Mitt Romney Republican National Convention Speech Transcript (9-3-08)

Read the full transcript.

You know, for decades now, the Washington sun has been rising in the east. You see, Washington has been looking to the eastern elites, to the editorial pages of the Times and the Post, and to the broadcasters from the -- from the coast. Yes.

If America really wants to change, it's time to look for the sun in the west, because it's about to rise and shine from Arizona and Alaska.

Last week, the Democratic convention talked about change. But what do you think? Is Washington now, liberal or conservative? Let me ask you some questions.

Is a Supreme Court decision liberal or conservative that awards Guantanamo terrorists with constitutional rights? It's liberal.

Is a government liberal or conservative that puts the interests of the teachers union ahead of the needs of our children? It's liberal.

Is a Congress liberal or conservative that stops nuclear power plants and off-shore drilling, making us more and more dependent on Middle Eastern tyrants? It's liberal.

Is government spending, putting aside inflation, liberal or conservative if it doubles since 1980? It's liberal.

We need change all right: change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington.

We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington: Throw out the big-government liberals and elect John McCain and Sarah Palin.

It's the same prescription for a stronger economy. I spent 25 years in the private sector. I've done business in many foreign countries. I know why jobs come and why they go away. And I know that liberals don't have a clue.

They think that we have the biggest and strongest economy in the world because of our government. They're wrong. America is strong because of the ingenuity, and entrepreneurship, and hard work of the American people.

The American people have always been the source of our nation's strength, and they always will be.

We strengthen our people and our economy when we preserve and promote opportunity. Opportunity is what lets hope become reality.

Opportunity expands when there's excellence and choice in education, when taxes are lowered, when every citizen has affordable, portable health insurance, and when constitutional freedoms are preserved.

Mike Huckabee Republican National Convention Speech Transcript (9-3-08)

Read the full transcript.

If you're a flight attendant or baggage handler and you're asked to take a pay cut to keep your job, you want something to change.

If you're a young couple losing your house, your credit rating, and your American dream, you want something to change.

John McCain offers specific ideas to respond to this need for change. But let me say there are some things we never want to change -- freedom, security, and the opportunity to prosper.

Barack Obama's excellent adventure to Europe took his campaign for change to hundreds of thousands of people who don't even vote or pay taxes here.

Let me hasten to say it's not what he took there that concerns me. It's what he brought back. Lots of ideas from Europe he'd like to see imported here.

Centralized governments may care for you from cradle to grave, but they also control you. Most Americans don't want more government, they want a lot less government.

It was in fact the founder of our party Abraham Lincoln reminded us that a government that can do everything for us can also take everything from us.

I get a little tired of hearing how the Democrats care about the working guy as if all Republicans grew up with silk stockings and silver spoons. In my little hometown of Hope, Arkansas, the three sacred heroes were Jesus, Elvis, and FDR, not necessarily in that order.

My own father held down two jobs, barely affording the little rented house I grew up in. My dad worked hard, lifted heavy things, and got his hands dirty. In fact, the only soap we had at my house was Lava.

Heck, I was in college before I found out it wasn't supposed to hurt to take a shower.

Let me make something clear tonight: I'm not a Republican because I grew up rich, but because I didn't want to spend the rest of my life poor, waiting for the government to rescue me.

John McCain doesn't want the kind of change that allows the government to reach deeper into your paycheck and pick your doctor, your child's school, or even the kind of car you drive or how much you inflate the tires.

And he doesn't want to change the definition of marriage. And unlike the Democratic ticket, Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin believe that every human life has intrinsic worth and value from the moment of conception.

And speaking of Gov. Palin, I am so tired of hearing about her lack of experience. I want to tell you folks something. She got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States.

Joe Lieberman Republican National Convention Speech Transcript (9-2-08)

Read the complete transcript.

I don't have to tell you that we were blessed in this country to have a great generation of founders and they foresaw the danger of this kind of senseless partisanship. George Washington himself -- in his farewell address to our country -- warned that the "spirit of party" is "the worst enemy" of our democracy and "enfeebles" our government's ability to do its job.

My friends, I think today we could say that George Washington was absolutely right. The sad truth is -- today we are living through his worst nightmare, in the capital city that bears his name.

And that brings me directly to why I'm here tonight. What, after all, is a Democrat like me doing at a Republican convention like this?

The answer is simple.

Well, I'll tell you why. I'm here to support John McCain because country matters more than party.

I am here tonight for a simple reason. John McCain is the best choice to bring our country together and lead America forward.

And dear friends, I am here tonight here because John McCain's whole life testifies to a great truth: Being a Democrat or a Republican is important.

But it is nowhere near as important as being an American.

You know that both of the presidential candidates this year have talked about changing the culture of Washington, about breaking through the partisan gridlock and special interests that are poisoning our politics.

But only one of them has actually done it.

Only one of them has shown the courage and the capability to rise above the smallness of our politics to get big things done for our country and our people. And that one is John S. McCain!

John understands that it shouldn't take a natural disaster like a hurricane to get us to take off our partisan blinders and work together to get things done.

