Newsweek article on the election

[fskimospy]

I didn't see anyone else post this yet, but if they did I'm sorry. I find this shit totally fascinating.

Text

EDIT: Be sure to check out the other chapters too. I'm not sure when the final ones are coming out, but 1-3 came out Wednesday. Hopefully they will give me something to read at work today.

 

[XZeroII]

Interesting read.

 

[jackschmittusa]

Interesting stuff. Probably more to come.

 

[Farang]

I like this one:

The debates unnerved both candidates. When he was preparing for them during the Democratic primaries, Obama was recorded saying, "I don't consider this to be a good format for me, which makes me more cautious. I often find myself trapped by the questions and thinking to myself, 'You know, this is a stupid question, but let me ? answer it.' So when Brian Williams is asking me about what's a personal thing that you've done [that's green], and I say, you know, 'Well, I planted a bunch of trees.' And he says, 'I'm talking about personal.' What I'm thinking in my head is, 'Well, the truth is, Brian, we can't solve global warming because I f---ing changed light bulbs in my house. It's because of something collective'."

 

[Balt]

The Obama campaign was provided with reports from the Secret Service showing a sharp and disturbing increase in threats to Obama in September and early October, at the same time that many crowds at Palin rallies became more frenzied. Michelle Obama was shaken by the vituperative crowds and the hot rhetoric from the GOP candidates. "Why would they try to make people hate us?" Michelle asked a top campaign aide.

Sigh.

 

[pstylesss]

Originally posted by: Farang
I like this one:

The debates unnerved both candidates. When he was preparing for them during the Democratic primaries, Obama was recorded saying, "I don't consider this to be a good format for me, which makes me more cautious. I often find myself trapped by the questions and thinking to myself, 'You know, this is a stupid question, but let me ? answer it.' So when Brian Williams is asking me about what's a personal thing that you've done [that's green], and I say, you know, 'Well, I planted a bunch of trees.' And he says, 'I'm talking about personal.' What I'm thinking in my head is, 'Well, the truth is, Brian, we can't solve global warming because I f---ing changed light bulbs in my house. It's because of something collective'."

I like this also. Makes me like Obama just a little more. Sounds like something I would say if it was on an issue I agreed with.

McCain comes off as more human than his campaign let on and I am now wishing he had not picked Palin as his running mate... I had always defended her being more qualified than Obama, but in the long run I think she definitely hurt his chances to get elected.

 

[Perknose]

Originally posted by: eskimospy
I didn't see anyone else post this yet, but if they did I'm sorry. I find this shit totally fascinating.

Text

Thanks, eski, that was fascinating and top notch.

The bolded made me laugh out loud:

NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family?clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.

 

[imported_Imp]

Guess I gotta make a bookstore run tomorrow.

 

[Jschmuck2]

10/10 post, would read again.

Well done Eski!

 

[First]

On the night she officially lost the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton enjoyed a long and friendly phone conversation with McCain. Clinton was actually on better terms with McCain than she was with Obama. Clinton and McCain had downed shots together on Senate junkets; they regarded each other as grizzled veterans of the political wars and shared a certain disdain for Obama as flashy and callow.

Jesus Christ. :laugh:

 

[Goosemaster]

 

[StageLeft]

I liked this link. It does make mccain look a bit better. I really think that his campaign was run HORRIFICALLY. Whoever he had leading the strategy sucked ass. Also, obviously, Palin was a total disaster. That does say a lot about him, of course. I imagine he was flailing around and smoebody joked about it over coffee and somehow it got out of control and before they knew it they had actually chosen her.

 

[GoingUp]

Great read! I love Obama's thoughts here

The debates unnerved both candidates. When he was preparing for them during the Democratic primaries, Obama was recorded saying, "I don't consider this to be a good format for me, which makes me more cautious. I often find myself trapped by the questions and thinking to myself, 'You know, this is a stupid question, but let me ? answer it.' So when Brian Williams is asking me about what's a personal thing that you've done [that's green], and I say, you know, 'Well, I planted a bunch of trees.' And he says, 'I'm talking about personal.' What I'm thinking in my head is, 'Well, the truth is, Brian, we can't solve global warming because I f---ing changed light bulbs in my house. It's because of something collective'."

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
I liked this link. It does make mccain look a bit better. I really think that his campaign was run HORRIFICALLY. Whoever he had leading the strategy sucked ass. Also, obviously, Palin was a total disaster. That does say a lot about him, of course. I imagine he was flailing around and smoebody joked about it over coffee and somehow it got out of control and before they knew it they had actually chosen her.

I imagine the thought process being something like "they tell me I can't pick Lieberman? well fuck that, let's see how they like this."

 

[Rockinacoustic]

Interesting read. It really shows the difference in ethics between politicians and their campaign advisers, especially since the former are perceived to be the brain behind these attack ads.

And Palin really does seem like the arsenic that poisoned McCain's campaign. I honestly hope she doesn't turn into the GOP's darling candidate for '12.

