of the Republicans had NOTHING to do with the defeat. But, they won’t be able to say that if McCain stumps with Bush and his crime family, will they!
February 10th, 2008 at 12:57 pmMcCain’s foreign-policy team is sprinkled with people, who were ardent backers of the 2003 Iraq invasion and who dismissed critics who warned of unintended consequences. They include former CIA Director James Woolsey, and William Kristol, the editor of the conservative Weekly Standard.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:58 pmMcCain is throwing bones to the Neocon Jihadists~
February 10th, 2008 at 12:59 pmit’s true - the trooll feeders are the biggest problem here.
i wonder, how we can fix that?
Comment by katy — February 10, 2008 @ 12:30 pm
Why not let individuals do as they please and worry only of your own choices. A little Socratic dialogue never hurt anyone and has often yielded new insights. I don’t walk by street people with a false air of superiority. Instead I engage them
February 10th, 2008 at 1:04 pmOn the bright side anything backed by kristol will fail~
February 10th, 2008 at 1:10 pmhere’s the photo you want up there…
Comment by katy — February 10, 2008 @ 12:14 pm
lmao, hilarious.
February 10th, 2008 at 1:11 pmConsidering that the polls are recording an ever-growing majority of Americans who are unhappy and dissatisfied with Bush, won’t the McCain campaign simply end up shooting itself in the foot if it keeps trying to portray a McCain administration as being equivalent to a third Bush term?
February 10th, 2008 at 1:11 pm#43 Bluestocking: Proof positive of their delusional state.
February 10th, 2008 at 1:12 pmGOOD weed!
February 10th, 2008 at 1:17 pmA repentant troll feeder here. I try not to, but sometimes I can’t not respond. I don’t mind Keltoi’s approach, much, as he generally seems to at least address the topic at hand. There are very few black and white issues, (torture being one of them) so having someone who challenges my viewpoint (even if he’s picking at scabs and refusing to address the downsides of his own position) is useful. I tend to lose control when my lack of blind reverence for all things neocon is portrayed as un-American, or my hatred of the iraq occupation is portrayed as hatred for the troops. I’ve been trying lately to flag bottom feeding trolls with the comment “off topic and inflammatory” I don’t know it that does anything, but it makes me feel better.
February 10th, 2008 at 1:20 pmI hope with all my heart that McCain does link himself to Bush. How’d you like that 26% of popular vote?
Bush sucks. Every gooper running sucks. The last thing we need is 4 more of this insanity.
Hey, I don’t mind paying $30.00 for a loaf of bread. That’s what the goopers want…and they want us to be thankful for their allowing us to eat. Slave wages, more to the uber wealthy. Welcome to Amerika neocon style.
February 10th, 2008 at 1:20 pmi wonder, how we can fix that?
Comment by katy — February 10, 2008 @ 12:30 pm
Change the Report Abuse to a Troll Alert, 10 hits and they’re off the thread.
Comment by Saint Augustine — February 10, 2008 @ 12:39 pm
very good idea… be sure to suggest that to faiz… upper right: email us…
i asked faiz: wouldn’t returning after being banned be violating terms?
February 10th, 2008 at 1:21 pmhis reply: he’s been banned by the community, not by us. he can return and keep being banned by the community. if he violates our terms, then we’ll take care of him.
.
I don’t walk by street people with a false air of superiority. Instead I engage them
Comment by dbadass — February 10, 2008 @ 1:04 pm
that is SO not the same thing…
last night’s trooll fest was juvenile, at best.
bilbobaggins @ 12:54 pm has the right idea…
February 10th, 2008 at 1:29 pmComment by katy — February 10, 2008 @ 1:29 pm
And today is a new day. All I suggest is that free choice should rule any day lest anyone begin to think that only their own thoughts warrant space here. Elitism is the Achilles heal of some many.
February 10th, 2008 at 1:32 pmI’ll sign on, katy, but sometimes the flesh is weak. The real problem is that, since trolls thrive on attention, it only takes one person responding to keep the troll around–and it’s pretty much impossible to guarantee that everyone on the thread will refuse to respond.
But, while we’re on the subject, I reject the notion that Keltoi is a troll. I think his interest in dialog is sincere, and I think it’s his occasional mocking of a few of the regulars that causes him to be lumped in with the real trolls, whether they be the simple attention sucks like just_asking or pompous fatheads like o_pompous_fathead.
February 10th, 2008 at 1:35 pmhis reply: he’s been banned by the community, not by us.
What does that mean, i.e. to be banned by the community? If a person receives enough flags, they are banned?
February 10th, 2008 at 1:50 pmyes
February 10th, 2008 at 1:53 pmwish i knew the magic number :-)
February 10th, 2008 at 1:53 pmwish i knew the magic number :-)
Comment by katy — February 10, 2008 @ 1:53 pm
I was about to post the same thing. :) I imagine it’s probably around 5.
February 10th, 2008 at 1:54 pmThis clearly exemplifies the desperation of McCain’s campaign to attract Conservatives. It won’t make Independents more likely to vote for McCain, and the evangelicals aren’t going to vote for him no matter what. I think it makes McCain look like the political whore he really is. I think this will backfire on him.
February 10th, 2008 at 1:55 pmwish i knew the magic number :-)
Comment by katy — February 10, 2008 @ 1:53 pm
I was about to post the same thing. :) I imagine it’s probably around 5.
Comment by Dr. Matt — February 10, 2008 @ 1:54 pm
I seriously doubt that, unless you mean five different people flagging rather than five flags. Some of these trolls have gotten scores of flags from me and still persist.
