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   Dan Savage, the brilliant and foul-mouthed sex columnist, has become one of the most important ethicists in America. Are we screwed?
 The federal government is supposed to issue new rules about debt levels for students in for-profit colleges. In the meantime, the states are working on their own regulations.
 Washingtons budget hawks want to decimate the federal workforce to shrink the deficit. It will have the opposite effect.
 There arent nearly enough counterterrorism experts to instruct all of Americas police. So we got these guys instead.
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October 25, 2008
By: For The Record The NYT: "Mr. Podesta has been mapping out the transition so systematically that he has already written a draft Inaugural Address for Mr. Obama, which he published this summer in a book called "The Power of Progress." The speech calls for rebuilding a "grand alliance" with the rest of the world, bringing troops home from Iraq, recommitting to the war in Afghanistan, cutting poverty in half in 10 years and reducing greenhouse gases 80 percent by 2050." This has been picked up by John McCain: "Sen. John McCain this afternoon seized on a newspaper report that Sen. Barack Obama's staff has already written a draft of an inaugural address for the Democrat, mocking the presumptuousness. For the record: it's not true. ThinkProgress: "-- The book, which was in the works for over a year and was written with the help of CAP's in-house progressive historian John Halpin, traces the history and successes of progressive politics in the 20th Century, draws lessons from that history, and then applies those lessons to the big challenges facing the country -- the global economy, global warming, and global security. At the end, there is a sample inaugural address written not "for Mr. Obama," but rather, clearly offered as a literary device to summarize the main arguments in the book. As ThinkProgress points out, Obama has been heavily involved in the writing of his speeches. It would be very odd for him to let someone else write his inaugural address. If the NYT didn't bother to get the facts before writing, they should have. If they knew that Podesta's speech was not written for Obama, they should have made that fact a lot clearer in what they wrote. Either way, they really screwed up. H/t Matt Yglesias. 
Comments
This, from a guy who wanted to be president for decades before he came anywhere near running, because he'd decided it was his mission. But that black guy, *he*'s the presumptuous one. Posted by: Chris on October 25, 2008 at 10:40 PM | PERMALINKIsn't it about time for McCain to put on his ruby slippers and start tapping the heels together three times while chanting, "there's no place like home?" Unless he wants to throw that bucket of water on the Wicked Palin of the West first.... Posted by: Steve W. on October 25, 2008 at 10:58 PM | PERMALINKAnyone paying attention to this campaign would notice that Obama can produce a world class speech in a few days time. These same at least half-conscious observers would also know that Obama's speeches are highly tuned to the current situation and nobody knows what that will be in January. But with McCain we can predict very accurately what he will say: cut taxes for those who pay lots of tax, blame every problem on those who don't let him do exactly what he wants to do, and react, react, react until the story is off the front pages, then move on to the next outrage. Probably McCain just doesn't understand long term goals which have nothing to do with what his former "base" is chatting about that day. Posted by: tomj on October 25, 2008 at 11:01 PM | PERMALINKTo paraphrase a historical naval hero, David Farragut: "Damn the facts, full speed ahead." Or as a marketing person I worked with once told me: "Don't confuse me with the facts." Posted by: nerd on October 25, 2008 at 11:03 PM | PERMALINKAnybody else see this leaked 527 spot? http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/Leaked_Pro_McCain_527_Negative_Ad_Small_Town_Fear_Itself/ Posted by: Exredstater on October 25, 2008 at 11:09 PM | PERMALINKI don't put any blame for this on the NY Times; this is just another example of McCain taking reports out of context, not caring about the facts, and misleading the American people. McCain's bigger problem is that picking up this story only costs him valuable time in turning this election around in his favor. This is not a game-changing story; and McCain shouldn't waste his time on it if it is not. Contrast this with Obama in the debates. McCain threw a lot of nonsense at Obama but he was very selective to what he'd respond. Why? Because he had limited time and priorities for his message and which charges were most important to address. McCain is a classic example of a leader who keeps busy with only what is in front of him. So instead of driving positive change, he reacts to negative reality. It doesn't work for leaders at any level and it certainly isn't presidential. Posted by: PeninsulaMatt on October 25, 2008 at 11:11 PM | PERMALINKI don't put any blame for this on the NY Times; this is just another example of McCain taking reports out of context, not caring about the facts, and misleading the American people. McCain's bigger problem is that picking up this story only costs him valuable time in turning this election around in his favor. This is not a game-changing story; and McCain shouldn't waste his time on it if it is not. Contrast this with Obama in the debates. McCain threw a lot of nonsense at Obama but he was very selective to what he'd respond. Why? Because