Did Obama Give McCain The Finger?

We remember the gestures that Obama had toward Hillary Clinton in the primaries. I heard a woman on a local talk radio station say that his actions were a black thing and we would not understand.

Here is a video of Obama “thanking” John McCain. I want your opinion. Did Barack Obama slip John McCain the middle finger?

Obama had already wiped his mouth with his forefinger so why the middle one? It looks to me like he is flipping McCain the bird but maybe I don’t understand.

Presidential, eh?

I am the Big Dog and I approve this blog post.

Big Dog

Hillary’s Ireland Claims Debunked

Hillary Clinton has claimed international experience and often cites her assistance in brokering a peace deal in Ireland during her husband’s administration.

“I helped to bring peace to Northern Ireland.”
~snip~
“I remember a meeting that I pulled together in Belfast, in the town hall there, bringing together for the first time Catholics and Protestants from both traditions, having them sitting a room where they had never been before with each other because they don’t go to school together, they don’t live together and it was only in large measure because I really asked them to come that they were there.

“And I wasn’t sure it was going to be very successful and finally a Catholic woman on one side of the table said, ’You know, every time my husband leaves for work in the morning I worry he won’t come home at night.

“And then a Protestant woman on the other side said, ’Every time my son tries to go out at night I worry he won’t come home again’. And suddenly instead of seeing each other as caricatures and stereotypes they saw each other as human beings and the slow, hard work of peace-making could move forward.” Telegraph UK

According to a principle player, Lord Trimble of Lisnagarvey, Hillary’s claim is a “wee bit silly” and that; “I don’t know there was much she did apart from accompanying Bill [Clinton] going around.”

The Telegraph also reports that there is no record of a meeting that Hillary “pulled together” but there was a meeting at the same time. The meeting was full of cameramen and secret service agents. Hillary admired a teapot which was given to her.

These first hand accounts support my contention that Hillary did nothing more than any First Lady and that her claim of experience because of that position is embellished. She did the same things that many First Ladies have done and, in the case of Ireland, it is a bit much to claim responsibility for the success. Hillary must believe that the people in Ireland who were an integral part of the process would remain silent with regard to her obvious inflated claims.

Hillary could clear a lot of this up by persuading her husband to release her records from the time. He has been the one holding them up regardless of what the Clintons have publicly expressed. If those records can back her claims then why have they not been released? Perhaps it is because while there are volumes of records, support for her claims is paper thin.

Big Dog

Others with interesting posts:
The Virtuous Republic, Rosemary’s Thoughts, A Blog For All, 123beta, Right Truth, Shadowscope, Oblogatory Anecdotes, Leaning Straight Up, Cao’s Blog, The Amboy Times, Conservative Cat, Pursuing Holiness, Adeline and Hazel, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, Allie is Wired, third world county, Nuke Gingrich, McCain Blogs, Woman Honor Thyself, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, Pirate’s Cove, Celebrity Smack, Global American Discourse, The Pink Flamingo, Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker, Wolf Pangloss, CORSARI D’ITALIA, , Right Voices, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Is Hillary Toast?

Fresh off her third place finish in the Iowa caucus, Hillary Clinton is trying to reinvent herself once again. She enjoyed a small lead in New Hampshire but that seems to have eroded according to the latest Rasmussen poll. B. Hussein Obama now leads Hillary Clinton by ten points with the primary only three days away. A lot will ride on tonight’s debate and I expect Hillary to go very negative. She will be attacking Obama all night long.

The attacks have already begun as the Clinton campaign sent out a mailer criticizing Obama on his abortion rights record. Hillary’s mailer claims that Obama did not take any stance on abortion issues where as she has been the champion of women’s right to choose. She has been trying to reinvent herself starting with claims of being the most experienced candidate (which must have been news to Dodd and Biden who have now bowed out) and then she went to the Obama play book and became the candidate of change. She has been talking about change but is surrounded by relics from her husband’s administration and those who helped him get elected. Not that she shouldn’t use talent she thinks is the best but it is hard to claim you are for change when your campaign rhetoric keeps returning to the days of yesteryear. Going back to the Clinton administration is not the best way to present a forward looking campaign.

Rush Limbaugh had an interesting article in his most recent newsletter where he took a bunch of Hillary’s (among others) quotes and showed how she will force people into health coverage, force pharmaceutical companies to lower prices and force oil companies to spend their money of R&D for non fossil fuels. Rush points out that this is the opposite of freedom and that the government should not be making these mandates. Hillary sounds like a Nazi. Interestingly, this silhouette photo (I think it is from AP) makes it look like Hillary is giving a Nazi salute.

Hillary is losing New Hampshire though things might change after the debate but the question is, is she toast? She lost Iowa, and she is behind in New Hampshire. Obama has been running an even campaign and he appears to be picking up momentum. A win in New Hampshire might be the death of Hillary though she, like Giuliani, might be looking to Florida to make a run. The candidate from each party who wins Florida will likely win the nomination. Super Tuesday is right after that and none of them have the money or resources to run ads in all the states participating in that event and it is physically impossible for them to be in all of the states at once. Hillary will probably send Bill to one state with a huge number of delegates while she campaigns in another but she must win Florida in order to compete. She also has to convince voters that Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton is a good thing…

This is going to be fun. She is melting down and I would love to see her explode. A few more losses might just do that.