It shouldn't take a natural disaster to teach us that the American people don't care much if you have an "R" or a "D" after your name.

What they care about is, are we solving the problems that they're against every day?

What you can expect from John McCain as president is precisely what he has done this week: put our country first. That's not a political posture by John. That is the code by which he has lived his entire life, and that is the code he will carry with him into the White House next January.

I have personally seen him, over and over again, bring people together from both parties to tackle our toughest problems we face -- to reform our campaign finance, lobbying and ethics laws, to create the independent 9/11 Commission and pass its critical national security reforms, and to end the partisan paralysis over judicial confirmations.

My Democratic friends know all about John's record of independence and accomplishment.

Maybe that's why some of them are spending so much time and so much money trying to convince voters that John McCain is someone else.

I'm here, as a Democrat myself, to tell you: Don't be fooled.

God only made one John McCain, and he is his own man.

If John McCain was just another go-along partisan politician, he never would have taken on corrupt Republican lobbyists, or big corporations that were cheating the American people, or powerful colleagues in Congress who were wasting taxpayer money.

- Related Posts

• Fred Thompson Republican National Convention Transcript (9-2-08)
• Bush Republican National Convention Speech Transcript (9-2-08)

Fred Thompson Republican National Convention Speech Transcript (9-2-08)

Read the complete Transcript.

Some Washington pundits and media big shots are in a frenzy over the selection of a woman who has actually governed rather than just talked a good game on the Sunday talk shows and hit the Washington cocktail circuit. Well, give me a tough Alaskan governor who has taken on the political establishment in the largest state in the union -- and won -- over the beltway business-as-usual crowd any day of the week.

Let's be clear ... the selection of Gov. Palin has the other side and their friends in the media in a state of panic. She is a courageous, successful, reformer, who is not afraid to take on the establishment.

Sound like anyone else we know?

She has run a municipality and she has run a state.

And I can say without fear of contradiction that she is the only nominee in the history of either party who knows how to properly field dress a moose ... with the possible exception of Teddy Roosevelt.

She and John McCain are not going to care how much the alligators get irritated when they get to Washington, they're going to drain that swamp.

But tonight, I'd like to talk to you about the remarkable story of John McCain.

It's a story about character.

John McCain's character has been tested like no other presidential candidate in the history of this nation.

He comes from a military family whose service to our country goes back to the Revolutionary War.

The tradition continues.

As I speak, John and Cindy McCain have one son who's just finished his first tour in Iraq.

Another son is putting "Country First" and is attending the Naval Academy. We have a number of McCains in the audience tonight.

Also here tonight is John's 96-year-old mother, Roberta. All I've got to say is that if Roberta McCain had been the McCain captured by the North Vietnamese, they would have surrendered.

Now, John's father was a bit of a rebel, too.

In his first two semesters at the Naval Academy, he managed to earn 333 demerits.

Unfortunately, John later saw that as a record to be beaten.

A rebellious mother and a rebellious father - I guess you can see where this is going.

In high school and the Naval Academy, he earned a reputation as a troublemaker.

But as John points out, he wasn't just a troublemaker. He was the leader of the troublemakers.

Although loaded with demerits like his father, John was principled even in rebellion.

He never violated the honor code.

However, in flight school in Pensacola, he did drive a Corvette and date a girl who worked in a bar as an exotic dancer under the name of Marie, the Flame of Florida.

And the reason I'm telling you these things, is that, apparently, this mixture of rebellion and honor helped John McCain survive the next chapter of his life:

Bush Republican National Convention Speech Transcript (9-2-08)

The speech given by President Bush was delivered from the White House. Read the complete speech transcript (NyTimes).

I know what it takes to be president. In these past eight years, I've sat at the Resolute Desk and reviewed the daily intelligence briefings, the threat assessments and the reports from our commanders on the front lines. I've stood in the ruins of buildings knocked down by killers, and promised the survivors I would never let them down. I know the hard choices that fall solely to a president.

John McCain's life has prepared him to make those choices. He is ready to lead this nation. From the day of his commissioning, John McCain was a respected Naval officer who made decisions on which the lives of others depended. As an elected public servant, he earned the respect of colleagues in both parties as a man to follow when there is a tough call to make.

John McCain's life is a story of service above self. Forty years ago in an enemy prison camp, Lt. Cmdr. McCain was offered release ahead of others who had been held longer. His wounds were so severe that anyone would have understood if he had accepted. John refused. For that selfless decision, he suffered nearly five more years of beatings and isolation. When he was finally released, his arms had been broken, but not his honor.

Fellow citizens: If the Hanoi Hilton could not break John McCain's resolve to do what is best for his country, you can be sure the angry left never will.

- Related Post

• Fred Thompson Republican National Convention Speech Transcript (9-2-08)

Is Sarah Palin Qualified to be Vice President?

