This is not a joke! This is how John McCain's advisor suggested we deal with America's healthcare crisis!

Mr. Goodman, who helped craft Sen. John McCain's health care policy, said anyone with access to an emergency room effectively has insurance, albeit the government acts as the payer of last resort. (Hospital emergency rooms by law cannot turn away a patient in need of immediate care.)

"So I have a solution. And it will cost not one thin dime," Mr. Goodman said. "The next president of the United States should sign an executive order requiring the Census Bureau to cease and desist from describing any American – even illegal aliens – as uninsured. Instead, the bureau should categorize people according to the likely source of payment should they need care.

"So, there you have it. Voila! Problem solved."

http://www.dallasnews.com/...

John McCain just can’t get any respect – or maybe I should say support – these days.  Barack Obama decides to accept his historic nomination as the first African-American presidential candidate of any major political party before 75,000 supporters at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado.  Obama supporters from all over the country claim the tickets within 24 hours.  In fact, nearly 650,000 Obama supporters are denied tickets to the event.

Time Shown as local – Denver, Colorado MST

3:00 PM – 5:00 PM (LOCAL)

Live Performances (before gavel)
Yonder Mountain String Band Performance
Jeff Austin, Adam Aijala, Ben Kaufmann, Dave Johnston

Voter Registration Presentation

Remarks
The Honorable Luis Gutierrez
Member of the US House of Representatives, Illinois

David Plouffe
Obama Campaign Manager

Ray Rivera
Obama State Director, Colorado

Call to Order
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Permanent Chair, Democratic National Convention
Member and Speaker of the US House of Representatives, California

Invocation
Rabbi David Saperstein
Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism – Washington, DC

Presentation of Colors
Disabled American Veterans

Pledge of Allegiance
Shawn Johnson
US Olympic Gymnast

National Anthem
Jennifer Hudson
Academy award-winning singer and Broadway performer

Welcome
Elbra Wedgeworth
President/Chair, Denver Host Committee

Presentation of Resolutions
Democratic National Committee Vice-Chairs
Mark Brewer
The Honorable Linda Chavez-Thompson
The Honorable Mike Honda
The Honorable Lottie Shackelford
Susan Turnbull

Remarks
Honorable Bill Ritter, Jr.
Governor of Colorado

The Honorable Ed Perlmutter
Member of the US House of Representatives, Colorado

The Honorable John Salazar
Member of the US House of Representatives, Colorado

The Honorable Diana DeGette
Member of the US House of Representatives, Colorado

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM (LOCAL)

Video & Remarks
The Honorable Howard Dean
Former Governor of Vermont
Chair of the Democratic Party

Video & Remarks: Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King
The Honorable John Lewis
Member of the US House of Representatives, Georgia
Rev. Bernice King
Daughter of the late Dr. King
Martin Luther King III
Oldest son of the late Dr. King

Remarks
The Honorable Bill Richardson
Governor, New Mexico

Live Performances
will.i.am
Accompanied by John Legend (piano), Agape Choir, and band

Sheryl Crow
Singer/songwriter

Remarks
Ray Rivera
Obama State Director, Colorado

6:00 PM – 7:00 PM (LOCAL)

Remarks
The Honorable Jan Schakowsky
Member of the US House of Representatives, Illinois

The Honorable Mark Udall
Member of the US House of Representatives, Colorado

The Honorable Tim Kaine
Governor of Virginia

Live Performance
Stevie Wonder  

Remarks
The Honorable Al Gore
Former Vice President of the United States

7:00 PM - 8:00 PM (LOCAL)

Remarks
John Kuniholm
Wounded Iraq veteran

Live Performance
Michael McDonald
Singer/songwriter

Remarks
Susan Eisenhower
Granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Retired Generals Tribute
Air Force Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration (Ret)
Accompanied by additional generals

American Voices Program
Roy Gross
Monica Early
Wes Moore
Janet Lynn Monacco
Nate Fick
Teresa Asenap
Pamela Cash-Roper
Barney Smith

Remarks
The Honorable Dick Durbin
US Senator, Illinois

8:00 PM – 9:00 PM (LOCAL)

Video/Remarks
SENATOR BARACK OBAMA
DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

Benediction
Pastor Joel Hunter
Senior Pastor of Northland in Central Florida

Adjournment
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Permanent Chair, Democratic National Convention

As I posted in a diary two days ago , James Dobson's miserable failures have come to light again.  He asked his people to pray fro rain to disrupt our convention, and God told him to stick it when the sun actually won't be shining tonight!

Tonight's forecast - PERFECT conditions.

You prayed for it Dobbers.  God said no.

A little background - Focus On The Family, Dobson's organization, asked supporters a few weeks back to pray fto God for rain.  Not to help any farmland, mind you.  Not to help any areas in a drought.  But to make conditions miserable at Mile High Stadium on the night of Barack Obama's speech.

What a good Christian, huh?

And why don't I see this anywhere in the MSM, when they are so quick to report any decline in his numbers?

. . . not a Commander-in-Chief.

From georgia10's diary, Defusing the POW Defense, we hear the McCain camp say:

The McCain campaign immediately struck back at Biden last night, saying, "Joe Biden is right. We need more than a good soldier, we need a leader with the experience and judgment to serve as commander in chief from day one. That leader is John McCain."

