Sunday Cartoon

(click to enlarge -- see also "Milbank, Dana," below)

(Jim Morin, via gocomics.com)

Sunday Morning Reading - Dumb and Dumber

Dumb: Dana Milbank, back in his Beltway Kids snark mode, has a sad that Obama hasn't met his lofty expectations and saw "worrying signs" at the convention. Really? You might want to get a glass belly button so you can look out at reality and still keep your head up your ass. As for Milbank's assertion that Obama is "narrowly favored to win," he might want to check out Nate Silver's numbers.

Dumber: Apparently George "Quill" Will, now completely off the rails, is having Glenn Beck write his columns now.

A Tale of Two Elections

2012:

2008:

How far to the right has the New Confederate/ Rethuglican Party careened in the last four years? Ask Former Florida Republican Governor Charlie Christ, who endorsed Sen. John McCain in 2008, campaigning for President Obama today in Seminole, Florida. (Top: Chris O'Meara, AP; bottom: Charles Dharapak, AP)

Cartoon of the Day

(click to enlarge)

(Tony Auth, via gocomics.com)

Mitt's Mendacity, Cont.

Another week and smug plutocrat and reasonable facsimile of a human being Willard "Corporations Are People, But Ryan And I Aren't" Romney is busy growing his bionic nose to ever-greater lengths. Thanks again to Steve Benen for chronicling the lies of the past week. You'll notice the usual debunked ones, like the Obama "apology tour" and Obama is gutting the welfare work requirement. Repeating them reveals, to us anyway, that Willard is still trying to rev up his low-information, high-prejudice base with 2 months until the election-- not where you want to be at this point. Still, he's on course to make the late Rethuglican Liar-in-Chief Richard "I Am Not A Crook" Nixon look like a saint by comparison.

Why Does Willard Hate the Troops?

Offered without further comment, here's Willard "Tin Man" Romney when asked why he didn't mention the troops in harm's way in his convention speech:

"When you give a speech you don’t go through a laundry list, you talk about the things you think are important." (our emphasis)

Gabby's Triumph

Amid all the eloquence and passion we saw during the Democratic convention, maybe none was more emotionally gratifying than seeing recovering Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) reciting the pledge of allegiance. Who didn't choke up in watching her?

Good Trend, But More Is Needed

As the Beltway media sees today's jobs report as a glass half empty, it's worth noting that it's been exactly one year since the President introduced the American Jobs Act to Congress, a bill that's been blocked by the radical House Rethuglicans. That could have created between 1.9 and 2.6 million new jobs. No wonder less than great jobs news makes Rethugs smile.

Today's August jobs report showed 96,000 private sector jobs created, and a reduction in the unemployment rate from 8.3% to 8.1%. While that's not a satisfying jobs number, it marks the 30th straight month of job growth, and a total of 4.6 million a sign that the economy is still recovering but heading in the right direction. Compare that to job losses approaching 800,000 in the month before Obama was even inaugurated and ask "am I better off?"

Weekend Holly Songs

Today would have been Buddy Holly's 76th birthday. Tragically, Holly died along with Richie Valens and the Big Bopper in a plane crash in February 1959. The rock 'n' roll pioneer and Hall of Fame first ballot inductee has inspired musicians such as the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, the Byrds and many others, though he had a career that lasted less than two years. "Not Fade Away," "Peggy Sue," "It's So Easy," and "True Love Ways" are some of his better-known songs - an impressive legacy. Here are two favorites that have that beautiful Holly West Texas style:

"I'M THE PRESIDENT"

The Democratic convention wrapped up last night with a series of rousing speeches targeting Rethug opponent and humanoid replica Willard "Mendacious Mitt" Romney and laying out the case for returning President Obama to office.

Speakers ranging from fiery former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm to a refreshingly relaxed and witty Sen. John Kerry delivered the set ups for passionate speeches by Vice President Joe Biden and finally the President. Granholm punched the air as she described the auto industry jobs saved by the President in Michigan, Ohio and other states. Kerry mocked Mendacious Mitt's lack of foreign policy experience -- comparing him to "Winky" Palin -- and his conveniently shifting positions.

The Vice President gave a heartfelt case for supporting the vision offered by the President to rebuild the middle class, while blasting the Rethugs for betting against the middle class. The theme of having work left to do was underscored by Biden:

"Yes, the work of recovery is not yet complete, but we are on our way. The journey of hope is not yet finished, but we are on our way. The cause of change is not fully accomplished, but we are on our way. So I say to you tonight, with absolute confidence, America's best days are ahead, and, yes, we are on our way."

By the time the President spoke, the crowd was near an emotional high. President Obama delivered an impassioned appeal to stay with his vision of an America that works for the middle class, and for those that work hard and play by the rules. He effectively contrasted his vision with that of Mendacious Mitt's as one of "we have each others' backs" to "you're on your own."