Presented here are different perspectives on one of the major issues impacting the 2008 presidential campaign year:

• "Early returns on the politics of the selection are good. Senator McCain's choice of Governor Palin, a feisty young reformer from small-town Alaska, performed the signal service of driving Barack Obama's acceptance speech out of the news within hours after it was delivered. Polls since Friday suggest that the shift in attention from Senator Obama to Palin probably restrained the bounce that Obama had generated at the Democratic convention.
  Better yet, Palin has electrified the GOP base. McCain's campaign got a $7 million bounce in donations after she was picked, which shows how much conservatives like her and how muted their support for McCain had been. Many had the feeling that they were watching a rerun of Bob Dole's losing campaign and were unenthused about McCain's candidacy. Until now." (9-2-08)
• Rush Limbaugh: "She's got more experience than Obama does! She has more experience running things. She's got a bigger story to tell than Obama has, and she's got plenty of people who will tell that great story of hers. Obama has nobody he wants us to hear tell his story. He has to tell his story himself. I think they've been rope-a-doped here. I think McCain has made a brilliant move. Folks, look what we got here.... Sarah Palin doesn't have to wear pantsuits, ladies and gentlemen, and her husband is not a crook. This woman's nickname is Barracuda, from her high school basketball days. She takes no prisoners. She's a government ethical reformer. She's been opposing Ted Stevens, who's got problems....McCain has the experience-vs.-Obama thing wrapped up. "Well, what about foreign policy? She doesn't have any foreign policy." Neither does Obama! Our vice presidential choice is more qualified to be president of the United States than Barack Obama, the Democrat choice." (8-29-08)
• Alaska Governor Sarah Palin hired a lawyer three weeks ago to act on her behalf as state legislators investigate whether she may have abused her power in firing the state police chief for refusing to fire her ex-brother-in-law, a state trooper, CNN has confirmed. (9-1-08)
• "Allow me to predict that, within the next week or so, Sarah Palin will withdraw from the Republican ticket." (9-1-08)

- To Read the complete list of the points of view on Palin's selection by John McCain to be his running mate, visit here. You can even add your own opinion.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Meet The Press: Transcript (8-31-08)

Tim Pawlenty was considered a front runner to be McCain's running mate, until Palin was selected. He makes a strong and exaggerated defense of Palin as the VP pick. Read the complete transcript.

[...]But the fact is that she has been governor less than two years and before that she was a mayor of a town with a population of less than 7,000. Her candidate at the top of the ticket has the bull of a constitution--has the constitution of a bull elephant, but he is a 72-year-old man and a cancer survivor. She will be a heartbeat away from the presidency. This country is engaged in two wars, it's facing a resurgent Russia, a rogue Iran, a financial crisis that may be the greatest since the Great Depression. I think our viewers want to know what's in her background that prepares her for dealing with all that and the possibility that she would have to step up into the Oval Office?

GOV. PAWLENTY: Well, first of all, I think Senator McCain, of course, one of his main attractions and assets and strengths that he's a maverick with a record of reform. She's a maverick with a record of reform. And if you look at her background and I know her a bit as a fellow governor, she's an individual who is smart, she's strong, she's capable, she's dedicated, she's diligent and she has executive experience. She's functioned as a governor, she's the commander in chief of a national guard, she's a former mayor, she's the former chair of an energy commission in Alaska, which is one of the more high-profile issues and operations in Alaska. She's deeply involved in the energy issues, which is really one of the foremost national security issues we have in our country in terms of its connection to transference of wealth to places like the Middle East and Russia and Venezuela. So she is somebody who I think is very capable to be in the executive position. And one last thing, Tom, she's running for vice president. She has as much or more experience as Barack Obama, who's running for president.

MR. BROKAW: But Barack Obama has been before the American people for more than 20 months now. He has debated 20-some times against some very tough opponents. He's participated in one-on-one interviews around the world. He's been vetted, in effect, by the American people, and in most national polls he continues to lead your candidate by a small margin. But people have made some judgments about him and they've not had that same kind of exposure to Sarah Palin. Let me just ask you, quickly, do you think that she would be better on the economy than Mitt Romney, who was a successful entrepreneur and governor of Massachusetts, or better on terrorism than Tom Ridge, the former governor of Pennsylvania, who also ran Homeland Security? Or better, in a lot of matters at the national level, than Joe Lieberman, who is John McCain's close friend from the Democratic Party who's been supporting your party?

GOV. PAWLENTY: Well, one of the objectives here is to be able to relate to and understand and meet and address the needs of average Americans, blue-collar Americans, people who are struggling economically, people who have had a tough time in life. That's a big part of the concern in this election, our economy. It helps to actually have lived that life or walked that walk. And so in addition to her role as governor, being somebody who is dealing with the economy successfully, by the way, in Alaska, she's also somebody who has, has a background, that's, you know, lived the life that, that we talk about. We talk about people sitting around the kitchen table and balancing a budget with a family and having to worry about meeting--making ends meet economically. She and her family have actually done that. I would say that's pretty good preparation for understanding and relating to the economic needs of average Americans.

Obama, Biden on 60 Minutes - Transcript (8-31-08)

Barack Obama and Joe Biden were interviewed together by 60 Minutes. The interview was held Friday. Read the complete transcript/summary.

