Owner: I Hate Your Opinions URL:http://www.ihateyouropinions.com Join Date: Tue, 04 Sep 2007 07:57:45 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: A fairly cynical political blog with 2008 election coverage, book reviews of memoirs written by presidential candidates, and more Site statistics:Click here
John Edwards: Four Impressive Trials (Book Review) 2007-09-04 05:49:00 Many political memoirs are written as rambling autobiographies, and tend to feel like long, tedious campaign speeches. However, John Edwards
has managed to write (or co-write) a memoir of four memorable, victorious court trials that reads like short stories by John Grisham. Each trial is a heart wrenching story of decent people vs. negligence in the form of hospitals, a truck company, and a pool drain cover manufacturer.Each trial chapter begins with some personal anecdotes about Edwards' life. I counted seventeen references to the fact that his father was a mill worker. But whether it's due to a talented co-writer or a smart political move, these brief anecdotes are eloquently written and provide snapshots of who Edwards is, skirting the danger of coming off as too self-centered by spending too much time on himself.The saddest of the cases Edwards presents is a case of a doctor who neglected to do a C-section on the defendant although he was presented with glaring evidence that th Read more:Impressive
, Trials
, John Edwards
Quote of the Week from Mike Huckabee 2007-09-04 01:24:00 "I am unapologetically a conservationist and believe that one of America's urgent crises is taking better care of our magnificent homeland and all its rich and varied beauty "from sea to shining sea." I do, however, see a distinction between being a "conservationist" and "environmentalist." A conservationist cares deeply about the environment and wishes to act as a responsible steward of it, yet recognizes that we may appropriately use renewable resources to sustain life. Environmentalists often feel that we are to have an almost equal respect and reverence for the created as for the Creator. We should worship the Creator, but respect and take care of that which is created."I salute Mike Huckabee
for managing to put a spin on this. Read more:Quote
GOP Candidates' Reactions to Fred Thompson 2007-09-03 19:47:00 Mitt Romney: "Well, I guess the only comment I'd make to Fred Thompson
would be: Why the hurry? Why not take a little longer to think this over? From my standpoint, if he wants to wait until January or February, that would be ideal."John McCain on why Thompson's doing well in polls: ""Why not? He's been president two or three times in the movies. He's been an admiral, he's been head of the CIA."Mike Huckabee : "Certainly his entry is going to have a big presence, but the expectations are so incredibly high for him. It's challenging for anyone to walk into the arena with the expectation that anytime you step up to the plate you have to hit it into the third deck."Rudy Giuliani’s New York co-chairman, Guy Molinari on Thompson's attacks on Giuliani's gun-control record: "“Run or keep your mouth shut! … If you want to bash people, jump into the pool. We’re waiting for you. … He’s not just attacking Rudy. He’s attacking every resident of New York City." Read more:Candidates
, Reactions
Who Looks The Part? I Rank Presidential-ness of Frontrunners 2007-09-03 04:20:00 Barack Obama In one word: AdolescentPresidential
-ness on a scale of 1 to 10: 4John Edwards In one word: SlickPresidential-ness on a scale of 1 to 10: 5Hillary ClintonIn one word: SatanesquePresidential-ness on a scale of 1 to 10: -10Rudy GiulianiIn one word: FeeblePresidential-ness on a scale of 1 to 10: 5Mitt Romney In one word: ReaganesquePresidential-ness on a scale of 1 to 10: 9Mike Huckabee In one word: MakeoverPresidential-ness on a scale of 1 to 10: 7John McCain In one word: RotundPresidential-ness on a scale of 1 to 10: 3The winner? Mitt Romney by a longshot. Read more:Looks
Hillary Clinton Attempts Calculated Comedy 2007-09-02 18:24:00 Hillary stopped by at the Late Show with Dave Letterman to talk about her campaign and to read a top ten list of campaign promises the other day:10. Bring stability and long term security to "The View."9. Each year on my birthday, every American gets a cupcake.8. You'll have the option of rolling dice against the IRS for double-or-nothing on your taxes.7. Having trouble getting a flight and Air Force One is available -- it's yours.6. My vice president will never shoot anybody in the face.5. Turn Gitmo into a Dairy Queen as soon as possible.4. For over a century there have been only two Dakotas -- I plan to double that.3. We will finally have a president who doesn't mind pulling over and asking for directions. Am I right, ladies?2. I will appoint a committee to find out what the heck is happening on "Lost."1. One more pantsuit joke and Letterman disappears.Very funny. Glad somebody can manufacture flimsy humor for her to pass off as her own. It's hard to decide who is less funny--sh Read more:Hillary