February 10th, 2008 at 2:00 pmI’ve been trying lately to flag bottom feeding trolls with the comment “off topic and inflammatory†I don’t know it that does anything, but it makes me feel better.
Comment by Bobwurst
Another thing you can do is to talk about the trolls (thereby demeaning them) rather than to the trolls (thereby validating them). It’s really easy. Just start your post with:
“Troll XXX seems to think XXXX. It’s too bad he doesn’t recognize XXX”.
I truly believe if we marginalize them by talking about them rather than to them, they will eventually leave.
But, I too would like to see some kind of a system where if 10 or 15 individual posters flag someone in a thread, they are killed from the thread. I would also like to see TP ban trolls based on their IP address rather than their e-mail address.
February 10th, 2008 at 2:12 pmHow about this as a campaign slogan:
I vow to start two more wars and lose them, spend us to the brink of collaspe and destroy the middle class! Just like the last guy!
February 10th, 2008 at 2:12 pmAnother comment on TP’s banning trolls or people who violate their TOS. They are rather select in what they are doing here. There is one person who posts here strictly to advertise their website where they are selling t-shirts. This is a clear violation of the TOS, and yet TP allows this person to continue to post. I wonder why that is?
February 10th, 2008 at 2:19 pmI was about to post the same thing. :) I imagine it’s probably around 5.
Comment by Dr. Matt
I doubt the number is that low otherwise Southern Man and his ilk would have been gone a long time ago. I’m quite sure they have been flagged numerous times by more than five individual posters.
But, this brings up a good point. Don’t give up on flagging the trolls. I did so for a while because it didn’t seem to be having any affect. But, I have started again, just as a matter of principle.
February 10th, 2008 at 2:22 pmI seriously doubt that, unless you mean five different people flagging rather than five flags. Some of these trolls have gotten scores of flags from me and still persist.
Comment by gummitch — February 10, 2008 @ 2:00 pm
Yes, five different people is what I meant. Pat2 and Pat3 were banned yesterday with only a handful of posters last night.
February 10th, 2008 at 2:29 pmShhh. Don’t tell Sen. McWar that he is absolutely stupid to even mention Bush or Rove as allies in his quest for the WH. Let him cozy up to these discredited dishonest Neo-Cons, and watch his campaign self-destruct. Maybe we’ll get another photo of a Bush - McWar hug.
February 10th, 2008 at 2:39 pmMcCain will get his chance to demonstrate that his support for the war wasn’t just politically-motivated next year, when a democrat takes office. Then we’ll see if he supports a democratically led war effort, or if he takes side-lines pot-shots at the democratic president. My money’s on him suddenly deciding it is being run incompetently, and as the overwhelming majority of americans support re-deployment, he’ll go along with withdrawl.
February 10th, 2008 at 2:54 pmI guess the big question is who will be chosen to lead the war effort after Petreaus is canned.
February 10th, 2008 at 2:56 pmHitch up that there wagon, McCain.
Embrace the chymp and lovingly put your head on his broad man shoulders.
That’ll do it.
February 10th, 2008 at 3:48 pmWith friends like that … you know the rest of it.
The most recent poll I saw showed that Bush had hit another new low in the downward spiral of “popularity”.
Having said that, McCain is between a rock and a hard place. Only a strong embrace by Bush can get the Bible Belt voters lined up for McCain and that is his only hope for getting elected. But look at Super Tuesday and the turnout in the States that had both Republican and Democratic contests. If the election were held today the Democrat would be elected in a landslide. With the prospects of a 1982 type recession looming it won’t matter much what McCain does. He is the new Bob Dole of the Republican party.
February 10th, 2008 at 4:25 pmMagic 8 Ball
McCain swept into office on Bush’s coat tails? Very doubtful.
February 10th, 2008 at 4:56 pmMcCain’s leg tangled in Bush’s anchor chain? Better not tell you now.
Struggling? Uh yeah. If it wasn’t for some clever GOP crooks in Washington state, the presumed leader of the droolers would have been swept by Hillbilly Huck. For Gods sake, the party hasn’t even started and McCain is code blue. LOL
February 10th, 2008 at 5:27 pmThen why are all Republicans running away from him as if he were the plague? Why was every single Repub candidate talking about the need for CHANGE? Why is his approval rating 30%?
February 10th, 2008 at 6:04 pmWhy is his approval rating 30%?
Comment by Keith — February 10, 2008 @ 6:04 pm
that is rather high for a member of the torture and mass-murder party.
February 10th, 2008 at 7:13 pmIts like two peas in a pod. One as dumb as the other.
February 10th, 2008 at 7:29 pmThey should have ended the quote at “Bush is a political ass”, then it would have been accurate! ;)
February 10th, 2008 at 7:47 pmMcBush will implode from the vacuum he creates by sucking up to every conservo dickhead out there. It will be fun to watch the flying carpet of hypocrisy that the McBush will devolve into.
Pass the popcorn.
February 10th, 2008 at 8:33 pmDoesn’t this picture remind you of an X-Files episode?
February 10th, 2008 at 8:49 pmThe hug heard around the world. McCain, you’re a whore.
February 10th, 2008 at 9:28 pmOne McCain adviser, Charlie Black, called Mr. Bush “a political asset†in an interview last week.
February 10th, 2008 at 10:20 pmYes. You go right on with that. It’s a winning strategy.
Well, he’s half right… Bush is a political ass
Peace
February 10th, 2008 at 11:50 pmread #2
February 11th, 2008 at 1:20 amBUSH/MACCAINE MACCAINE/BUSH The more these names are associated the better!
February 11th, 2008 at 4:19 amBush is a 30% asset! But please MacCaine… use and abuse it!
February 11th, 2008 at 4:21 am