Of course, she might turn things around and win. Then the real fun will begin.

Big Dog

Clinton and Bush in Joint Mortgage Plan

There are about 1.8 million people who received foreclosure notices this year on homes they had no business buying. The people were attracted to buy homes that were too much for their budgets by lenders who offered no down payment loans and adjustable rate mortgages. The promise of future wealth from escalating home values was too much for some who bought into the lower rates never taking the time to consider what would happen if the market went south. The sub prime market is now rearing its ugly head as many more Americans will face foreclosure in the coming years.

But wait, George Bush and Hillary Clinton are riding to the rescue. The President put forth a plan today which was in the works when Clinton touted the very same ideas. Despite her claim that her plan is better and helps people in ways that the Bush plan does not, the fact is they are nearly identical and they are potential disasters for the economy. The government has no business getting involved in the affairs of private companies and the people with whom they have entered contracts. This is a matter that can and should be worked out between the parties in the contracts.

Bush and Clinton claim that no taxpayer money is involved but the plan offers financial counseling to people so the money to pay for that has to come from somewhere. Also, some people will be able to move into loans secured by the FHA which means that if they default, the taxpayer will get socked. This is an ill advised plan that is designed to help people who made poor decisions and there are no guarantees that this will not hurt the taxpayer. For instance, once the loan rates are frozen, one option under the plan, what procedures are in place to ensure that homeowners do not borrow against the equity in the house? People with financial problems (and anyone who opts into this has financial problems) are easily influenced to take out home equity loans to pay the bills. Those loans are secured with the home which, in some cases, will be secured with taxpayer money.

Sometimes people make bad choices and the unfortunate fact of life is that they must suffer the consequences of those choices. When people spend more than they can afford buying a car or racking up credit card debt there is no expectation that the federal government will swoop in to bail them out. Why then, do people expect the federal government to bail out those who got in over their heads when they purchased a house? There are solutions that can involve the government.

First, they can make some kind of uniform rules governing the sale of homes. I have bought two homes in my lifetime and the amount of paper and the number of times that one has to sign is staggering. I have read every item that I was signing and asked for clarification for anything I did not understand. I also understand that, as the song says, what goes up must come down. People should have some understanding that the cost of homes go up and down and that great markets do not last forever. They should also understand that an adjustable rate can adjust in both directions. The government can help by forcing mortgage companies to make the language on forms clearer and easier to understand.

Additionally, there should be some disclosure about how adjustable rates work and how increases can affect payments. Since home sales that require no down payment cause havoc and gain little equity, people should not be allowed to purchase homes under these terms unless credit history and financial statements show that the purchaser is able to absorb increases in interest rates.

These items will help people with future home purchases but what about those who are already in trouble? Mortgage companies should work this out without government intervention. The most reasonable thing would be for the companies to offer a fixed rate refinance at a reasonable cost. The cost could be included in the new loan so those with little cash on hand could refinance and have a fixed monthly rate upon which to plan.

In some cases, people are going to have to shop around and try to get a fixed rate mortgage and it might cost them money. This is the cost of making a bad business deal. If all else fails they could negotiate with the mortgage company for relief until they can sell the home and get something that they can afford.

Regardless of which path people take it should not be one lined with assistance from the government. There are too many problems associated with government intervention and the unintended consequences could be worse for the economy, the homeowners, and the mortgage companies.

If all else fails and people lose their homes, I understand the government has a bunch of trailers in New Orleans that are not being used. Also, Hillary’s involvement gives her opponents more proof that she is not very different from George Bush after all.

Source:
WBAL

Big Dog

Hostages Taken at Clinton NH Campaign HQ

A man claiming to have a bomb strapped to him has taken control of Hillary Clinton’s campaign headquarters in New Hampshire. He has an unknown number of volunteers as hostages but has released a woman with a baby. The person is demanding to speak to Hillary Clinton who is in DC. She was scheduled to speak at the DNC Fall meeting but canceled her appearance.

I don’t know what this person hopes to accomplish but no matter how this ends it will not have a good outcome for him. We can only pray that the innocent people working there are not harmed.

There has been speculation that it is someone from the Free State Project but that is unlikely since those folks are usually pacifists. Perhaps it is a member of the media who is tired of the problems in accessing the candidate.

Maybe the guy is a Clinton plant in order to gin up sympathy and show she is a target because of her “experience.”

In any event, I pray the folks there are released unharmed and this guy gets the help he needs from behind jail cell bars.

Sources:
Fox
WMUR

Big Dog

UPDATE: The hostages have been released and the suspect is believed to be a local resident with mental health issues.

UPDATE 2: All of Clinton’s campaign offices in Iowa have been closed.

Others with similar items:
Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson’s Website, AZAMATTEROFACT, 123beta, Right Truth, Adam’s Blog, Cao’s Blog, Leaning Straight Up, The Bullwinkle Blog, The Amboy Times, Chuck Adkins, Pursuing Holiness, Adeline and Hazel, Nuke’s, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, Allie is Wired, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, The World According to Carl, Pirate’s Cove, Blue Star Chronicles, The Pink Flamingo, CommonSenseAmerica, Right Voices, The Yankee Sailor, and Church and State, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.