Let's start off with comedy...

Gingrich compares McCain to Abe Lincoln.

Now that's balls. Five dollar bills around the country are igniting as we speak.

In an interview with GQ magazine yesterday, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich compared Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) effort to rally support around his indefinite commitment to staying in Iraq to “what Lincoln had to do in the Civil War“:
QUESTION: How does your background in history influence your political ideas?

GINGRICH: If you think about the current situation, it helps to remember Harry Truman running in 1948, or even Sarkozy in France. Sarkozy distanced himself from Chirac without being hostile. That’s what McCain has to do with Bush. And what McCain is trying to achieve by explaining the dangers of the world to the public is like what Lincoln had to do in the Civil War.

McCain likes a friendly crowd at town halls.

Grampy held a Faux News town hall in NYC and he bleated that it would include Dems and regular joe independent voters. Somehow, the campaign neglected to update folks that all the tickets were handed out to mostly GOP supporters and no Dems. Talk about a stacked deck. The lie was so blatant that Fox News' Shepard Smith had to issue a correction (of course this is after McSame has had free air time and the drones watching the event had the impression it was a politically diverse crowd).

"I reported at the top of this hour that the campaign had told us at fox news that the audience would be made up of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. We have now received a clarification from the campaign and I feel I should pass it along to you. The McCain Campaign distributed tickets to supporters, mayor Bloomberg, who of course is a registered Republican, and other independent groups."

Nice. Actually, even the average Fox viewer could see that the room was a blinding blizzard of whiteness. As OW said, "Somehow they’ve gone to the most diverse city in America (New York City) and are seemingly unable to find minorities willing to attend."

Howard Dean on the "straight talking" campaign:

Once again John McCain’s campaign is trying to mislead the American people. Senator McCain should understand that after seven years of a President who has divided Americans and pursued a scorched earth policy full of misleading propaganda campaigns, we need a leader who understands he is the President for all Americans not just his supporters. If Senator McCain likes to brag so much about running a transparent campaign, why is he copying the Bush campaign model by stacking this event with his prescreened supporters? If that is John McCain’s idea of straight talk, the American people are in for a long and disappointing campaign season

More below the fold. McCain likes to say "charge it" -- over and over

Do you want a man with $100K in revolving debt (in spite of his wife's well-filled coffers) running this country's economy? Just asking.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and his wife reported more than $100,000 of credit card liabilities, according to financial disclosure documents released Friday.

The presidential candidate and his wife Cindy reported piling up debt on a charge card between $10,000 and $15,000. His wife’s solo charge card has between $100,000 and $250,000 in debt to American Express.

BTW, Obama has zero liabilities in his financial disclosures.

Grampy McSame tanks himself with his own words

That sly John McCain -- he tries to make the sheeple think he's going to represent change from the debacle of the Bush administration. Here on Meet the Press he buries himself by saying he agrees "on the transcendent issues of the day the most important issues of the day I have been totally in agreement and support of President Bush."

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KO's smackdown on McCain's Iraq delusions and lies.

From last night's Countdown, a handy reference guide to the deep hole McCain has to get out of regarding his position on Iraq.

Of the prospect of war in Iraq, you said, quote,

“I believe that success will be fairly easy.”

John McCain… September 24th, 2002.

“I believe that we can win an overwhelming victory in a very short period of time.”

John McCain… September 29th, 2002.

Of the ouster of Saddam and the Baathists:

“There’s no doubt in my mind that once these people are gone, that we will be welcomed as liberators.”

John McCain… March 24th, 2003.

Asked, about a long-term commitment in Iraq, quote, “are you talking about something in terms of South Korea, for instance, where you would expect U.S. troops to be in Iraq for decades?”“No,” you answered.

“I don’t think decades, but I think years. A little straight talk, I think years. And I hope that we can gradually reduce that presence.”

John McCain… March 18th, 2004.

You were asked about the troops, and the future.

“I would hope that we could bring them all home. I would hope that we would probably, leave, some military advisers, as we have in other countries, to help them with their training and equipment and that kind of stuff.

“…I think one of our big problems has been the fact that many Iraqis resent American military presence. And I don’t pretend to know exactly Iraqi public opinion. But as soon as we can reduce our visibility as much as possible, the better I think it is going to be.”

John McCain… January 31st. 2005

When a speaker at your town hall, five months ago, referenced the President’s forecast that we might stay in Iraq for 50 years, you cut him off.

“Make it a hundred! We’ve been in Japan for 60 years. We’ve been in South Korea 50 years or so. That would be fine with me. As long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed. That’s fine by me…”

John McCain… January 3rd, 2008.

And your forecast of your hypothetical first term.

“By January, 2013, America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and women who have sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom. The Iraq war has been won.”

John McCain… May 15th, 2008.

That, Senator McCain, is context.

You have attested to: a fairly easy success; an overwhelming victory in a very short period of time; in which we would be welcomed as liberators; which you assured us would not require our troops stay for decades but merely for years; from which we could bring them all home, since you noted many Iraqis resent American military presence; in which all those troops coming home will also stay there, not being injured, for a hundred years; but most will be back by 2013; and the timing of their return, is… not… that… important.

That, Senator McCain, is context.

And that, Senator McCain, is madness.