# Oh beautiful, beautiful meltdown **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 24, 2008, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-beautiful-meltdown/469306 "2008-10-24T04:37:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-beautiful-meltdown/469306/181 "2008-10-26T17:14:15Z")
Oof… And the [Anchorage Daily News](http://www.adn.com/opinion/story/567867.html)endorses Obama. Some choice bits: > [@](#): > > Gov. Palin’s nomination clearly alters the landscape for Alaskans as we survey this race for the presidency – but it does not overwhelm all other judgment. The election, after all is said and done, is not about Sarah Palin, and our sober view is that her running mate, Sen. John McCain, is the wrong choice for president at this critical time for our nation. > > Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, brings far more promise to the office. In a time of grave economic crisis, he displays thoughtful analysis, enlists wise counsel and operates with a cool, steady hand. The same cannot be said of Sen. McCain. > > … > > Gov. Palin has shown the country why she has been so successful in her young political career. Passionate, charismatic and indefatigable, she draws huge crowds and sows excitement in her wake. She has made it clear she’s a force to be reckoned with, and you can be sure politicians and political professionals across the country have taken note. Her future, in Alaska and on the national stage, seems certain to be played out in the limelight. > > Yet despite her formidable gifts, few who have worked closely with the governor would argue she is truly ready to assume command of the most important, powerful nation on earth. To step in and juggle the demands of an economic meltdown, two deadly wars and a deteriorating climate crisis would stretch the governor beyond her range. Like picking Sen. McCain for president, putting her one 72-year-old heartbeat from the leadership of the free world is just too risky at this time. Oh my… Speaking of melting down, I just love [this quote:](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/johnmccain/3259208/John-McCain-loses-temper-with-defeatist-aides-as-he-vows-to-fight-to-the-last.html) > [@](#): > > Mr McCain’s aides have been labelled “incontinent” for leaks last week that revealed falling morale in his inner circle and mutual recriminations about his lacklustre campaign. Okay, that’s just funny… Reading on in that article, it looks like old Johnny Mac is (pardon the expression) pissed off about pretty much everything. Then again, temper and anger are his favorite modes of expression so I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of this in the next ten days. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-beautiful-meltdown/469306/182 "2008-10-26T17:57:07Z")
Caution people! I hope we are not counting our chickens before they are hatched. I can just hear Hannity and Limbaugh, the polls were wrong, the liberal elite were wrong, the main street media, the moderates were all against us and the American people prevailed. This can still turn the other way. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-beautiful-meltdown/469306/183 "2008-10-26T18:39:03Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I wonder what a stroke sounds like on the radio? I haven’t listened to it, but the religious nutter Peter Beter (he thought the Russians had replaced President Carter and his family with robots) apparently had a heart attack and died while recording one of his audio letters. You can find them [here.](http://www.peterdavidbeter.com/) (Yes, they went ahead and released the thing.) > [@Icerigger](#): > > Caution people! > > I hope we are not counting our chickens before they are hatched. I can just hear Hannity and Limbaugh, the polls were wrong, the liberal elite were wrong, the main street media, the moderates were all against us and the American people prevailed. This can still turn the other way. [McCain invokes Harry Truman.](http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/10/mccain-jokes-ob.html) > [@](#): > > ABC News’ Bret Hovell reports: John McCain added a moment of levity to his stump speech this evening in New Mexico, ridiculing his opponent Barack Obama for a news report that indicated his staff has already drafted his inaugural address. > > “My friends, when I pull this thing off, I have a request for my opponent,” McCain said. “I want him to save that manuscript of his inaugural address, and donate it to the Smithsonian. And they can put it right next to the Chicago paper that said ‘Dewey Defeats Truman.’” IME, when a politician down in the polls invokes Truman, its time to get out the fork. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-beautiful-meltdown/469306/184 "2008-10-26T19:18:22Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > This can still turn the other way. It sure can, but I wouldn’t bet that way unless you got some seriously favorable odds. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-beautiful-meltdown/469306/185 "2008-10-26T20:44:23Z")