That response finally pissed me off enough to write something.  We do not elect a Commander-in-Chief.  Being Commander-in-Chief is one of the powers of the President of the United States of America.

Follow below the fold if you want to hear more.

One of the two slogans from the convention is "McCain: more of the same". The John Goodman Quote has been diaried more than a few times, but let's compare two statements:

McCain's approach in this election is an interesting reversal of GWB; and every time people (especially Democratic Senate colleagues) cite his flip-flops, they feed right into McCain's best chance of winning.  Here's how I think McCain's playing:

GWB had solid support from the right wing, so his main message was to woo centrist voters (Uniter, not a Divider; Reformer with Results), while he reassured the Right much more subtly.

McCains's most solid support is from the center, so his main messages have been to woo the Right (Country First, Secure the Borders).  At the same time, he's been working very hard, but unofficially, to reassure centrists.  His campaign has made huge feints like "considering" Lieberman and the "Hillary supporter" who "accidentally" got McCain's abortion position completely wrong.

Then comes Kerry's speech last night...

he'd probably be dead.

sort of like the 18,000 Americans, who die each year because they are uninsured... (as estimated by the Institutes of Medicine in 2004.)

In light of all the speeches this week and because I can hardly contain my excitement for tonight, I wrote my own little speech and just wanted to share it with anyone!

Looks like McCain is going to unveil a historic ad tonight that is speaking directly to Barack Obama.

The reason the McCain camp keeps bashing Obama's speech is quite obvious: they're terrified by the enthusiasm he generates and the stark juxtaposition it creates when contrasted with McCain's lackluster oratory and unenthused crowds.  Now we receive word that McCain is having trouble finding 10K supporters for his speech, when Obama filled a 75K stadium with ease:

Every State. Every race. Right here.

This is number 34 in a planned series of 50 entries between now and November, looking at each of the 50 states in terms of every race on that state's ticket--Presidential, Gubernatorial, Senate, House, State legislatures--the whole frontier! Special attention paid to identifying and promoting the most important contests per state.

Today, please put aside your Obama program for just a moment and look North to a state where we have more pickup opportunities per capita than any other this year, and a chance for a sea change that could emblue the entire Pacific Coast. ALASKA, this is your 50-state diary!

On June 12, John McCain called for an investigation into oil speculation, apparently due more to his total lack of understanding of commodity markets than to any actual indignation.  This is what he said:

I believe there needs to be a thorough and complete investigation of speculators to find out whether speculation has been going on and, if so, how much it has affected the price of a barrel of oil.

Investigate speculators to find out if there's speculation going on?  Next, we can go to the gas station and see if they're selling gas.

Now, usually when a politician calls for an investigation, that means they don't actually want to do anything about a problem, and hope by putting it off they can avoid dealing with it all together.

But don't worry Mr. McCain, the results are in- no need for that investigation!

Crossposted at Sandstorm.

The word "historic" has been a near mantra when describing Barack Obama's candidacy. Yesterday, his nomination as the first black candidate for a major political party caused delegates, political commentators and viewers alike to tear up at the grand significance of that moment.

A new Washington Post poll provides a snapshot of how Obama's candidacy has stirred hopes in the hearts of black voters:

Nearly two-thirds of black voters in the new poll said they could see one of their children becoming president, up 11 percentage points from the fall of 1992. At 47 percent, whites are about where they were back then on the question.

As an aside, the poll also reveals this interesting tidbit:

For white voters, the pride issue helps to predict their preference in the voting booth. Obama is the choice of 59 percent of those whites who said he has made them more proud, while Sen. John McCain, his Republican opponent, is favored by 57 percent of those who said Obama's being the first African American nominee has no effect on their level of pride.

I'm not a politico.  But certain themes have been emerging lately in John McCain's campaign strategy that need a spotlight.

John likes to think that he's his own man.  Mr. Straight Talk.  Well, he tried the same campaign he ran in 2000, using the bus, his "integrity capital" and some really lousy campaign advisers.  The result?  



Mr. Cottage Cheese On A Bed Of Lettuce

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Tonight, Barack Obama accepts the Democratic Party's nomination for President.  His is a singular achievement for which he deserves much personal credit.  He earned it.  

I'd like to pay tribute to some of the African Americans who struggled and sacrificed in the attempts for freedom and equality in the history leading to this day.  

The first enslaved Africans arrived in Colonial Jamestown, Virginia in 1619:

In August 1619, 20 black men were purchased from a passing [Dutch] slave ship bound from Luanda, Angola, to Vera Cruz, Mexico. However, these may not have been the first; 32 Africans were noted five months earlier in a Virginia census of 1619.

Come around after the fold for a little history of how we got to this day and the many who struggled for freedom and equality in the almost 400 years since the first enslaved Africans set foot in what later became the United States.

Yesterday, in Denver, Tent State sponsored a music festival featuring artists like Jello Biafra and Rage Against the Machine. Co-sponsored by Amnesty International and Iraq Veterans Against the War, over 9,000 people attended the event. Long considered the leftist fringe and " violent radicals" of our country, protesters participating in events like these have been marginalized and ignored, feeding their anger at the belief that they have no voice. That changed yesterday. Follow me below the jump.