he had limited time and priorities for his message and which charges were most important to address. McCain is a classic example of a leader who keeps busy with only what is in front of him. So instead of driving positive change, he reacts to negative reality. It doesn't work for leaders at any level and it certainly isn't presidential. Posted by: PeninsulaMatt on October 25, 2008 at 11:11 PM | PERMALINKI don't put any blame for this on the NY Times; this is just another example of McCain taking reports out of context, not caring about the facts, and misleading the American people. McCain's bigger problem is that picking up this story only costs him valuable time in turning this election around in his favor. This is not a game-changing story; and McCain shouldn't waste his time on it if it is not. Contrast this with Obama in the debates. McCain threw a lot of nonsense at Obama but he was very selective to what he'd respond. Why? Because he had limited time and priorities for his message and which charges were most important to address. McCain is a classic example of a leader who keeps busy with only what is in front of him. So instead of driving positive change, he reacts to negative reality. It doesn't work for leaders at any level and it certainly isn't presidential. Posted by: PeninsulaMatt on October 25, 2008 at 11:11 PM | PERMALINKI don't put any blame for this on the NY Times; this is just another example of McCain taking reports out of context, not caring about the facts, and misleading the American people. McCain's bigger problem is that picking up this story only costs him valuable time in turning this election around in his favor. This is not a game-changing story; and McCain shouldn't waste his time on it if it is not. Contrast this with Obama in the debates. McCain threw a lot of nonsense at Obama but he was very selective to what he'd respond. Why? Because he had limited time and priorities for his message and which charges were most important to address. McCain is a classic example of a leader who keeps busy with only what is in front of him. So instead of driving positive change, he reacts to negative reality. It doesn't work for leaders at any level and it certainly isn't presidential. Posted by: PeninsulaMatt on October 25, 2008 at 11:12 PM | PERMALINKThanks PeninsulaMatt, we liked your comment just fine the first three times you posted it. Posted by: Bob Loblaw on October 25, 2008 at 11:31 PM | PERMALINKI suspect John McCain has had an inaugural speech in his head for at least ten years. After all, isn't that how long he's been running for president? Perhaps McCain should work on his executive skills. If he's going to claim that Obama might have trouble handing a foreign crisis while he, the 'maverick' can handle such things, at least McCain ought to demonstrate to voters that he can handle his own choice for vice president. He seems to be experiencing some difficulty in that area. The Obama team, of course, is taking nothing for granted. If, however, there is a heavy turnout at the polls, I think we'll see that Americans have grown tired of gut instincts and the 24/7 sound bite. Americans want a plan, not a do nothing, know nothing, right wing noise machine. Posted by: Craig on October 25, 2008 at 11:39 PM | PERMALINKPeninsulaMatt, if not a regular poster, may not be familiar with the excruciatingly slow post times here. I am now in the habit of checking, in another tab, to see whether a post has 'taken'. A comment often is world-visible while the window in which I typed and entered the post still shows the it being uploaded. Posted by: Davis X. Machina on October 25, 2008 at 11:48 PM | PERMALINKThis is what McCain's got for the American people? More petty insults? Posted by: grinning cat on October 25, 2008 at 11:54 PM | PERMALINKMcCain, unfortunately for him, sold his soul on the cheap for a redrudgelican campaign strategy of all slime all the time. Adios to that old McCarcas and the sanctimoneyous Cindy. And, btw, screw governing from the center. Radical change now, hell. Posted by: Razor Boy on October 26, 2008 at 12:21 AM | PERMALINK"Wazzzup!?!" in 2008. This vid's for YOU. (because we all need a good giggle right now) Posted by: StapleFood on October 26, 2008 at 12:28 AM | PERMALINKDidn't Judith Miller cowrite that NYT piece? Posted by: Helena Montana on October 26, 2008 at 5:04 AM | PERMALINKomg! mccain got out of bed on a sunday morning! he's on press the meat! Posted by: karen marie on October 26, 2008 at 9:09 AM | PERMALINKI have been periodically checking the NYT article to see if they published a retraction. They still have not. Posted by: Neeta on October 26, 2008 at 9:26 AM | PERMALINKThe Dufus and his minions have not told the truth before, why would they start now! Posted by: captain dan on October 26, 2008 at 12:05 PM | PERMALINKThis is a strange story to me. Who cares if he's got a draft inaugural address? Who cares?! It's such a bizarre thing to focus on. So he writes drafts in advance of when he needs them. (Just taking the McCain claim at face value for the sake of argument -- of course I know it's not true.) So what? I just can't see any significance to that at all. I'd like to believe this is an example of the McCain campaign flailing uselessly, but I suppose there's an equal chance that it's an example of my own out-of-touch-ness that I can't understand this is a line of attack. Posted by: johnson on October 26, 2008 at 12:21 PM | PERMALINKPlease, please, please... Tell me this is a prelude to John McCain's trotting out Obama's kindergarten essay about being president. 
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