Bobby Jindal...

...is terrifying. There's just no way around it. http://www.newoxfordreview.org/article.jsp?did=1294-jindal

A Gen-Xer Responds to Obama's Victory

"[W]hen we watched Barack Obama's victory speech on Tuesday night, we looked into the eyes of a real leader, and decades of cynicism about politics and grass-roots movements and community melted away in a single moment. We heard the voice of a man who can inspire with his words, who's unashamed of his own intelligence, who's willing to treat the citizens of this country like smart, capable people, worthy of respect. For the first time in some of our lifetimes, we believed." http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/11/07/havrilesky/

Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast

WOW. NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.

Like Father, Like Son

Republican red faces as regulators close bank By Andrew Ward in Washington and Joanna Chung in New York Published: September 8 2008 03:11 Last updated: September 8 2008 03:11 A bank with ties to the family of John McCain was shut down by federal regulators on Friday, marking the 11th US bank failure this year and threatening to cause ripples across the presidential election campaign. Andrew McCain, son of the Republican presidential nominee, was a director of Nevada-based Silver State Bank until resigning in July for “personal reasons”. He was a member of Silver State’s audit committee, which has responsibility for overseeing the bank’s financial accounts. Silver State was heavily exposed to construction and land development loans that have come under pressure as the housing market slumps. Much of the bank’s business was concentrated in Las Vegas and other western cities that have suffered some of the sharpest falls in land prices after years of rapid growth and heavy speculation. [Me: Anyone else remember Charles Keating and Lincoln Savings and Loan?} Silver State had about $2bn of assets and $1.7bn in deposits at the end of June and reported a second-quarter net loss of $72.3m. Its failure is expected to cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which insures bank deposits up to $100,000, about $450m-$550m. There is no evidence that Mr McCain did anything wrong nor that his departure was connected to the bank’s financial troubles. But the episode is a potential embarrassment to his father at a time when bank failures are adding to a broader sense of gloom and economic insecurity among US voters. It could revive memories of John McCain’s role in the “Keating Five” scandal during the 1980s savings and loans crisis, when he was reprimanded by a Senate watchdog for lobbying on behalf of a campaign donor whose mortgage lending institution was under investigation by regulators. [Me: Apparently, at least one British journalist does.] The younger McCain joined the board of Silver State in February after it acquired Arizona-based Choice Bank, for whom he had served as a director since 2006. He is an adopted son from his father’s first marriage but also has close ties to the senator’s second wife, Cindy, in his role as chief financial officer of Hensley & Co, the Arizona-based beer distribution company controlled by Mrs McCain. The 11 bank failures in the US this year compare with three in all of 2007 and none in the preceding two years. More are expected. The number of so-called “problem” banks grew from 90 institutions at the end of the first quarter to 117 at the end of June, the highest level since 2003, according to the FDIC. It is drawing up plans to raise additional capital to shore up its insurance fund that has been depleted by this year’s bank rescues. The fund currently holds about $45bn.

Best website EVER for political junkies

Talk about information overload. I love this chart!!!

Obama in St. Paul

Old news, but worth posting anyway. Minnesota Public Radio documents the long and winding line to see Barack Obama at the Excel Center in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 3, 2008

How Blue Is Minnesota?

According to this article in The Hill, the Democrats think they have a legitimate shot at winning all 8 congressional seats in Minnesota in the 2008 election.

The Great Wall of China

Check your favorite website to see if it is censored in China.

He's Good Enough, He's Smart Enough

And doggonit, people like him! It's official: Al Franken is running for Senate.

Republican Arrogance

The usually diplomatic Tom Friedman shows his angry side in this NY Times column. "George Bush, Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld think you're stupid. Yes, they do.They think they can take a mangled quip about President Bush and Iraq by John Kerry -- a man who is not even running for office but who, unlike Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney, never ran away from combat service -- and get you to vote against all Democrats in this election." I missed this column when it originally ran back in November, but it is still available on the web via Bruce Springsteen's website: http://www.brucespringsteen.net/news/index.html

Mark Dayton

Sometimes, I think there's a DFL conspiracy to ensure that there's a Republican in the Minnesota Governor's mansion: http://www.startribune.com/587/story/912703.html

What candidates do your neighbors support?

One of the creepiest sites on the internet: http://www.campaignmoney.com/