"[W]e also believe in something called citizenship -– a word at the very heart of our founding, at the very essence of our democracy; the idea that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another, and to future generations."

The President also highlighted his weighty responsibilities, with a nod to President Lincoln:

"I know what it means to send young Americans into battle, for I have held in my arms the mothers and fathers of those who didn’t return. I’ve shared the pain of families who’ve lost their homes, and the frustration of workers who’ve lost their jobs. If the critics are right that I’ve made all my decisions based on polls, then I must not be very good at reading them. And while I’m proud of what we’ve achieved together, I’m far more mindful of my own failings, knowing exactly what Lincoln meant when he said, 'I have been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that I had no place else to go.'"

His speech hit all the right notes, from paying tribute to our armed forces and veterans (something overlooked by the Rethugs) to promising to defend womens' health choices and
a path to citizenship for immigrant children.

No one -- except perhaps the most delusional Rethug -- is saying that the Rethug convention was more successful than the Democratic convention. By almost all accounts, the Dems succeeded far beyond expectations, with speaker after speaker hitting the right tone and topics forcefully and convincingly. Not a bad week at all for the Dems.

Infographic of the Week

Courtesy of Bill Clinton and Think Progress (click to enlarge):

"We Are Verrry Enthu..Enthus....ZZZZZ"

We're a little late in posting this hilarious clip from Tuesday night's The Colbert Report, in which Steven compares the enthusiasm of the Dems with that of the Rethugs. Rodent-like Rethug Party boss Reince "Prepuce" Priebus provides the unintentional hilarity.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The 2012 People's Party Congress of Charlotte
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Jobs Numbers Looking Better

There are reports that tomorrow's August report will show an estimated 201,000 private sector jobs created, better than expected by economists and sending the stock market surging today. Unemployment claims also fell, indicating an uptick in the economy heading into the fall. The Rethugs have been hoping that job creation and unemployment numbers will hurt the President, and lead to wins at the polls (remember their 2008 slogan, Country First!?).

The delicious twist is that the President will know the actual August jobs numbers, which will be formally released tomorrow, tonight by the time his speech is delivered. It would be wonderful if he could point to the numbers as moving in the right direction, and rain on the Rethugs' "Obama Must Fail" parade.

Better Off Cartoon of the Day

(click to enlarge)

The Rethugs may have stepped into a trap of their own making, especially after President Clinton's masterful take-down of their fibs/fables/falsehoods during the campaign. By most metrics, comparing January 2009 to now is a winner for Dems. The Rethugs were just counting on voter amnesia and having their tall tales accepted as facts.

More Home Runs

After soaring speeches Tuesday night by First Lady Michelle Obama and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, the bar was set high for Wednesday night's prime time speakers. They did not disappoint, to say the very least.

Leading off was the wonderful Elizabeth Warren, Dem candidate for Senate in Massachusetts. Her remarks were passionate and populist, hammering the elites who have "rigged the system" to their benefit. She reminded the audience of her biography: humble beginnings, mother at 19, teacher and consumer advocate. Her portrayal of the Wall Street CEOs strutting the halls of Congress, as if they had nothing to do with the financial collapse of 2008, was dead-on. If Massachusetts voters pass her up in favor of male model and defender of the one percent Scott "Centerfold" Brown, so much the worse for our country.

The featured speaker, of course, was President Bill Clinton, who positively knocked the ball -- along with innumerable Rethuglican lies -- out of the park. His task was not only to be the truth teller about whether we're better off now, but how it's necessary to let President Obama's agenda play out for another term. His delivery was personal and often folksy, and the content was full of data and information that showed the Rethugs to be lying about Obama's record and their own plans for the future. Some of the better lines:

“You gotta give [Paul Ryan] one thing: It takes some brass to attack a guy for doing what you did.” (referring to Medicare savings proposed by Obama)

“We simply cannot afford to give the reins of government to someone who will double down on 'trickle-down' economics."

“We [Republicans] left [Obama] a total mess, he hasn’t cleaned it up fast enough, so fire him and put us back in.” (summarizing the Rethugs' weak argument)

He also reminded the audience of the implacable hostility of Congressional Rethuglicans to the President, putting his defeat and failure over job creation and other national priorities. And, speaking of job creation, Clinton noted that in the past 52 years -- 28 years with a Rethug President and 24 years with a Democratic President -- Rethugs created 24 million jobs, while Dems created 42 million jobs. As someone noted in the after-speech gab fest, if you want to live like a Republican, vote like a Democrat.

The past two nights have reminded us of our beloved Washington Nationals: home run after home run, 12 in the last two games; last night the Nats had back-to-back home runs twice, an almost unheard of feat. Maybe they've been watching the Dem convention for inspiration.

(photo: Reuters)