, Clinton
, Comedy
, Hillary Clinton
This Week from the White House (9.2.07) 2007-09-02 13:50:00 -Bush accepted Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' resignation and defended him in a statement: "It's sad that we live in a time when a talented and honorable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeded from doing important work because his good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons." No comment.-Press Secretary Tony Snow made it official that he will be leaving the WhiteHouse
on September 14th, replaced with his deputy, Dana Perino. President Bush made an appearance at the press briefing to make a statement: "It's been a joy to watch him spar with you. He's smart, he's capable, he's witty. He's capable of -- he's able to talk about issues in a way that the American people can understand." Snow is just one of the many recent departures, including Karl Rove and Alberto Gonzales (good riddance).-The President's weekly radio address briefly addressed the mortgage problem and the steps that will be taken in trying to fix the problem, including modernizing the Federa Read more:White House
A Glaring Discrepancy in the GOP (Shocker?) 2007-09-02 00:23:00 Let's compare for a moment two recent events having to do with Republican Senators incriminated in sex scandals:In July 2007, Senator David Vitter (R-LA) was identified as a client of the "D.C. Madam" escort service. Because of statutes of limitations, Vitter will not face criminal charges, but he admitted to his actions, and made a public apology. However, Vitter was not urged by party leadership to resign, and still remains in his elected position.In June 2007, Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) was arrested for lewd conduct in a men's room in the Minneapolis Airport, for soliciting sex from an undercover male policeman. When this story broke, GOP leaders immediately began expressing their disappointment with Senator Craig, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Minority Whip Trent Lott, and Senator John McCain. In the face of this opposition to his continued presence, the Senator resigned yesterday.So what's the story? Why are these two cases treated so disparately? There are two the
Mike Huckabee: From Hope to Evangelical Ground (Book Review) 2007-09-01 00:10:00 From a candidate who raised his hand at a Republican presidential candidate debate when asked who didn't believe in evolution, and a man who declared to Marie Claire magazine in an interview that "If a person dresses provocatively, they're calling attention -- maybe not the most desirable kind -- to private parts of their body," when asked about miniskirts, I was not surprised that this book of his left a bitter taste in my mouth.Huckabee
suffers (or excels for the audience he's aiming for) from God-mentionitis. I don't think there was one out of the twelve chapters that didn't either talk about God or quote scripture. The entire book read like an extended cliche-ridden sermon, preaching the evils of being pro-choice and pro-gay marriage. He thinks it's humorous that people in his home state of Arkansas gave him the nickname of "Rev-Gov," during his term as governer of Arkansas because of his religious ardor.At the end of each chapter are some "Action Steps" based on the preach Read more:Mike Huckabee
Cheers and Jeers of the Week (8.31.07) 2007-08-31 07:45:00 Cheers to a group on facebook called “Hillary, Of Course I Would Support A Woman for President…Just Not You.” If you’re voting for Hillary Clinton because she’s a woman, first of all, check your sources. Second of all, that’s probably the most invalid reason to support a candidate, just short of the stupidity of an “anybody but Bush” campaign.Jeers to Fred Thompson for waiting so long to announce his candidacy in the 2008 election. You have to wonder if Thompson is joining the race at this late date because he wanted to avoid some of the early debates between Republican candidates, especially considering the lukewarm reception to some of his recent speeches. Time will tell if he’s waited too late, or if he’ll be able to raise money to quickly catch up with Giuliani and Romney.Cheers to Republican Senator Larry Craig for denying that he made advances on a police officer in a public restroom. When guilty, deny, deny, deny, especially when there’s audio recordings Read more:Cheers
