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chimpy can't win even when he stacks the deck:

Gitmo jury gives bin Laden driver 5 1/2 years

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - A military jury sentenced Osama bin Laden's former driver to 5 1/2 years in prison for aiding terrorism Thursday, making him eligible for release in just six months, despite prosecutors' pleas to give him no less than 30 years.

worst.  president.  ever.

People are sick of hearing about Obama and the campaign in general. I hope this time-out marks the beginning of Obama starting fresh with some actual ideas and stands on the issues. In my dream world, he's taking all his newfound advisors on a little tropical holiday to soften the news that they're all fired.

I hope he announces his VP pick at the convention. I see no benefit to announcing before then.

It might be nice to have a VP person out running around while the Obamas have a rest. Although I seriously doubt there will be much resting. Tropical strategizin' most likely.

The press will be really happy. They win a trip to Hawaii! Again, McCain's press puppies get the short end of the stick as they might wind up at a pineapple smoothie shop - instead of a sausage shop.

l agree, on both counts, and especially the vp announcement.

on the demoRAT side, given the already tenuous circumstances and potential for disruption vis-a-vis the PUMA's and other clintonista, not to mention the "anarchists" that are lurking in the wings, it would be foolish to make the call before the DNC.

l expect after the nomination vote is completed.

mcstain can do whatever the hell he likes, and l doubt he'll make any announcement before obama's...his campaign isn't known for doing a very good job of looking or planning ahead.

.

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

That's disingenuous at best.

Like I've said, Clinton can end this with dignity and honor intact, and we can move on.

It's not Clinton I'm putting down.  It's the behavior of her campaign surrogates.  It's been two months now since Obama wrapped this up.  Why are we still having this discussion?

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-bhutto14nov14,0,2482408.story?coll=la-opinion-center

Man held in Fla. for threatening Obama's life - Barack Obama News- msnbc.com

MIAMI - A man is being held in Florida by federal authorities on charges of threatening to assassinate Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

As RollaMo said, maybe he needs to be scarce for a while.

So long as he doesn't take a vacation AFTER the convention, he'll be fine. I think that was the problem with Kerry and Dukakis.

Have you taken a gander at MSNBC? You should.

Let me revise and extend my remarks, aw hell, let me flip-flop, maybe he does need to get the hell out of dodge for a while --

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26077318/

this leaked McCain memo

Paint Obama as a job killer

vacation is now or never. Hours after the votes are counted, the focus turns to transition. As you note the Olympics is on - a huge distraction.

McCain does not campaign on weekends. He BBQs and serves donuts with sprinkles. Most likely he'll be testing the teleprompter.

On VP, McCain will wait for Obama.

I think the timing is perfect, given the Pew "fatigue" poll.  The public is sick and tired of this campaign, and needs a break.  So does the candidate.  My best guess is that the Veep may not be announced until the convention - a wise move.

With all due respect my esteemed BooMan, maybe 2000 years ago but my reference is on today.  Taliban and Qaedy colleagues did not disappear in Afghanistan and surprise, Pakistan IS now Taliban... in plain sight...making for one and the same country without borders between the two.

Pakistan is not an accident waiting to happen, it's already happening  - going up in smoke...

I can link to 12 articles over the past five days that write of the canaries sounding the alarm...Pakistan is  under Taliban control.

add I to IS, then ask who controls Pakistan's ISI that, in turn, controls Islamabad?

From the Aussies viewpoint: The Pakistani furnace - Tough talk to Pakistan of little use

[.]

The reality is that almost seven years after September 11 and the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, both counter-terrorism on the Pakistan border and the war in Afghanistan are going backwards. More foreign fighters are finding their way to Pakistan; there has been a 40 per cent rise in rebel activity on the Afghanistan side of the border since Pakistan adopted its policy of coddling, rather than combating the FATA-based militants; and, by some accounts, the ISI has a tighter grip on power in Islamabad than ever before.

The worry is that what the Islamabad generals offer as proof of a deep commitment to counter-terrorism - the loss of hundreds of its own troops in brawling on the border - could well be sacrificial window-dressing for what is a deeper commitment by some in the Islamabad establishment to terrorism.