Intrade puts Obama at 87.5% and McCain at 12.8%. [Fivethirtyeight.com](http://Fivethirtyeight.com)’s model (not a prediction) puts McCain’s win percentage at 4.3%, down from 5.1% on Friday. If somebody offered me 100:1 odds, I’d plop for McCain. And those who believe that Obama has a 90% chance of victory will find punters who disagree with them (barely) at Intrade. I agree with **Icerigger**. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-beautiful-meltdown/469306/186 "2008-10-26T21:32:50Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > I haven’t listened to it, but the religious nutter Peter Beter (he thought the Russians had replaced President Carter and his family with robots) apparently had a heart attack and died while recording one of his audio letters. You can find them [here.](http://www.peterdavidbeter.com/) (Yes, they went ahead and released the thing.)… Unfortunately the page links to a hundred or more audio files with no indicators which is the “death” file. Thanks for answering, though. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-beautiful-meltdown/469306/187 "2008-10-26T21:49:20Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > I hope we are not counting our chickens before they are hatched. I never count my chickens until I have swung them bleeding over my head. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-beautiful-meltdown/469306/188 "2008-10-26T22:00:48Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > the main street media You mean mainstream media. Main Street is good, remember, not like filthy greedy corrupt Wall Street. We hates the stupid fat brokers. [/gollum] ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-beautiful-meltdown/469306/189 "2008-10-26T22:05:32Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Unfortunately the page links to a hundred or more audio files with no indicators which is the “death” file. Thanks for answering, though. As a WAG, I would say it was probably [this one.](http://www.peterdavidbeter.com/docs/Dr-Peter-Beter/Dr_Peter_Beter_AL-10-Part-02.mp3) If you’ve never heard one before, its worth a listen to hear the crazy. (I had a roommate who collected the tapes because he thought they were hysterical. He now runs [this site, BTW.](http://www.bushflash.com/)) ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-beautiful-meltdown/469306/190 "2008-10-26T22:41:45Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > [Unless](http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/04/palin.investigation/index.html) you’re Trooper Wooten, then it’s a bad thing. Ha, not at all surprisingly, [Mudflats](http://mudflats.wordpress.com/) picked up on that one too. And of course, he’s just delighted about the Anchorage Daily News endorsing Obama. Good times. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-beautiful-meltdown/469306/191 "2008-10-27T00:13:39Z")
[The _Anchorage Daily News_ endorses Obama.](http://www.adn.com/opinion/story/567867.html) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-beautiful-meltdown/469306/192 "2008-10-27T02:39:09Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > As a WAG, I would say it was probably [this one.](http://www.peterdavidbeter.com/docs/Dr-Peter-Beter/Dr_Peter_Beter_AL-10-Part-02.mp3) If you’ve never heard one before, its worth a listen to hear the crazy. (I had a roommate who collected the tapes because he thought they were hysterical. He now runs [this site, BTW.](http://www.bushflash.com/)) Thanks for subjecting me to a rant about the Rockefellers forcing America to adopt a new constitution without the reward of him dying at the end. 😉 Sorry, no death rattle. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-beautiful-meltdown/469306/193 "2008-10-27T02:41:37Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > [The _Anchorage Daily News_ endorses Obama.](http://www.adn.com/opinion/story/567867.html) I particularly like this quote: > [@](#): > > Sen. McCain describes himself as a maverick, by which he seems to mean that he spent 25 years trying unsuccessfully to persuade his own party to follow his bipartisan, centrist lead. ---
**Author:** ![RobuSensei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/919ad9/32.png) [@RobuSensei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobuSensei)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-beautiful-meltdown/469306/194 "2008-10-27T10:23:13Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > I haven’t listened to it, but the religious nutter Peter Beter (he thought the Russians had replaced President Carter and his family with robots) apparently had a heart attack and died while recording one of his audio letters. You can find them [here.](http://www.peterdavidbeter.com/) (Yes, they went ahead and released the thing.) Wait a minute; the link (and Wikipedia) says that he released 80 audio letters between 1975 and 1982, and he died in 1987. So, unless that last recording session lasted a hell of a long time, it doesn’t look like he died during a recording. (He survived the first heart attack, maybe?) ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-beautiful-meltdown/469306/195 "2008-10-27T15:02:57Z")
> [@RobuSensei](#): > > Wait a minute; the link (and Wikipedia) says that he released 80 audio letters between 1975 and 1982, and he died in 1987. So, unless that last recording session lasted a hell of a long time, it doesn’t look like he died during a recording. (He survived the first heart attack, maybe?) I dunno. I know I saw a transcript ages ago of the episode where he _did_ have a heart attack, and the site which hosted it claimed it was a fatal attack. Perhaps he was replaced with a robotiod in 1982 in an effort to cover up the fact that the Rockerfeller’s had him killed? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-beautiful-meltdown/469306/196 "2008-10-27T16:16:46Z")