Mitt Romney: Surprising Turnaround (Book Review) 2007-08-31 04:05:00 I try to pride myself on not affiliating with one particular party, although I've been leaning towards a Biden (in my wildest dreams) or Obama presidency. It's not difficult to want a Democrat in the White House in a knee-jerk reaction to Bush's inept administration. However, to get the full picture, I had to read this book by Mitt Romney
and do some research on this frontrunner in the Republican primary. I fully expected to hate the guy, considering some of his preposterous stances on social issues, but it says a lot that I finished the book with an extremely positive impression of Romney.The preface that Romney added to the book for the paperback edition was by far the most offensive part of the book. I was almost ready to stop reading when I read about Romney's stance on gay rights (basically that they should have none), and even more vexed (and amused) by his comparison of stem cell research to Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. The worst part of the preface is the paragraph Read more:Turnaround
, Mitt Romney
Four Reasons Why You Should Bookmark www.whitehouse.gov 2007-08-30 01:14:00 1. Not only is whitehouse.gov the nation's number one source of self-serving photos of George W. Bush, it also provides a comprehensive catalogue (including video and audio) of the knee-slappingly hilarious speeches this man has delivered in his presidency. What could be greater comedy than listening to a weekly radio address, in which George W. raises serious doubts as to whether he understands a single word of the English language? It sounds like Bush is reading every speech syllable by syllable, like a hesitant kindergartener reading their first book. These weekly addresses also lend insight into what issue Bush is pushing at the moment. Six of the seven past radio addresses have held the titles of "The Way Forward in Iraq," or "Global War on Terror," two of Bush's favorite catchphrases to try and convince the country that he's not a total screw up. Give it up, George...2. Though Press Secretary Tony Snow is resigning in the near future, you have to feel sorry for this poor man Read more:Reasons
, Bookmark
Hillary Clinton: Rewriting History (God Help Us All if This is Our Next President) (Book Review) 2007-08-29 11:40:00 The best part of this cumbersome and painfully poorly written memoir by Hillary
Rodham Clinton
is the hilarious Viking-like picture of Bill Clinton when he had long hair and a beard back in college. The worst part of the book was the rest of it, namely all the words.If you believe this book, Hillary Clinton
was singlehandedly responsible for all admirable accomplishments of her husband's presidency, and Bill Clinton was responsible for everything that went wrong. Hillary impressively (although not very convincingly) spins every single controversy and success of those eight years in the White House to make herself look like a saint.As Clinton talks about her husband's presidency, she asserts several hundreds of times that she is special and different from her predecessor First Ladies."I was different--something that would become increasingly apparent in the months ahead""While Bill talked about social change, I embodied it.""I had been turned into a symbol for women of my generation Read more:History
, President
The Daily Show Phenomenon: Valuable or Uselessly Irreverent? 2007-08-28 12:08:00 Jon Stewart makes no claims to be a journalist, and repeatedly reminds his audience that his Daily
Show on Comedy Central is “fake news.” But is it as fake as he claims? A substantial portion of college students admit that they get the bulk of their news knowledge from watching The Daily Show, and its fledgling companion, The Colbert Report.Some critics of the show (mostly conservatives) have expressed their horror that this show is influencing college students to the extent that it is. It’s difficult to tell whether their horror is due to the humorous content of the show and its tendency not to take news seriously or whether they are concerned that college students are being influenced so heavily by such an obviously liberal source. Although Jon Stewart doesn’t comment frequently on his own political views, it’s not difficult to tell that he leans to the left. What conservatives who don’t watch the show regularly might not realize is that Jon Stewart lobs jokes and insul Read more:Phenomenon
Joe Biden: On Life and Politics, and Why He Should be President (Book Review) 2007-08-27 19:03:00 I'll admit, Joe Biden
