The ACORN “Scandal”

Ken AshfordElection 20083 Comments

Conservatives and Fox News are trumpetting this ACORN thing like it actually means something.  I think they are laying the groundwork for post-loss complaining that the election was stolen. As I understand it, ACORN is a non-profit community organization which, among many many other things, attempts to get the poor and underprivileged to register and vote.  Their paid volunteers are … Read More

Dumbest Press Release Of The Campaign Season So Far

Ken AshfordElection 2008Leave a Comment

From the McCain campaign, today: "Instead of acknowledging the real differences that exist in this election, Barack Obama is using America’s economic crisis to deflect legitimate criticisms of himself and his record…" How DARE Obama talk about the current economic crisis during the election season!

The Ted Spread

Ken AshfordElection 2008Leave a Comment

Wikipedia: The TED spread is the difference between the interest rates on inter-bank loans and short-term U.S. government debt ("T-bills"). The TED spread is an indicator of perceived credit risk in the general economy. This is because T-bills are considered risk-free while LIBOR reflects the credit risk of lending to commercial banks. When the TED spread increases, that is a … Read More

The Politics Of Hate

Ken AshfordElection 20081 Comment

I think Dave Gergen is absolutely right when he says: "There is this free floating sort of whipping around anger that could really lead to some violence… I think we're not far from that." The McCain campaign has been whipping the angry, far-right Republican base into a frenzy. We're hearing "Hussein" references, and campaign supporters shouting "treason!," "terrorist!," and "kill … Read More

The Prosecutor Of William Ayers Weighs In

Ken AshfordElection 2008Leave a Comment

NYT Letter To The Editor: Re “Politics of Attack” (editorial, Oct. 8) and “Obama and ’60s Bomber: A Look Into Crossed Paths” (front page, Oct. 4): As the lead federal prosecutor of the Weathermen in the 1970s (I was then chief of the criminal division in the Eastern District of Michigan and took over the Weathermen prosecution in 1972), I … Read More

Strange McCain Ad

Ken AshfordElection 2008Leave a Comment

Why would McCain put out an ad featuring Obama, in which Obama claims that McCain is lying?  Note that it doesn't refute Obama; it just shows Obama saying that McCain is lying.  Which is what Obama believes and says. Does this really help McCain? By the way, I have yet to see a McCain ad here in North Carolina.  And … Read More

Not MY Friend

Ken AshfordElection 2008Leave a Comment

A lot of people are annoyed by McCain referring to "my friends".  He said it 22 times in the debate last night. Hot Election Topic: Not McCain’s Friend My Friends, McCain’s Tic Is Back Why McCain Can’t Stop Saying “My Friends” If I Hear “My Friends” Again I Just Might Jump Off the Roof. Not McCain’s Friend T-Shirt Number 22 … Read More

Erratic

Ken AshfordElection 2008Leave a Comment

About McCain's resurgence plan to buy bad mortgages, which he mentioned for the first time in the debate last night: The proposal certainly seemed to have caught even McCain's surrogates off guard; they had not been prepped to answer questions about it.