"Does the fact that he chose as his vice president someone what has less experience than you take that weapon out of his arsenal?" Kroft asked.

"Well, you know, I think that's a good question to address to Senator McCain," Obama replied. "Of course, the issue of experience is going to be relevant. And if I were running against me, that's something that I would try to make an issue of as well. Particularly if I had been in Washington as long as John McCain had."

[...] "She's a life-long member of the NRA. She's a hunter. Her husband's a member of the United Steel Worker Union. Blue collar guy. Got a son on the way to Iraq. It seems like just the kind of person who would appeal to voters in states that you absolutely have to win," Kroft remarked. "And they have to win."

"Well, look, I am happy if this ends up being a referendum on what's going to be good for blue collar workers," Obama said. "I'll put my guy, Joe Biden, up against anybody when it comes to fighting on behalf of those families, because he's been there. He comes out of Scranton, Pennsylvania. He's been fightin' for those folks ever since he got into the Senate. And he hasn't stopped. And he hasn't forgotten where he's come from."

"You know, I think we really underestimate people in the neighborhood. In the neighborhoods I came from, you came from. I really think we underestimate them," Biden remarked. "People get it. I think they're looking for more than whether or not Joe Biden's from Scranton and she hunts. I think that's you know, 'What ya gonna do about it?'"

[...]"Is that one of the reasons you picked Senator Biden?" Kroft asked.

"What reason is that, Steve?" Obama asked.

"You said you've got Joe Biden working for you in Pennsylvania. …States like Pennsylvania," Kroft explained.

"Let me tell you the reason I picked Joe Biden. Number one, he can step in and become president. And I don't think anybody has any doubt about that," Obama said.

"Number two is that if I'm in the room making the kinds of tough decisions that the next president's gonna have to make, both on domestic policy and on international policy, then I want the counsel and advice of somebody who's not gonna agree with me a 100 percent of [the] time. In fact, somebody who's independent enough that can push back and give me different perspectives and make sure that I'm catching any blind spots that I have. And Joe Biden doesn't bite his tongue," he continued.

"You've had some differences over pretty substantial issues. Iraq for one," Kroft pointed out.

"Actually, we haven't," Biden said. "Look, Barack was right. He not only got it right about bein' against the war, I got it wrong about underestimating the incompetence of this administration when we gave the president the power we gave him at the time. He knew accurately that even, not even being outside. Maybe it gave you a better perspective. That that meant he was going to war. Bush told me he wasn't going to war. I thought they meant it. You're standing outside. You knew they didn't mean it."

John McCain FOX News Sunday Interview Transcript (8-31-08)

Read the full transcript.

WALLACE: Let's start with your choice of a running mate. Of all the people you could have chosen, of all the Republican leaders you've known for years, straight talk, can you honestly say that Sarah Palin is the best person to put a heartbeat away from the presidency?

MCCAIN: Oh, yes. She's a partner and a soul-mate. She's a reformer. I don't particularly enjoy the label "maverick," but when somebody takes on the old bulls in her own party, runs against an incumbent governor of her own party, stands up against the oil and gas interests, I mean, they really are so vital to the economy of her — of the state of Alaska. I mean, it's remarkable. It's a remarkable person.

And I've watched her record, and I've watched her for many, many years as she — as she implemented ethics and lobbying reforms. And I mean, she led on it. She didn't just vote for it. She led it. I've seen her take on her own party.

Now look, one thing I know is that when you take on your own party in Washington, you pay a price for it. You do. You pay a price for it. And she has taken on the party in her own state. She took on a sitting governor and defeated him.

And so I'm so pleased and proud, because this is a person who will help me reform Washington and change the way they do business. And that's what Americans want.

WALLACE: But let me ask you...

MCCAIN: Sure.

WALLACE: ... about the concerns that a lot of voters, who have never heard of Sarah Palin before yesterday, are asking. Compared to, say, Tom Ridge or Joe Lieberman, why is Governor Palin superior in dealing with national security and foreign policy?

MCCAIN: Look, those people you talk about, Joe, and Tom Ridge, and Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee, they're wonderful people. And I'm grateful for the opportunity that I've had to know them and work with them.

But look, what this brings is a spirit of reform and change that is vital now in our nation's capital. Eighty-four percent of the American people think the country is on the wrong track. In our party, we have corruption.

We have former members of Congress residing in federal prison. So it's not surprising to me that we've seen an incredible invigoration around our party and around the nation. Not just Republicans, but Democrats.

And by the way, in the last day-and-a-half, or whatever it has been, we have raised $4 million on the Internet. I wish I had have taken her a month ago.

[...]WALLACE: You have criticized Obama as being, quote, "dangerously unprepared to be president." In the sense of national security and foreign policy specifically, isn't Sarah Palin even more dangerously unprepared?

MCCAIN: Oh, no. Look, she has got the right judgment. She has got the right judgment. She doesn't think, like Senator Obama does, that Iran is a minor irritant. She knows that the surge worked and succeeded, and she supported that.