 

[StageLeft]

Here is a link from Fox with Carl Cameron. Originally it was Shep Smith, but Carl repeated things on O'Reilly, this specifically about Palin, including the Africa-as-a-country tidbit.

 

[chess9]

The McCain campaign was eating it's own. This demonstrates a lack of discipline, intelligence, and moral fiber. By the time the Republicans are done blaming Palin she will be the most reviled politician in America after Bill Clinton and Bush. Talk about The Bad News Bears.... LOL! What a team....

-Robert

 

[GoingUp]

BTW, if you look at the small banner across the top, there are multiple chapters to read. Im looking forward to reading the clinton - obama one. The first link just takes you to the highlights.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally posted by: Craig234Thom Hartmann today reported that the RNC is furious with McCain's spending behavior, that she had RNC staffers using personal credit cards to pay for her clothes.

He said that there are RNC lawyers flying to Alaska to get to the bottom of 'where all the money went'.

The question our country has is how to fix the ~15-25% of hardcore right-wingers who are supporting Palin for all the wrong reasons and pose a menace with their votes.

Holy cow! The RNC is thinking about suing her? Could this be Clothesgate?

 

[razor2025]

These articles are eye-opening. Everything I had feared about McCain has come of light. Yes, McCain in his true self, was a maverick. But the entire GOP party/process has become so corrupt, that they have become a loose mob of incompetent fools. In order for McCain to run as GOP candidate, he had to submerge himself in the pool of corruption. Wow... he had no chance... no chance at all.

If this isn't a wake-up call for the GOP supporters, I don't know what will. Policies and ideology aside, if they are going to continue this same mode of operation, they're going to keep on losing. Unless, voters suddenly turned into idiots again.

 

[piasabird]

There seems to be a rift between how Sarah ran her campaign and how the handlers wanted her to run her campaign. Since the people running the Republican canpaign lost, it is suspect how they would complain about Sarah Palin. It is their campaign that last to the democrats. These bozos cost the election (at least partly), and now they want to blame Sarah Palin. There is more going on here than meets the eye. Perhaps they are just trying to cover their ass, because they want to go get a job!

 

[Red Dawn]

Well according the the last chapter Palin really went rogue, refusing to go on stage with Senator Sunnunu at a new Hampshire Rally because he was Pro Choice, refusing to talk to donors because she felt it was corrupting, was unwilling to engage in the drudge work of learning the issues and took it upon herself to receive that infamous call from President Sakorzky which turned out to be a prank.

Seems she got caught up in her own celebrity. She even wanted to deliver a concession speech before McCain's even though it's customary for the Veep Candidate just to stay in the background. Of course McCain's campaign have no one but themselves to blame for choosing such a Prima Donna for a running mate. America dodged a bullet with McCain/Palin loosing.

 

[Alex C]

Originally posted by: piasabird
There seems to be a rift between how Sarah ran her campaign and how the handlers wanted her to run her campaign. Since the people running the Republican canpaign lost, it is suspect how they would complain about Sarah Palin. It is their campaign that last to the democrats. These bozos cost the election (at least partly), and now they want to blame Sarah Palin. There is more going on here than meets the eye. Perhaps they are just trying to cover their ass, because they want to go get a job!

A good point.

I had a lot of respect for McCain before his campaign started, and there was a pretty good chance I would have voted for him. His campaign really pushed me away, he went from being the decent respectable guy that I had agreed with on more than a few issues to an effigy of everything I don't like about the Republican party. Even then, he was still a serious consideration for me, I assumed most of it was the fault of the campaign managers. Then he chose Palin as his running mate and that was when he lost any chance at my vote. I was actually offended by the thought these guys were trying to tell me this woman was a suitable candidate for one of my country's highest offices. I don't think I'll ever be able to understand how they chose her over all the qualified people they could have chosen from. Alaska is not far enough away from the White House for that woman, and I hope to god she doesn't try to run again.

 

[Xavier434]

Newsweek has released an absolutely amazing piece that I urge all of you to take the time to read. Fair warning though. It is very long, but well worth it. This is not some kind of "ZOMG I love/hate Obama/McCain" piece. This is just the story of everything that happened with Clinton, McCain, and Obama during the long campaigns that they struggled through. Here are the links and the brief description of what it is all about.

Secrets of the 2008 Campaign

This is a seven-part in-depth look behind the scenes of the campaign, consisting of exclusive reporting from the McCain and Obama camps assembled by a special team of journalists who were granted year-long access on the condition that none of their findings appear until after Election Day.

Chapter 1: Barack Obama:How He Did It
Chapter 2: John McCain: Back From the Dead?
Chapter 3: The Long Clinton-Obama Siege
Chapter 4: McCain Camp Retools, Targets Obama
Chapter 5: Obama Sweats the Clintons, McCain Gambles on Palin
Chapter 6: Battling it Out in the Great Debates
Chapter 7: The Final Days

Merged for the links.

Anandtech Senior Moderator
Red Dawn

 

[jpeyton]

Repoxalation.

Edit: Although I like your post much better.