Politics

Following on the heels of The Daily Show's fantastic version of the Obama convention video profile (Barack Obama: He Completes Us), here is another brilliant contribution, this time for John McCain...n particular the part near the end that highlights the change from maverick reformer to reformed maverick:

John McCain: Reformed Maverick

I haven't noticed as many conservatives criticizing Obama's vacuous change mantra now that McCain has adopted it too.

I guess maybe what they're saying is, 'Watch out, George Bush. Except for economic policies, and tax policies, and energy policies, and healthcare policies, and education policies, and Karl Rove-style politics, except for all that, we're really going to bring change to Washington. We're going to shake things up.'

(link)

Here are some videos I watched tonight.  The first two are of Palin as governor speaking in the church where she grew up.  I guess these are supposed to be to Palin what the Jeremiah Wright videos were to Obama?  I've seen the Jeremiah Wright videos.  These are no Jeremiah Wright videos.  There is some interesting stuff here though - references to the U.S. military being sent according to Bush's plan that (hopefully) is God's will too, God also willing some companies to get coordinated to build an oil pipeline, Alaska as a place were hundreds of thousands of us are going to take refuge in the last days, etc:

In that last video Palin makes a reference to not being freaked out by spirited worship assemblies after growing up at the Wasilla Assembly of God. Here is a brief clip of Wasilla that some folks find peculiar (link).  Even though the churches I grew up in are nothing like this, this hardly freaks me out - though I can understand how all of this must seem a bit strange to non-religious folk.

My favorite passage from McCain's acceptance speech:

Finally, a word to senator Obama and his supporters...You have my respect and admiration. Despite our differences, much more unites us than divides us. We are fellow Americans, and that's an association that means more to me than any other.

I hope last night's speakers were paying attention.

Steve Waldman, countering Jim Wallis's view that the Democratic Party has moved to a more pro-life position:

If you have to look for the change with a microscope, it's not going to have much effect on the public discourse.

(h/t Crunchy Con)