Any doubt about the tissue-thinness of Pakistani democracy and the prospect of a genuine counter-terrorism effort evaporated last weekend, when the military intervened and reasserted its control over the ISI in a matter of just hours.

On Saturday, Gilani's administration announced that the spy and security service had been brought under civilian control. By 3am Sunday the generals had snatched it back to their bosom.[.]

Like giving Dracula key-card access to the blood-bank, Washington pushes virtually its entire aid for the border region to the very Pakistani military machine that it has always suspected of being in league with al-Qaeda and the other Afghan and Pakistani militias.

[.]

As Aussies note, all grim my chap. Grim. As AF/Pakistan deteriorates, we'll be devoting pages, gallons of ink and sadly, blood too.

BushCo™ is bad for the environment by design, as well as anti-science. this one strikes close to home, as ncar is headquartered here:

Climate-Change Program to Aid Poor Nations Is Shut

The National Center for Atmospheric Research, an important hub for work on the causes and consequences of climate change, has shut down a program focused on strengthening poor countries' ability to forecast and withstand droughts, floods and other climate-related hazards.

The move, which center officials say resulted from the shrinking of federal science budgets, is being denounced by many experts on environmental risk, who say such research is more crucial than ever in a world with rising populations exposed to climate threats.

In e-mail exchanges, these experts said the eliminated program, the Center for Capacity Building, was unique in its blend of research and training in struggling countries.

:::

One scientist, Ilan Kelman, a senior research fellow at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo, said he was "appalled" that the National Center for Atmospheric Research, based in Boulder, Colo., "would suddenly end one of the most productive programs and would let go of one of the most productive scientists within the institute."

"In terms of value for money," he added, "Dr. Glantz's science was among the best, being cutting-edge and cost-effective, yet influencing the world. He also ensured that science was used for humanity and by humanity."

Eric J. Barron, who was named the director of the atmospheric research center in May, said the step had been unavoidable given steady erosion of the center's budget, most of which comes from the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Barron said that over the last five years more than 110 positions at the center, of about 1,000 supported by the science foundation, had been cut from other programs as varied as solar physics, atmospheric chemistry and social science.

nyt environment

Related: Dismay Over Cuts at Climate Lab (August 7, 2008)

you'd think they could find a way to maintain a program that was approximately $500,000 out of a $120m budget--.04%±...eh? which leads me to the conclusion that there's more at work here, politically, than meets the eye.

guess all that climate change nonsense is all just a hoax, eh.

it's going to take decades to restore the science and opportunities that are being squandered.

Vacation time should not be taken until after the election. I know then they have to get transition teams in place, but dude, your running for POTUS, not manager at Wal-Mart, that means you have to make sacrifice.

I agree, it makes me nervous, too, even though he probably needs it.  McCain, on the other hand, while old, hasn't exactly been burning up the campaign trail.  He does about one event a day, and some days none.  Hopefully the Obama campaign itself will be going full bore during this time countering the attack machine.

In the most general sense, I think more democracy will lead to less power for the religious maniacs.  But we would make a grave mistake if we thought the Pakistani people are going to support politicians that are overtly pro-American.  And, at the same time, given the stakes with our soldiers in Afghanistan, we're hard-pressed to sit back and watch what happens without trying to influence what happens in any way.  Our relationship with the ISI is probably at its lowest point in history, and we have a real desire to improve our relations with India.  

I'm glad that I don't have the job of figuring out what to do with U.S.-Pakistani relations right now.

I sure wouldn't describe Afghanistan and Pakistan as one country. The problem is that neither of them is itself one country. Afghanistan has little history of functioning central govt; Pakistan is more of a nation but hasn't ever actually controlled its "tribal area".

great analysis BooMan, even though this is the truest thing you say

It's extremely difficult to parse out what is going on and even what is desirable from an American point of view.

one thing that's going on is bad old South Asian family-based politics. The PPP is more than ever the "Bhutto faction", now with TWO martyrs. Not only is the widower Zardari the candidate, their 19-year old son is party chair! They should consider how well this dynasty stuff has worked in America.