Senator Obama still, still to this day refuses to acknowledge that the surge has succeeded. She has been commander-in-chief of the Alaska Guard, that has served back and back (ph). In fact, as you know, she has got a son who is getting ready to go.

But she has had the judgment on these issues and — that Senator Obama has not had in the — he has had all the wrong judgments. And Governor Palin understands these issues, and she understands the challenges that we face.

So she has had 12 years of elected office experience, including traveling to Kuwait, including being involved in these issues. And look, I'm so proud that she has displayed the kind of judgment and she has the experience and judgment as an executive. She has run a huge economy up there in the state of Alaska. Twenty percent of our energy comes from the state of Alaska, and energy is obviously one of the key issues for our nation's security.

WALLACE: But, Senator, you talked about her years of experience. Ten of those years were as a city councilwoman and mayor of a town of 9,800 people. And in terms of foreign policy, in March of 2007, after, two months after the surge had started, she was asked about it, and she said: "I've been focused on state government. I haven't focused on the war in Iraq." Understandable for a governor; not understandable for a vice president.

MCCAIN: Well, by the way, also she was a member of the PTA. I think it's wonderful. But the point is she has been to Kuwait. She has been over there. She has been with her troops, the National Guard that she commands, who had been over there and had the experience. I'm proud of her knowledge of these challenges and issues.

And of course, as governor she has had enormous responsibilities, none of which Senator Obama had. He — when she was in government, he was a community organizer. When she was taking tough positions against her own party, Senator Obama was voting "present" 130 times in the state legislature, on every tough issue whatever it was, while she was taking them on. That's the kind of judgment that I'm confident that we need in Washington.

Transcript: TIME's interview with Sarah Palin

This interview was done on August 14th, almost 2 weeks before she was picked by McCain. Read the entire transcript.

TIME: What got you involved in politics.

Palin: I studied journalism in college and always had an interest in the newsroom, which was of course so often focused on politics and government. I studied sports reporting, and that's how I started off in journalism. But even earlier than that, my dad was an elementary school teacher, so often our dinner-table conversations were about current events and about those things that an elementary school teacher teaches students — much about government and much about our nation, and so I had ingrained in me an interest in our government, how things worked. And then from there I just became more interested in more practical steps that I could take... [I] started off running for city council when I was very young in the town [Wasilla] where I had grown up and was elected to two terms on the city council. And then I realized to be really able to make a difference — not just being one of six of a body but to make a difference — I would have to run for the top dog position, and so I ran for mayor and was elected mayor for two terms.

Then from there I was appointed an oil and gas commissioner in the state of Alaska, on the Alaska oil and gas conservation commission, had decided that there were changes, positive changes, that had to be ushered into our state government, decided to run for governor and did so, was successful, and here we are.

How old were you when you ran for city council??

I think was 27 or 28, and then was elected mayor when I was 32.

Did being younger and being a woman gives you a better perspective on politics and government than a more traditional politician?

What's more of a challenge for me over the years being in elected office has been more the age issue rather than a gender issue. I've totally ignored the issues that have potentially been affecting me when it comes to gender because I was raised in a family where, you know, gender wasn't going to be an issue. The girls did what the boys did. Apparently in Alaska that's quite commonplace. You're out there hunting and fishing. My parents were coaches, so I was involved in sports all my life. So I knew that as woman I could do whatever the men were doing. Also that's just part of Alaskan life.

But the age issue I think was more significant in my career than the gender issue. Your resume not being as fat as your opponent's in a race, perhaps [but] being able to capitalize on that... being able to to use that in campaigns — I don't have 30 years of political experience under my belt ... that's a good thing, that's a healthy thing. That means my perspective is fresher, more in touch with the people I will be serving. I would use that as an advantage. I've certainly never been part of a good old boy club. That I would use in a campaign. And that's been good.

Maria Bartiromo Interviews Sarah Palin: Transcript (8-25-08)

The interview was held days before Sarah Palin was picked by John McCain to be his running mate. Read the entire transcript.

MARIA BARTIROMO
Despite all the talk of unity at the Democratic Convention, there still seems to be real residual anger among Hillary Clinton supporters. How do you think the GOP can attract women disenchanted with the Democrats?

GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN
And they should be disenchanted because, you know, I'm looking at Barack [Obama] and looking at the choice he made, and I think: "Geez, he should have chosen Hillary." But I'm glad he didn't. For the sake of the Republican agenda, I'm glad that he didn't. I think that perhaps this is an opportunity for the Republican Party to manifest its [convention] plank that says we respect equality, and gender is not an issue in someone's ability and their capabilities and their opportunities in America.

Let the GOP be the party, then, that can embrace that and manifest that. But you know, Hillary ran an awesome campaign. She made women proud. She doesn't represent what I would like to see in the White House, but as a woman looking at a woman candidate, I was proud that Hillary shattered some ceilings.

Bartiromo: After eight years of a Republican in the White House, the economy is the top concern of voters across the country. Why should Americans trust the GOP to get this economy and the markets back on track?

