Top ten take aways from final debate

Per usual, below are my top ten take aways from last night’s final debate between Senator Obama and Senator McCain.

1. Obama nailed McCain on the Lily Ledbetter case where a woman was underpaid compared to her male counterparts. If you are an undecided woman and don’t know McCain’s stance on furthering gender inequity, get it together.

2. How many times was McCain going to interrupt Obama? Show some respect.

3. John, you referenced Joe the plumber 21 times. Personal anecdotes are good when you use them sparingly. No one person in America represents everyone.

4. How can we live in a country where quality education is an afterthought?

5. McCain, please stop rolling your eyes sista girl!

6. Did McCain really put women’s health in air quotes? That line would have worked had he actually explained how “women’s health” could be used in an extreme case to justify abortion. It came off as very dismissive and insensitive.

7. I loved Obama’s comeback on pointing out the need for funding to support kids with special needs. McCain, you can’t do this with an across the board spending freeze now can you?

8. Did you peep how McCain tried to briefly mention Ayers while looking at Bob and not Obama? It seemed like a throw away line so that his campaign could say, “See we did it.” BTW, Obama did not bring up Keating, Alaska Independence Party, seven houses, etc…..in a word classy.

9. Republicans need a much better line on the economy than cutting taxes. You can’t get a return on anything you don’t invest in right? So when all you do is cut taxes, the economy really doesn’t grow and you find yourself in situations like we are in now when people need the government’s help, but the “beast” as it were is so starved that it really can’t do anything and we continue the cycle of cynicism.

10. McCain came across as erratic. This is a time for reasoned, steady leadership and dear friend, you didn’t do that tonight.

GOBAMA

Stay up fam,

Brandon Q.

Leave my sister alone!

So here are the two possible McCain story lines post-debate;

Palin lost because Gwen Ifill is writing a book about Obama.

OR

Palin won inspite of Gwen Ifill is writing a book about Obama.

Either way, Gwen Ifill’s credibility is being attacked and I don’t see any in the MSM addressing this crap. First, let me say that Gwen Ifill is one of my favorite people to watch analyze politics because she does it in a way that is fair and balanced. And after the untimely death of Tim Russert, guess who was in the top tier to replace him? Gwen Ifill. Now if that is not a sign of respect, I don’t know what it is. So to see Gwen’s image and reputation being besmirched is making me pissed. To her credit, Ifill responded to McCain’s campaign saying,

“Do you think they made the same assumptions about Lou Cannon (who is white) when he wrote his book about Reagan?” said Ifill, who is black. Asked if there were racial motives at play, she said, “I don’t know what it is. I find it curious.”

Stay strong Gwen, you are a true SuperSpade and we got your back,

Stay up fam,

Brandon Q.

The Republican quad-fecta

Today, the Democrats managed a quad-fecta (I just made that word up) by creating a space for Republicans to vote against the bail out which allowed them to simultaneously be,

1. Anti-Bush and make it popular for Republicans to run against Bush economic policies
2. Appear on the side of the people and seem more populist than Democrats
3. Republicans can remain stalwarts of the free-market, less regulation ideology that got us in this mess in the first place
4. Republicans can run against Wall St. which is something I would never see in my lifetime.

I don’t like this bill and the lack of protections for homeowners but if Pelosi felt that she had to do it, why didn’t she tell Bush that she wouldn’t put it up for vote until she secured a certain number of votes from Republicans? And why in the world is the media not hounding McCain for claiming that his presence helped seal the deal when we don’t have a deal!! That is not the type of leadership America needs. Make sure you get out and vote.

Stay up fam,

Brandon Q.

You know things are bad when

You know your campaign is negative when Karl Rove says that McCain’s negative campaiging has gone too far. Rove said,

“McCain has gone in some of his ads — similarly gone one step too far,” he told Fox News, “and sort of attributing to Obama things that are, you know, beyond the ‘100 percent truth’ test.”

Sometimes I wish I was a scientist so I wouldn’t be embroiled in all the craziness of electoral politics.

Stay up fam,

Brandon Q.

Obama drops the ball on energy – Black on Black Thought

This is part of the bi-weekly Black on Black Thought feature.

What’s up fam,

I am responding to James’ article this week where he lauds Obama’s recent policy reversal on supporting off-shore drilling, essentially claiming that when it comes to comprehensive energy policy reform, there is no magic bullet and we need to embrace all solutions and not the solution. And Obama gave red meat to conservatives by explaining that he would support offshore drilling as part of an overall package in part because “we shouldn’t allow the Perfect to be the enemy of the Good.”