Center Left vs. Center Right - Not the Issue

I tend to agree with this commentary. However, I think the following is missing from EJ’s discussion (as well as all the other discussions I’ve heard on this topic since Tuesday).

I don’t believe the question is framed correctly by asking are we center-right or center-left as a proxy for whether Americans want more or less government. The reality is both Obama and McCain (and Bush, Kerry, & Gore before them) promised more activist government. What Obama’s victory represents in my mind is that Americans want more COMPETENT government. This is why two stories of McCain’s campaign struggles resonated so well. First, McCain’s flailing during the first days of the financial collapse did not inspire confidence that his leadership of the government would be an improvement over the current administration’s. Second, the commonly stated perception that the Palin pick was a cynical political choice (reinforced by her terrible interviews with Katie Couric), rather than a serious governing choice, was (likely) the straw that broke the camel’s back for McCain’s pitch to be a competent steward of the federal government.

Oh Hell Yeah.

hat tip: Talking Points Memo | The Golden Speech

Holy Moly!

Did McCain Plagiarize His Speech on the Georgia Crisis? - Political Insider

McCain on Anbar Awakening

Coupled with Maliki's "endorsement" of Obama, I think this has the potential to be a one-two punch for McCain's campaign.

Note to self: if I ever run for President and decide to stake everything on my understanding of one thing, I should familiarize myself with the basic facts about it. I should be especially careful to do this before I say something like this about someone who got it right: "I don't know how you respond to something that is such a false depiction of what actually happened."
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

Not only is this factually wrong, the "Anbar Awakening" was not only not because of the increase in troops, IT WAS A JUSTIFICATION FOR THE SURGE. In the text of the surge speech from January 2007:

Our military forces in Anbar are killing and capturing al Qaeda leaders, and they are protecting the local population. Recently, local tribal leaders have begun to show their willingness to take on al Qaeda. And as a result, our commanders believe we have an opportunity to deal a serious blow to the terrorists. So I have given orders to increase American forces in Anbar Province by 4,000 troops. These troops will work with Iraqi and tribal forces to keep up the pressure on the terrorists. America's men and women in uniform took away al Qaeda's safe haven in Afghanistan -- and we will not allow them to re-establish it in Iraq.

Full text of the Troop Surge Speech

Ego-stroking JibJab

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Indeed

Matthew Yglesias (July 01, 2008) - Who Is Barack Obama? (Miscellaneous)

Now of course it's possible -- likely, even -- that many Americans
don't know what road Obama would go down as president. But he's
unveiled a fairly detailed policy record, and assembled a fairly
consistent record in public life. It's John McCain, by contrast, who was against the Bush tax cuts before he was against them it's McCain who sponsored an immigration reform bill and then said he would have written against it. It's McCain who wants credit for tackling climate change but opposes all legislation aimed at curbing carbon emissions. It's McCain who's trying to run on an appealing biography while leaving cloudy impressions of his policy agenda.

Good Lord.

In Bush's defense, if I were president, I might have shown my connection to the Phillipines with "I cook for a fillipino..."

Talking Points Memo | Makes You Proud to be an American