Drewmocracy

Seems that it’s time that I revived this blog. I got so a-twitter about my Twittering, that I neglected this blog. Well, at least it’s not like anything important has happened in politics or technology since my previous post. First black president? 1.6 million iPhones sold last quarter?!?

Back to bed…

Chris Matthews corners Michele Bachman on her facile association between “liberal” and “anti-American.” Truly, she has nothing to contribute toward solving the challenges facing our nation. Hat tip to Oliver Willis.

 After a week of telling audiences both from the stage and in ads that Obama is a terrible, scary person who “pals around with terrorists,” McCain is now correcting audience members who parrot the trash back to him.

ABC News has video and excerpts:

“Frankly we’re, we’re scared,” one voter told McCain. “We’re scared of an Obama presidency. And I’ll tell you why. I don’t want to bring a child up in a country uh where — I love this country, we’ll bring our child up no matter what — but I’m concerned about someone that cohorts with domestic terrorists such as Ayers.”

Said McCain, “I want to be president of the United States and I obviously I do not want Senator Obama to be. But I have to tell you, I have to tell you, he is a decent person. And a person that you do not have to be scared as president of the United States.”

The crowd booed.

People also continue to repeat the line that Obama is a Muslim:

 Another woman stood and said, “I got to ask you a question. I don’t believe in — I can’t trust Obama. I have read about him. And he’s not, he’s not – he’s an Arab. He’s not.”

Shaking his head no, McCain grabbed the microphone away from her.

“No ma’am,” McCain said. “No ma’am. No ma’am. He’s a, he’s a, he’s a decent family man, citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues. And that’s what this campaign is all about, he is not. Thank you.”

Scattered applause followed.

If you live in Virginia, you can vote now. Yes, today. You don’t need to wait until election day. and face long lines. If you work far from your home, don’t let bad traffic, poor weather, or long lines affect your ability to exercise your right to vote.

Many election offices have extended hours for early voting. You can even vote on the weekend.

• In Fairfax County, where I reside, you can vote now at the Fairfax County Government Center. Starting, Oct. 15, you can vote at 15 additional locations as listed on this page.
• In Arlington, Va. you can vote at the County Administration Building at 2100 Clarendon Blvd.
• In Alexandria, Va.,  you can vote now at 132 North Royal Street in Old Town.

If you live in another jurisdiction, you can look up your local Virginia election’s office. If you live outside Virginia, look up your polling place at Vote411.com.

My son and I spent a few hours today at the Small Press Expo, an annual festival of comics and cartooning in Bethesda, Md.

Our biggest find was discovering Frank Cammuso, author of a terrific new children’s comic book, Knights of the Lunch Table. My son and I just read his book at bedtime. Cammuso has a wonderfully vivid style, with bright colors and bold lines. His tale of a young boy struggling to fit in at a new school is conventional, but supremely entertaining. Even though my son didn’t understand the Arthurian references,  I had to tear the book from his hands to get him to go to sleep.

Bonus: Cammuso is a political cartoonist for the Syracuse Post-Standard. I’m acquainting myself with his fine work.

My son and I are also fans of Jen Sorenson’s Slowpoke cartoons, although he isn’t old enough to grasp her political commentary. He just likes her funny, exaggerated characters. Jen seemed genuinely surprised and flattered to have a 6-year-old counted among her fans. She patiently told him how she got started in drawing. She graciously signed her new book for him and drew him a character.

I was also pleased to get a signed book from August Pollack, one the most compelling up-and-coming commentators, I follow. When he’s not working at his new job at the Cartoon Network, August draws and blogs at someguywithawebsite.com.

Scout Tufankjian, a photographer for Newsweek, Time, the New York Times  has an amazing portfolio of Obama photos.

I found these via my buddy Tim Arnold.

It’s been a revealing week of excerpts from Sarah Palin’s interviews with Katie Couric. Let’s recap:

• Palin can’t name a single court case that she disagrees with other than Roe v. Wade.
• If a girl was raped and impregnated by her father, she would counsel the girl to “choose life.”
• Although her running mate is 72, voters have a choice between Joe Biden and his “tremendous amount of experience” or her “new energy, the new face and the new ideas.”
• Palin gets her news from “general sources.”
• Her worldview is not shaped by life experience: “The way I have understood the world is through education, through books, through mediums that have provided me a lot of perspective on the world.” Yes, “mediums.”
• Palin can’t name a single newspaper or magazine that she read regularly prior to being picked.
• Alaska’s proximity to Russia and Canada is an important part of her foreign policy experience: “As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there, they are right next to our state.”
• She can’t give a single example of where her running mate called for additional oversight of Wall Street. She said, “I’ll try to find you some and I’ll bring them to you.”

Sources:

1. Sept. 24 transcript
2. Sept. 25 transcript
3. Sept. 30 transcript
4. Oct. 1 transcript

Next time someone tries to tell you that Obama hasn’t been specific about what he’s do, or that “change” is just a slogan, show them this video:

 McCain just lost the critical astronomer vote. My father, a professional astronomer, passed this along to me. Apparently McCain hates planetariums. They are “foolishness.” From an AP Story:

[McCain] was asked about nearly $200 million in congressional pet projects Palin requested for 2009 for her state, despite her boasts that she opposes such projects and his claim that she didn’t ask for any. McCain responded by criticizing Obama for seeking more than $900 million in these earmarks, by one count.

“That’s nearly a million every day, every working day he’s been in Congress,” McCain said. “And when you look at some of the planetariums and other foolishness that he asked for, he shouldn’t be saying anything about Governor Palin.”

Of course, it’s easy to pick on astronomers. They are a small constituency — numbering fewer than 10,000. They are also easy scared by bright lights, and, when not wielding a slide rule, utterly defenseless.

But still, what does McCain have against supporting science education? After the most anti-science administration in years, do we really need more of the same?

Sarah Pallin is clearly unfamiliar with the cornerstone of Bush’s failed foreign policy.

Charlie Gibson: Do you agree with the Bush Doctrine?

Sarah Palin: In what respect, Charlie?

Charlie: What do you interpret it to be?

Palin: His worldview.

Charlie: No, No, the Bush Doctrine. He enunciated it in September 2002, before the Iraq War.

Palin: I believe that what President Bush has attempted to do is to rid this world of Islamic extremism, terrorists who are hellbent on destroying our nation. There have been blunders along the way, though. There have been mistakes made. And with new leadership–and that’s the beauty of American elections and democracy–with new leadership comes the opportunity to do things better.

Charlie: The Bush Doctrine, as I understand it, is that we have the right of anticipatory defense. We have the right to preemptively strike any other country that we believe is going to attack us.

Fail!

You know, I attended a meeting at my son’s elementary school today. The PTA president spoke. I listened to her thinking, “you know, she’s well-spoken, self-assured, and clearly possesses strong parental instincts. She could very well have three, four, perhaps even five children. Perhaps she’s vice-presidential timber?”