Palin: Because capitalism still works. The free marketplace and competition still work. I believe, though, we need to get more of the special interests and the undue influence out of the policy making that perhaps we've seen in the past. I say that based on my own experience here in the state of Alaska, where the oil industry had some corrupting influence on our lawmakers. And a few of our lawmakers are serving federal prison time right now for being bought with oil service company dollars and bribes. And it's been a great learning ground for me here to see what can happen when that undue influence is allowed to set policy and affect votes. It's unacceptable, it's atrocious, and on a federal level, we got to get that out of there, too.

Gulf Coast Residents flee ahead of Powerful Gustav

How ironic that the hurricane is impacting the Republican convention. Bush has already said that he won't attend (McCain is probably happy about that news), along with other prominent Republicans. You won't hear much talk about offshore drilling from those who do attend the convention.

Hurricane Gustav charged across the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday as residents fled New Orleans and the National Guard prepared to patrol evacuated neighborhoods in a city still recovering three years after Katrina.

Gustav dropped from a Category 4 to a Category 3 storm overnight, but forecasters warned it could gain strength from the gulf's warm waters before making landfall as early as Monday.

Long before Mayor Ray Nagin's mandatory evacuation order took effect Sunday morning for the city's vulnerable West Bank, residents were already streaming out of New Orleans and other communities along the Gulf Coast. Bumper-to-bumper traffic was reported in nearly every direction out of New Orleans, and on Bourbon Street, where the party seemingly never ends, only stragglers toting luggage were sporadically seen on the sidewalks.

- For more information on Hurricane Gustav, or if you want to share info/comments on this disaster, visit The People's Platform site.

Barack Obama Invesco Field Acceptance Speech Transcript (8-28-08)

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama spoke to the Democratic National Convention on Thursday at Invesco Field in Denver, Colorado. Read the entire transcript (also at the NYTimes).

Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story -- of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren't well off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to.

It is that promise that has always set this country apart -- that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well.

That's why I stand here tonight. Because for 232 years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women -- students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors -- found the courage to keep it alive.

We meet at one of those defining moments -- a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more.

Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can't afford to drive, credit card bills you can't afford to pay, and tuition that's beyond your reach.

These challenges are not all of government's making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush.

America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.

Transcript: Al Gore Speech at Invesco Field (8-28-08)

"Former Vice President Al Gore spoke Thursday night at the Democratic National Convention events at Invesco Field in Denver, Colorado." Read the entire transcript.

Eight years ago, some said there was not much difference between the nominees of the two major parties and it didn't really matter who became president. Our nation was enjoying peace and prosperity, and some assumed we would continue both, no matter the outcome. But here we all are in 2008, and I doubt anyone would argue now that election didn't matter. Take it from me, if it had ended differently, we would not be bogged down in Iraq; we would have pursued bin Laden until we captured him.

We would not be facing a self-inflicted economic crisis; we would be fighting for middle income families.

We would not be showing contempt for the Constitution; we'd be protecting the rights of every American regardless of race, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation.

And we would not be denying the climate crisis; we'd be solving it.

Today, we face essentially the same choice we faced in 2000, though it may be even more obvious now, because John McCain, a man who has earned our respect on many levels, is now openly endorsing the policies of the Bush-Cheney White House and promising to actually continue them, the same policies all over again.

Hey, I believe in recycling, but that's ridiculous.

With John McCain's support, President Bush and Vice President Cheney have led our nation into one calamity after another because of their indifference to fact; their readiness to sacrifice the long-term to the short-term, subordinate the general good to the benefit of the few and short-circuit the rule of law.

If you like the Bush/Cheney approach, John McCain's your man.

If you believe it's time for a change, then vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Joe Biden Democratic Convention Speech Transcript (8-27-08)

Read the entire transcript of the speech given by Barack Obama's vice presidential pick, Joe Biden:

• Let me make this pledge to you right here and now. For every American who is trying to do the right thing, for all those people in government who are honoring the pledge to uphold the law and honor the Constitution, no longer will you hear the eight most-dreaded words in the English language, “The vice president’s office is on the phone.”

  Barack and I took very different journeys to this destination, but we share a common story. Mine began in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and then Wilmington, Delaware.

• Ladies and gentlemen, but today, today that American dream feels like it’s slowly slipping away. I don’t have to tell you that. You feel it every single day in your own lives. I’ve never seen a time when Washington has watched so many people get knocked down without doing anything to help them get back up.

  Almost every single night — almost every single night, I take the train home to Wilmington, Delaware, sometimes very late. As I sit there in my seat and I look out that window, I see those flickering lights of the homes that pass by, I can almost hear the conversation they’re having at their kitchen tables after they put their kids to bed.

  Like millions of Americans, they’re asking questions as — as ordinary as they are profound, questions they never, ever thought they’d have to ask themselves.

  Should Mom move in with us now that — now that Dad’s gone? Fifty, sixty, seventy dollars just to fill up the gas tank, how in God’s name, with winter coming, how are we going to heat the home? Another year, no raise. Did you hear — did you hear they may be cutting our health care at the company?