is my pick for president in 2008. So why do people have no idea who he is? The older generation will remember his failed 1987 campaign that ended badly, with an accusation of plagiarism and two brain aneurisms that nearly killed him. He's back again in 2008, and I wish that this man had a good shot at the presidency, though it seems that this Democratic nomination belongs to Clinton, Obama, or even Edwards, if the country is particularly struck by stupidity during the Democratic primaries.Joe Biden
was nicknamed "Joe Impedimenta" in high school by classmates because of his stuttering. Biden was teased mercilessly by even one of his teachers, who cruelly called him "Mr. Bu-bu-bu-bu-Biden" in front of his peers. However, inspired by his uncle, who was also a stutterer who used the impediment as an excuse not to pursue life goals such as marrying or becoming a doctor, Joe resolved not to let his stutter hold him back from accomplishing his own goals. Biden recite Read more:President
Barack Obama: The Long-Winded, 442 Pages of Dreams from My Father (Book Review) 2007-08-25 02:42:00 BarackObama
has a lot of relatives in Kenya who he hardly knows. This seems to be the moral of this flowery first book from Senator Barack Obama
, potential Democratic presidential nominee in the 2008 elections.Obama prefaces the 2004 edition of the book, which was first published in 1995, by saying that on rereading this book, he cringed every so often at his long-windedness and clumsy sentences. Obama also admits that some of the things in this book are "inconvenient politically," such as this passage from early in the book:"I blew a few smoke rings, remembering those years. Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it."Another notable inconvenient admission on Obama's part comes from repeated references to his lack of religious faith. In a day and age when religion seems to be losing ground with intellectuals, voters still care that their president is religious. John Kerry was chastised in 2004 for lacking strong religious beliefs.Aside from these snipp Read more:Pages
, Dreams
, Father
John Edwards is creepy and here's why. 2007-08-25 02:32:00 I know I’m not the only one who has always gotten a sleazy vibe from former Senator John Edwards
of North Carolina. On first glance, he is not without charisma with his youthful good looks and endearing Southern drawl, but one thing seems to be missing from this perfect-on-paper 2008 presidential candidate: sincerity.A disturbing example of this comes from a book written by Robert Shrum, political consultant for the failed 2004 Kerry/Edwards campaign. Shrum recounts the vice presidential selection process, painting a chilling picture of Edwards in his attempts to win over Kerry and become his running mate. Shrum writes that in a meeting between John Kerry and John Edwards
, Edwards shared a personal story about clinging to his son’s dead body at his funeral wake, resolving to uphold his son’s morals and change the world, prefacing the story by telling Kerry that he never shared the anecdote with anybody else. The only problem? Edwards had already used this story on John Kerry two Read more:creepy
John Edwards Watch: Part VI 2007-09-27 15:00:00 -John Edwards
took part in a dialogue hosted by MTV and MySpace to get in touch with younger voters, through answering question posed on his MySpace page and through MTV's website. He is the first presidential hopeful to do so. He unveiled a ten point agenda to appeal to students, including mentions of the crisis in Darfur and college aid.-For his performance in the Democratic presidential debate last night, Edwards has received positive reviews in the media. The Boston Globe said, that "John Edwards
, by pointedly and directly drawing differences with front-runner Hillary Clinton, boosted his prospects to be the liberal alternative to the former first lady." He attacked Hillary Clinton on some of her war positions, putting her on the defensive, and drawing attention to himself as the alternative to Hillary, while Obama seemed to fall flat.-Elizabeth Edwards stepped up her criticism of Hillary Clinton's healthcare efforts when her husband was in office. In an interview with New York
Biden: "Stop Republicans from exploiting 9/11" 2007-09-25 17:10:00 "Websites and news stations are buzzing today with reports that invitations to Rudy Giuliani house parties are asking supporters to donate $9.11 to the Giuliani campaign in an attempt to raise $10,000 for "America's mayor," an email that Joe Biden
's website sent out today says, urging his supporters to donate $20.08 to Biden's campaign to counteract Republican exploitation of 9/11. It's a smart strategy for Biden to use this deplorable fundraising sheme on the part of Giuliani to raise money for his own campaign. He's the first Democrat to speak up about this latest Giuliani blunder.Looks like Giuliani's days are numbered, as the spotlight exposes the numerous cracks in his unconvincing political facade. Read more:Republicans