I’m not counting any chickens. Not by a long shot. There are just too many unknown factors at work in this election. I may be cautiously optimistic, but I’m going to be working my ass off between now and 8 pm on Nov. 4. But Obama’s chances of winning have very little to do with the fact that I’m enjoying the holy heck out of watching the McCain campaign eat itself. ---
**Author:** ![Bruno\_Lee\_Hanson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/439d5e/32.png) [@Bruno\_Lee\_Hanson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruno_Lee_Hanson)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-beautiful-meltdown/469306/197 "2008-10-27T16:19:44Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I put everything in baseball metaphors For a baseball metaphor, Sarah Palin is Chico Escuela. She has learned to say “Beisbol is very very good to me” and that’s all. [On the Republican party platform:](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-kelly/sarah-palin-might-not-kno_b_137163.html) “Now, finally, we have very solid planks in the platform that will allow us to build an even stronger foundation for our country. It’s all good and it’s encouraging. You would maybe have assumed that we would have gotten further away from those strong planks. But no, they’re there, they’re solid, we stand on them and again I believe that it is the right agenda for the country at this time. Very, very clear and contrasted tickets in this election November 4th. People are going to see the clear contrasts, you just go to the planks in our platforms and that’s where you see them.” Shorter Chico: “Platform, I don’no.” [On preconditions:](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ilan-goldenberg/does-palin-know-what-a-pr_b_137049.html) “You have to have some diplomatic strategy going into a meeting with someone like Ahmadinejad or Kim Jong Il, or one of these dictators that would seek to destroy America or our allies.” Shorter Chico: “Preconditions, I don’no.” [On the Bush Doctrine:](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/11/palins-abc-interview-stum_n_125818.html) “I believe that what President Bush has attempted to do is rid this world of Islamic extremism, terrorists who are hell-bent in destroying our nation.” Shorter Chico: “Doctrine, I don’no.” I wouldn’t expect Corky to know the answers to these questions. Unless, of course, Corky were running for Vice President. ---
**Author:** ![Carson\_O\_Genic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Carson\_O\_Genic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carson_O_Genic)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-beautiful-meltdown/469306/198 "2008-10-28T13:12:44Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Just wanted to point out that he really doesn’t say all the right things, at least not in the sense I think you meant, of pandering or saying what he thinks people want to hear. > > He spoke out against the war when Bush’s approval ratings were near 80% and speaking against the war was equated to speaking against the troops. Even in the campaign, he was the only candidate who said that repealing the gas tax was a bad idea even though people were almost desperate to have some relief. He was the only one who spoke out against the surge in Iraq, enunciating a nuanced position about how it was only one of many factors (especially the Sunni uprising) that contributed to subsequent successes. Holding a nuanced position has been the death of many a campaign. He spoke out against nuclear power and offshore drilling, even though the popular thing to do was throw the kitchen sink at the energy crisis. His position was again a nuanced one — he opposed nuclear only to the extent that the waste problem had not been figured out, and offshore drilling only to the extent that oil companies already had plenty of offshore acreage they weren’t using. There are many other examples of Obama taking an unpopular position and patiently making his case to the American people. > > I wanted to address this only because I’ve heard the smooth-talker charge before. The only smooth-talker in this campaign is John McCain, who has switched so many positions he had held for no purpose other than political expediency. ``` Very well said. 'Though I don't see B.O. as being pander free, his considered views of potentially unpopular issues have gained my support. ``` ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-beautiful-meltdown/469306/199 "2008-10-28T16:44:14Z")
Baseball metaphor? Interviewer: Governor, what newspaper do you read? Sara Palin: [scratches her crotch and spits] Interviewer: Governor, are abortion clinic bombers terrorists? Sara Palin: [scratches her crotch and spits] Interviewer: Governor, earlier this year did you address the Alaskan Independence Party and state that you shared its “vision” and tell it to “keep up the good work?” Sara Palin: [scratches her crotch and spits] ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-beautiful-meltdown/469306/200 "2008-10-28T18:51:34Z")
Meanwhile, [some RW pundits are saying the GOP needs to distance itself from McCain,](http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/10/should_republicans_cut_bait.html?hpid=topnews) to minimize Congressional losses. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-beautiful-meltdown/469306.md?page=9)