• And in the Senate, John sided with President Bush 95 percent of the time. Give me a break. When John McCain proposes $200 billion in new tax breaks for corporate America, $1 billion alone for just eight of the largest companies, but no relief for 100 million American families, that’s not change; that’s more of the same.

  Even today, as oil companies post the biggest profits in history — a half trillion dollars in the last five years — he wants to give them another $4 billion in tax breaks. But he voted time and again against incentives for renewable energy: solar, wind, biofuels. That’s not change; that’s more of the same.

  Millions of jobs have left our shores, yet John continues to support tax breaks for corporations that send them there. That’s not change; that’s more of the same.

  He voted 19 times against raising the minimum wage. For people who are struggling just to get to the next day, that’s not change; that’s more of the same.

  And when he says he will continue to spend $10 billion a month in Iraq when Iraq is sitting on a surplus of nearly $80 billion, that’s not change; that’s more of the same.

  The choice in this election is clear. These times require more than a good soldier; they require a wise leader, a leader who can deliver change the change everybody knows we need.

Transcript: Bill Clinton Democratic Convention Speech (8-27-08)

Read the entire transcript of Bill Clinton's speech at the Democratic convention being held in Denver:

• And here’s what I have to say about that. Everything I learned in my eight years as president, and in the work I have done since in America and across the globe, has convinced me that Barack Obama is the man for this job.

  Now, he has a remarkable ability to inspire people, to raise our hopes and rally us to high purpose. He has the intelligence and curiosity every successful president needs. His policies on the economy, on taxes, on health care, on energy are far superior to the Republican alternatives.

• And so, my fellow Democrats, I say to you: Barack Obama is ready to lead America and to restore American leadership in the world.

  Barack Obama is ready to honor the oath, to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

  Barack Obama is ready to be president of the United States.

• American families by the millions are struggling with soaring health care costs and declining coverage.
  I will never forget the parents of children with autism and other serious conditions who told me on the campaign trail that they couldn’t afford health care and couldn’t qualify their children for Medicaid unless they quit work and starved or got a divorce.

  Are these the family values the Republicans are so proud of?

  What about the military families pushed to the breaking point by multiple, multiple deployments? What about the assault on science and the defense of torture? What about the war on unions and the unlimited favors for the well-connected?

  And what about Katrina and cronyism?

  My fellow Democrats, America can do better than that.

• The choice is clear. The Republicans in a few days will nominate a good man who has served our country heroically and who suffered terribly in a Vietnamese prison camp. He loves his country every bit as much as we do. As a senator, he has shown his independence of right-wing orthodoxy on some very important issues.

  But on the two great questions of this election — how to rebuild the American dream and how to restore America’s leadership in the world — he still embraces the extreme philosophy that has defined his party for more than 25 years.

  And it is, to be fair to all the Americans who aren’t as hard- core Democrats as we, it’s a philosophy the American people never actually had a chance to see in action fully until 2001, when the Republicans finally gained control of both the White House and the Congress.

  Then we saw what would happen to America if the policies they had talked about for decades actually were implemented. And look what happened.

  They took us from record surpluses to an exploding debt; from over 22 million new jobs to just 5 million; from increasing working families’ incomes to nearly $7,500 a year to a decline of more than $2,000 a year; from almost 8 million Americans lifted out of poverty to more than 5.5 million driven into poverty; and millions more losing their health insurance.

  Now, in spite of all this evidence, their candidate is actually promising more of the same.

Could Bush Administration Arrogance Lead to War with Russia?

It isn't being discussed very much. We could be on the verge of military conflict with Russia. And there doesn't seem to be anyone suggesting that we should be trying to avoid confrontation with what was once the Soviet Union. Some have warned about a new "cold war." But the consensus is that we should force Russia to leave Georgia alone. What isn't discussed is that it is hypocritical to tell the Russians to stop invading a neighbor when our own government invaded Iraq similarly under false pretenses. You don't hear Putin demand that the U.S. military pull out of Baghdad. And what makes the Bush administration think that he could tell Russia how to behave when we don't have the military wherewithal to intimidate the Russians. We are bogged down fighting two wars already. War with Russia would be positively insane. The White House is contemplating sending military aid to the Georgian Republic. That is a recipe for disaster. Unfortunately Barack Obama isn't urging caution. What he should be saying is that the U.S. must attempt to put international pressure on Russia to leave but no demanding. He should also point out that Bush meddling in Eastern Europe has led to bitter feelings in Russia and precipitated the confrontation.

Transcript, Video: Hillary Clinton Convention Speech (8-26-08)

This is a very nifty presentation of the Hillary Clinton's speech last night from the NY Times. It shows the complete video of the speech with accompanying text.

Or read the transcript speech here. Excerpt below:

SEN. CLINTON: Thank you. (Cheers, applause.) Thank you all. (Cheers, applause.) Thank you. (Cheers, applause.) Thank you all very, very much. (Cheers, applause.) Thank you. Thank you all very much. (Cheers, applause.)

I -- I am so honored to be here tonight. (Cheers, applause.) No, I -- I'm here tonight as a proud mother, as a proud Democrat -- (cheers, applause) -- as a proud senator from New York -- (cheers, applause) -- a proud American -- (cheers, applause) -- and a proud supporter of Barack Obama. (Cheers, applause.)