Huckabee Is Only GOP Candidate That Makes Sense 2007-09-25 13:59:00 In examining the Republicans running for the presidential nomination, one thing is clear. Each one is uniquely and perhaps fatally flawed as a candidate, except possibly Mike Huckabee
, who is rising modestly but steadily in polls.To Republicans, Mitt Romney is the Mormon flip-flopper, Giuliani is the surprisingly liberal temporary frontrunner on the decline, Thompson is a complete bozo who will undoubtedly self-destruct at his first debate, if not sooner, and McCain is of questionable mental stability (Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran...) The only one who seems to fit the bill is Huckabee, who has been cashing in on his unexpected second place finish at an Iowa straw poll won by Romney, who outspent the former Arkansas governor by massive proportions. Huckabee has gained a surprising amount of attention for the success, in the poll event that most of the frontrunners skipped."With all due respect, what we see in some of these campaigns is, yeah, they raise a lot of money but they spen Read more:Candidate
, Sense
CNN's Sad State Part VII (of many) 2007-09-24 15:37:00 Today on CNN
.com, a curious bird theme: "Junk food makes geese too fat to fly," and "Wounded owl patched with glue." Read more:State
Campaign Trail (9-24-07) 2007-09-24 04:52:00 -In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on September 20th, Mitt Romney attacked Hillary Clinton's healthcare plan, at the same time as Rudy Giuliani set his sights on Hillary's comments about General Petraeus. It seems both are favoring attacking their presumptive opponent in the general election. Romney wrote, "Some of the details have changed, but at the heart of Sen. Hillary Clinton's new health-care proposal are the same flaws that sunk her first version. They flow from her distrust of markets, from her distaste for profit-motivated private enterprise, and from her consequent faith that Washington knows best."-John Edwards unveiled his new education plan in Des Moines, referencing Bush's largely panned No Child Left Behind law: "NCLB has lost all credibility with the teachers and principals we need to make it work." He proposed several changes to the law, including bonus pay for teachers in low poverty schools and improving the yearly tests.-In an interview with The Advocate, H Read more:Campaign
, Trail
CNN's Sad State Part VI (of many) 2007-09-21 14:53:00 Today on CNN
's top headlines: "Dominatrix submits to city's wishes," and "Want fries with that snake?" Read more:State
John Edwards Watch: Part V 2007-09-20 14:02:00 Elizabeth Edwards
has made headlines once again by saying that Hillary's new healthcare plan is practically identical to her husband's plan, which he outlined over half a year ago: "Does Mrs. Clinton's plan seem very familiar to you? Mrs. Clinton has — seven and a half months after John unveiled his health care plan — unveiled a health care plan that is in every material respect just like John's," Edwards told Associated Press, calling Hillary's plan "John Edwards
' health care plan as delivered by Hillary Clinton."She also made a good point about Hillary's campaign: "We would have expected her to be the first one out of the box, not the last one out of the box with a health care plan. And then for her to come up with one that looks like John's, it's almost as if she hasn't been willing to have the courage independently to be a leader on these things." You would think that Hillary would have presented a plan sooner (particularly because Edwards presented his own plan so ea
Thompson's Endless Mistakes Continue 2007-09-19 14:54:00 -Fred Thompson
was asked if he would consider drilling for oil in the Everglades in Florida, a hot issue for Floridians. Thompson laughed the question off in this ridiculous response: "Gosh, no one has told me that there's any major reserves in the Everglades, but maybe that's one of the things I need to learn while I'm down here...I'm not going to start out by taking this, that or the other off the table in terms of our overall energy situation."To make matters worse, he continued to dig himself into a deep grave: "On the question of drilling in general, I don't think anybody really prefers to have to drill at all anywhere. I have said we've got to use our own resources," Thompson said. He added that he supports drilling of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. "Nobody wants to see $100 oil, either. So we have to do what's reasonable and makes sense."Also campaigning in Florida was Mitt Romney, who responded to a briefing on Thompson's comments: “In the Everglades? You’re k Read more:Endless
