Those who know me know that i am an old timer. In fact, the expression "old timer" is an understatement. I have witnessed 14 presidential elections and i can say that i have never seen a month of July this negative. Moreover, i can safely say that i have never witnessed the presumptive nominee of either parties going this negative this early and behaving in a thuggish way like Senator McCain has been behaving this last month. Usually, thuggish behavior is left to the surrogates, but Senator McCain decided that he will fulfill this role himself. I wrote about this in my previous diary

Can Senator Obama afford to stay silent and play nice? No. Does he have to answer each every attack? Absolutely. Why?

...Read the rest on the other side...

Given some of the concern with the Quin polls released today, I thought it might be nice to diary a poll showing Obama expanding his lead from the previous month.

Rasmussen 7/24 MoE 4% (6/23 results) (5/23 results)

Obama  (D) 51 (46) (45)
McCain (R) 45 (42) (43)

http://rasmussenreports.com/...

One of the media narratives being floated during Obama's trip overseas has related to the idea that the trip may in fact be having questionable, if not detrimental effects on his campaign for the presidency.

Here's one example from a pseudo-legitimate source:

Newsweek link

I've also heard the idea mentioned by a few of the empty talking heads on cable news.

Now, I reject the idea that this trip has done anything close to as much bad as good.  I believe most such discussion is actually a side-effect of the 24-7 media monster.  But even when I suspended logic and allowed myself to consider the idea that there might be an inkling of merit to this suggestion I couldn't help but think that "I just don't care!"

Our military has again gone above and beyond in their attempt to bring peace and stability to Iraq. They deserve our praise, respect and admiration. They and their families deserve our sincere gratitude for their many sacrifices. They overcame the obstacles placed before them by the Bush Administration's failure to plan for the aftermath of the invasion in Iraq, as well as the care of the soldiers and their families here at home.

Sen. McCain and his supporters are asking Sen. Obama to admit that Sen. McCain was right to call for more troops in Iraq and that the surge worked - he and the surge reduced violence.

Sen. McCain and his supporters see only two possible responses: either Sen. Obama says the surge worked - thanks to Sen. McCain's courage to stand up to the Bush Administration and the hard work and sacrifice of our military; or Sen. Obama has to say that the surge and our military failed. The truth is more simple than that. Sen. McCain knows this, yet now he is seeking credit for less violence while denying his role in supporting the mistakes that created, or at least failed to prevent, the violence in Iraq in the first place.

Just getting started...

Obama is still crushing McCain in the Hispanic / Latino community.  It seems that McCain has gotten nothing for all his spending the past month.  Those of you familiar with my diaries and my site know that this isn’t "new," news, but it seems to be new to CNN.  Today the Pew Hispanic Center released a new poll that shows Obama crushing McCain in the demographic.

Obama 66%
McCain 23%

Telephone interview with a sample size do 2,015.... Very nice!

crossposted on my site, www.ourhispanicvoices.com

Remember all the hoopla about whether or not Hispanics would support Barack Obama? Well, according to the latest poll, it looks like McCain can pretty much kiss Hispanic votes goodbye:

The poll of 2,015 Latino voters conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center found that Democrat Barack Obama, who lost the Hispanic vote to Hillary Clinton by nearly 2-to-1 in the Democratic primary, holds a commanding 66 percent to 23 percent lead over Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

More under the fold:

This is not so much a diary as a link for people who are curious about the upcoming speech.
Der Spiegel is live blogging up to the speech.

It looks like it is going to be a big one.

der Spiegel

Spending $1 Billion to Restore Fiscal Sanity

by John Harwood

"Peter G. Peterson wants people to focus on what he considers real news: the nation is going broke. Because he wasn't born yesterday, Mr. Peterson, co-founders of the Blackstone Group and a secretary of commerce under President Richard M. Nixon, will spend $1 billion in an effort to get the public's attention. The money, which comes from the windfall Mr. Peterson received when Blackstone went public last year, will finance a media blitz, starting with a documentary, "I.O.U.S.A.". The film aims to startle voters and politicians alike, and summon them to the task of closing the long-term imbalance between what the government".