My friends, it is time to take back the country we love. And whether you voted for me or you voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose. (Cheers, applause.)

We are on the same team, and none of us can afford to sit on the sidelines. This is a fight for the future, and it's a fight we must win together. (Cheers, applause.)

I haven't spent the past 35 years in the trenches advocating for children, campaigning for universal health care -- (cheers) -- helping parents balance work and family, and fighting for women's rights here at home and around the world -- (cheers, applause) -- to see another Republican in the White House squander our promise of a country that really fulfills the hopes of our people. And you haven't worked so hard over the last 18 months or endured the last eight years to suffer through more failed leadership. (Cheers, applause.)

No way, nohow, no McCain. (Cheers, applause.)

Barack Obama is my candidate, and he must be our president. (Cheers, applause.)

Tonight I ask you to remember what a presidential election is really about. When the polls have closed and the ads are finally off the air -- (laughter) -- it comes down to you, the American people, and your lives and your children's futures. For me, it's been a privilege to meet you in your homes, your workplaces and your communities. You stories reminded me that every day America's greatness is bound up in the lives of the American people: your hard work, your devotion to duty, your love for your children, and your determination to keep going, often in the face of enormous obstacles. You've taught me so much -- (cheers, applause) -- and you made me laugh, and -- yes -- you even made me cry. (Cheers, applause.) You allowed me to become part of your lives, and you became part of mine.

I will always remember the single mom who had adopted two kids with autism. She didn't have any health insurance, and she discovered she had cancer. But she greeted me with her bald head painted with my name on it and asked me to fight for health care for her and her children. (Cheers, applause.)

John McCain Endorsed by Daddy Yankee

Say what?! Never heard of Daddy Yankee? Well, McCain knows who he is (probably never heard of him the week before). And he thinks this will somehow make him more popular with hispanic voters. I guess.

For the past month, one strategy of the McCain campaign has been to paint Barack Obama as a “worldwide celebrity.” Someone who is as idolized as much as a rock star, but who is - using their tagline - “not ready to lead.” Pundits and pollsters seem to agree that this has been a successful strategy and has resulted in a leveling of poll numbers.

Despite this, however, McCain spent a lot of time with his own celebrities yesterday.
First it was Daddy Yankee, the reggaeton star, who endorsed the Senator at a Phoenix High School — which prompted a few of the less-contemporary readers of this blog to write things like “who the heck is Daddy Yankee?” There were plenty of readers who seemed to like the singer. One visitor had an amusing and somewhat quizzical analogy:

“Haha! Daddy Yankee is the Sausage Haus of popular music,” wrote Agamemnon.

McCain thought the endorsement so important that he put on his website.

John McCain: "And it's a great legacy and a great responsibility for me to follow in the footsteps of some of those great leaders, both Republican or Democrat. So I hope you'll be involved. But most importantly, I know why you are sitting here, and that is not to listen to me so much, but I brought a special friend along with me today, a great American success story. As you know, he's from Puerto Rico. He's been married for 15 years. He has children aged 14, 12 and 10. One of his most famous songs, I know you're very familiar with, Gasolina. Well, here he is, Daddy Yankee."

...

Daddy Yankee: "Good morning. Good morning. It is a very special honor to be here this beautiful morning with everybody right here. This is very special school. It is a big pleasure to be with you.

...

"It is a big pleasure that you guys invited me, and thanks to Senator McCain. And I am here endorsing Senator McCain because I believe in his ideals and his proposals to lead this nation. And like I said before, he has been a fighter for the Hispanic community, and I know that for me personally, I chose him as the best candidate because he has been a fighter for the immigration issue. So for me he is the best guy to lead this nation. And once again, I want to say thank you to everybody for the support it has given me in my entire career. This is a great honor sharing this beautiful morning with everybody. I am a man of few words but with a lot of action like I always said. Senator McCain, pleasure."

Immigration won't be top Issue for either Obama or McCain

One of several important issues ignored by both parties. It's important to the American people but not to the politicians. They don't care if America is being invaded. And they are failing to secure our borders as they promised after 9-11.

Mindful of Hispanics' growing clout, Barack Obama has vowed to push for comprehensive immigration reform as president.

But energy, the economy and Iraq get top billing at the Democratic National Convention. Immigration won't get prime-time airplay – and that's fine with many advocates.

"There's going to be a lot of meat cleavers that McCain can use on Obama," said Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., who represents 300 miles of border. "He can drag that bloody rag of immigration around if he wants to. But we're not going to hand him the rag."

Just as Sen. John McCain placated the GOP's right wing by promising to control the border before pushing a guest worker program he has long supported, Mr. Obama would alienate swing voters by coming off as too enthusiastic about amnesty for undocumented workers.

So both prefer not to see immigration become a major campaign issue, said Tamar Jacoby, president of ImmigrationWorks USA, a business group that promotes comprehensive reform, which includes border security and a path to citizenship.