, Continue
CNN's Sad State Part V (of many) 2007-09-18 16:18:00 Two wonderful U.S. headlines today: "Expert: Sirens irritate killer bees," and ":-) turns 25" Read more:CNN
, State
Romney 2.0: A Disappointment 2007-09-18 13:46:00 I'll admit, I like the old Romney
, the one who turned the Salt Lake City Olympics around, and the one who carried out the only successful version of universal healthcare (on a small scale in Massachusetts as governer). Romney version 1.0 was my one hope for the Republican party in 2008.So who the heck is this Romney running for president? Suddenly he's a completely different politician, trying to appeal to the far right. In the process, he's earning the dreaded nickname that John Kerry earned in 2004, the "flip-flopper."Let's look at his history. When Bill Clinton came up with the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, Romney 1.0 described it in a letter to the Log Cabin Club of Massachusetts (a gay Republican organization) as, “the first in a number of steps that will ultimately lead to gays’ and lesbians' being able to serve openly and honestly in our nation’s military.” The same letter, sent during his failed Senate race, claimed that he would be a stronger advocate of gay r Read more:Disappointment
John Edwards Watch: Part IV 2007-09-17 16:15:00 This morning, John Edwards
attacked Hillary Clinton on her past healthcare mistakes, on the day she unveiled her new healthcare plan: "The cost of that failure 14 years ago is not just somebody's political fortune or their scars. It's the millions of Americans who have now gone for almost 15 years without health care...I don't believe you can sit down with lobbyists, take their money and cut a deal. If you defended the system that defeated health care, I don't think you can be the president who brings health care."Edwards also said that he plans to strip healthcare coverage from all members of Congress and all political appointees by July 2009 (six months into his term as president) unless universal health care is passed by then: "When their health care is personally at stake, they will respond," Edwards said. The gesture would only serve as a symbolic one, however, because presumably no such bill would ever get passed by Congress.-Edwards launched a contest for five supporters to Read more:John Edwards
Why Rudy Giuliani Is Attacking Hillary Clinton 2007-09-17 10:33:00 Giuliani's attacks on Hillary
are seen by most on the left as pathetic at best. But let's face it, there are two very important reasons why Giuliani is sending his venom in her direction:1. He wants to be seen as Hillary's obvious opponent in the general election before he's won the nomination, especially as his numbers drop drastically in polls. He was the closest thing the GOP had to a frontrunner, and now that status is being threatened by Thompson's curiously good poll numbers. It doesn't matter that Hillary had nothing to do with the moveon.org ad, he needs a point to attack her on so that we're already witnessing a Giuliani/Clinton
race. He wants Republicans to view it as a foregone conclusion that it will be him in the general election.2. If you're going to pick somebody to criticize as a Republican, Hillary's a good target. Republicans hate Hillary because she's stridently partisan and she's the symbol of the far left, whether her views actually match that stereotype Read more:Giuliani
, Attacking
Campaign Trail (9-16-07) 2007-09-16 16:36:00 -Mitt Romney attacked Hillary Clinton on healthcare: "She says what we need to do is have the government take over health care. The last thing we need is 'Hillary care.' The last thing we need is socialized medicine." Mark Daley, a Clinton spokesman, fought back: "Considering Governor Romney's penchant for flip-flopping, he will be the first to endorse it on Monday.""I don’t buy into that. This is an honorable guy. He’s telling the truth," Joe Biden said about the moveon.org ad attacking Petraeus' character.-John McCain and John Kerry clashed on Meet the Press this morning over Iraq.-Talking about healthcare at a Lakeland, Florida campaign stop, Fred Thompson blundered once again: "“It’s allowing us to live healthier lives and to live longer. That’s good news. But we have more retired folks. I hope to become one of them one of these days." Then realizing what he had said, as the audience laughed uncomfortably, he added "Not too soon." Hopefully sooner than later. Thompson Read more:Campaign
, Trail
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