Yesterday my dear friend in Germany called me.  She's been through all the ups and downs of the Bush years with me (well, there must have been some "ups" but I can't recall them) and has oftened sympathized with the disappointment I feel in my country's direction.

She, like many Germans, retains a different memory of the USA, one from her childhood.  One from when we were a country that did extraordinary things sometimes, things to be proud of.

She told me about "The Raisin Bombers."

George W. Bush whoops it up at a "R": fundraiser, laughing and joking while
Americans suffer in silence. This time, Cenk Uygur,(The Young Turks)is very angry at the Bozo-In-Chief... Watch video and feel his rage, and his sorrow. thinkingblue
See It Here thinkingblue.blogspot.com

There was another "Shock and Awe" attack in Iraq this week. But this time it was not the military might of the United States raining down upon the Iraqis but rather it was the political might of the Iraqis raining down upon Bush & Co. and, by extension, John McCain. And it was the flexing of this new-found power that helped Barack Obama win his own battle with Senator McCain.

Last night over sushi delivered to my apartment, I had an interesting conversation with two friends, one French, the other an English ex-pat based out of Brussels, about the upcoming US election in general, and Obama's candidacy specifically.  

The question was raised as to whether America was 1.) mature enough to elect a black Democrat, and 2.) whether a similar candidacy would be possible here in France.  As the resident American at the dinner, I explained that the US is essentially a conservative country, by which I mean it is deeply traditional with a strong self-identity and sense of what it means to be American.  Democrats have had a difficult time the past 50 years of getting elected to the presidency without the aid of either a 3rd party siphoning off Republicans and conservative Independents (thanks, Ross Perot!), or an extremist on the ticket (thanks, Barry Goldwater!).  But this was going to be a change election, and the contrast between the two candidates could not be more profound.  

"But just how viable a candidate is Obama, given the racism in the US?"  I was asked.

I watched the news coverage of Obama's trip to Europe and Asia with my eyes wide open. I was amazed at the impact, the representation and the image this trip has give.  HOWEVER, what I keep hearing on CNN, MSNBC and other outlets..."Picture postcards" and all about "ME"...

Be aware...this isn't a highly researched diary...not a lot of fancy links and pictures.  Just one person's opinion about the state of today's media....and let me tell you...it is sad.

We all know by now that the news anchors of the big three networks, Brian Williams, Charles Gibson and Katie Couric have joined Senator Obama's tour of the Middle East and Europe and the bitching and moaning this has caused in the McCain camp about media bias.  Forget that McCain is cancelling press events right, left and center and has benefitted from the lack of press he's getting after making atrocious blunders about middle east geography, the timing of the Anbar Awakening and the troop surge in 2007 and calling Senator Obama a traitor who wants to lose the war if it helps his political campaign.  Forget that news people like to go where the news is and that Senator Obama's trip is real news while Senator McCain is giving speeches to half empty gymnasiums in Podunk, Pennsylvania and backwoods New Hampshire.  Forget that while McCain is making joke luggage tags that Senator Obama is talking with Head's of State and inspiring our troops (that was a badass jump shot btw)
and improving America's brand across the globe.  What McCain is completely and conveniently not talking about is his very own Jeff Gannon on the trip, Katie Couric.

More Below the Fold

The propaganda has apparently catapulted into email spell checkers

One can't tune into cable or network news for a stretch of a day without hearing the rapturous speculation about who will become Vice President for both candidates. There is a curious dissonance inside that fervor; the VP has brought no positive impact to a president's chances since 1960.

So why is the search still discussed ad nauseum? I'll explain why...

In the end, it's a question of leadership. Will you lead or be led. Do you have real accountability, or do you shift it to others.

The test of leadership, viewed through these questions, leaves doubt about Pres. Bush and Sen. McCain's fitness to lead. Specifically, their insistance that Gen. Petraeus' judgment be followed without question or debate, does not strike me as leadership. A true leader asks the right questions of his subordinates, and as the leader, makes a decision for which he or she is held accountable. Just the opposite is happening in Iraq.

Advertising Age has just released details of Barack Obama's cross-channel media buy on the Olympics.

From the online article