Election Roundup for 08-07-2008

I thought I’d consider a single post to provide my observations on the election shenanigans.

McCain’s still getting pretty much a free pass from the media, but I hope it won’t last. He’s flip flopped on the Bush tax cuts, offshore drilling, campaign finance, immigration reform, the religious right, negative campaigning, torture, etc., etc., How is it possible for anyone to go on television and say that McCain is still the “maverick” of the 2000 election. Perhaps his adoring fans in the media are just having a tough time coming to grips with the fact that their old buddy is no longer recognizable.

Then there is a little issue with a Charlie Crist/John McCain campaign contributer/bundler. McClatchy is reporting:

Alice Rocchio is an office manager at the New York headquarters of the Hess Corp., drives a 1993 Chevy Cavalier and lives in an apartment in Queens, N.Y., with her husband, Pasquale, an Amtrak foreman.

Despite what appears to be a middle-class lifestyle, the couple has written $61,600 in checks to John McCain’s presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee, most of it within days of McCain’s decision to endorse offshore oil drilling.

A former FEC official said that it’s possible that the Rocchios had the means to make those hefty contributions – their first reported donations to a federal campaign. But the official, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, said that their donations also could trigger a complaint or otherwise catch the eyes of the agency’s enforcement staff, tasked to ensure that companies or wealthy individuals don’t illegally circumvent contribution limits by using employees or other third parties as “conduits” for cash.

And it looks like there are some other questionable “donor’s” along with this couple. McCain’s been fast and loose with the election laws, but it looks like this story might get some legs. There are a lot of people involved.

The McCain campaign has managed to push around the Obama camp, and many Democrats are getting concerned. They believe Obama is not fighting back hard enough, and I tend to agree with that. The guy has ideas, but unfortunately, Presidential campaigns are no longer about ideas…they’re about mudslinging…and the Republicans have that down to an art.

Speaking of Good-Time Charlie Crist, Mr. “I’m a live and let live kinda guy,” is apparently still campaigning to be McCain’s running mate. He’s quickly gone from opposing off-shore drilling to being in favor of it, and he’s gone from taking no position on Florida’s Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment to being in favor of the amendment. As we’ve noted previously, despite his life-long status as a  bachelor, it appears he’s now also found a girl toy and gotten engaged (can you say Fag Hag?). I actually had some respect for the guy at one time, but that’s all blown away now.

I also find it interesting that a whole bunch of Republican Candidates in tight races are saying they just don’t have time to make it to the Republican Convention. They all seem to have scheduling conflicts. That’s completely understandable with such short notice given on the dates for the convention. (snark) It appears they’re not even sure if George and Dick will make an appearance. Of course McCain has an ad out now attacking Bush and saying that Washington is broken. I’m sure he’d prefer it if the current administration stayed home. I wonder if they’ve told him yet that they aren’t leaving office regardless?