Palin Preparing More Material For Tina Fey

Ken AshfordElection 2008Leave a Comment

Stumped by a slow ball question (what specific newspapers and magazines does she read…), Sarah Palin bluffs and gets defensive about Alaska not being a foreign country (which is beside the point…): UPDATE:  The rightwing brainiacs at The Corner have figured it out: The e-mails are coming in. Obviously the governor of Alaska reads. And what it looked liked to … Read More

God I Hate House Republicans

Ken AshfordEconomy & Jobs & DeficitLeave a Comment

I really do. UPDATE: Yeah, some Dems are to blame, too. But then again, the Democrat side said they would deliver half their caucus, and they over-delivered.  The Republicans needed to do the same, and they failed miserably. UPDATE #2:  Should the Democrats, who are in majority, just demogogue this situation and write a progressive bill and not wait for … Read More

Looking Good

Ken AshfordElection 2008Leave a Comment

Here’s one analysis: The current prediction is Obama 375, McCain 163 with Virginia as the state that puts Obama over the top and West Virginia as the closest state. Obama’s surge in the national polls kicks Missouri and North Carolina over to the blue side. West Virginia is about the only additional state Obama could win unless the McCain campaign … Read More

Walk-All-Over-Ya Struggling

Ken AshfordEconomy & Jobs & Deficit1 Comment

I think I’ll make a run on my bank. UPDATE:  And then there’s this… I’ve received phone calls in the last hour from two economists I respect, one of them Larry Lindsey, the other in a position where he’d prefer not to be named. Both have government experience, neither is alarmist by nature, and they say this: The huge European … Read More

Quick Late-night Impressions Of The Debate

Ken AshfordElection 2008Leave a Comment

No clear "winner". Obama was better on style and demeanor. McCain was better, especially on the second half, on "points", but Obama was toe-to-toe with him most of the way, and refused to let McCain’s spun "facts" go unanswered.  In a debate largely about foreign policy — McCain’s bailiwick — that might actually be a "win" for Obama.  In fact, … Read More

Presidential Debate Drinking Games

Ken AshfordElection 2008Leave a Comment

Radar’s Presidential Debate Drinking Game Comedy Central’s Presidential Debate Drinking Game It’s like I’m… mmmagic!’s Presidential Debate Drinking Game University of Florida’s Presidential Debate Drinking Game The Seminal’s Debate Presidential Debate Drinking Game

The Problem With The House GOP Proposal

Ken AshfordEconomy & Jobs & DeficitLeave a Comment

As I understand it, the GOP proposal is that instead of getting an equity share in the companies that have bad debt, we simply insure those bad debts.  The distressed company holding a troubled mortgage-based asset gets a taxpayer-funded insurance policy for the full value of the asset in exchange for a small premium payment. Of course, this is exactly … Read More

Dems And Reps Reach A Deal “In Principle”

Ken AshfordEconomy & Jobs & DeficitLeave a Comment

Full text of agreement: 1. Taxpayer Protection a. Requires Treasury Secretary to set standards to prevent excessive or inappropriate executive compensation for participating companies b. To minimize risk to the American taxpayer, requires that any transaction include equity sharing c. Requires most profits to be used to reduce the national debt 2. Oversight and Transparency a. Treasury Secretary is prohibited … Read More

Oh, Give It Up Already, Sarah

Ken AshfordElection 2008Leave a Comment

This one is particularly painful: COURIC: You’ve cited Alaska’s proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that? PALIN: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and on our other side, the land– boundary that we have with– Canada. It– it’s funny that a comment like that was– kind of … Read More