[speechlesstx]

Hello Steve:

Shenanigans, hell. That guy clearly voted for Franken.

Snippy

LOL, that's more like it.

[speechlesstx]

More challenged ballots.

Franken says the X means the voter intended to cross out the vote for Coleman:


Franken says the thumbprint is an identifying mark so it's invalid under Minnesota state law, which prohibits a signature or SSN to identify a ballot:


Franken said what the eraser marks over Franken's bubble indicated the voter intended to vote for him:


And everyone's favorite, the vote for Lizard People:


To be fair, both sides have made some weak challenges but these Franken challenges seem pretty obvious to me.

[inthebox]

I'd vote for lizard people over franken :)

[excon]

Hello:

Let's say that I was the Seattle Mariners brand new manager... For you non baseball geeks, they're the only team in history to have lost over a 100 games with a payroll over a 100 million $$$'s. They're REAL LOSERS. Let's say that I promised change.

Would you think I meant the players, or the record?

If I filled the team with people like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Hank Aaron, and other winners like those, would you accuse me of doing business the OLD way, and not fulfilling my promise of change?

I think you would.

excon

[tomder55]

Obama was vague enough I guess to make some people believe that he was the change . But most people ;including a lot of his backers (you should read what the left wing blogs are saying ) thought he was going to tap into people outside the Washington culture.

I have been predicting a big dose of buyer's remorse . It is happening a lot sooner than I thought.

Your analogy by the way is similar to the current Yankee squad... a bunch of overpaid has-beens who have name recognition but little left at the plate.

[NeedKarma]

I have been predicting a big dose of buyer's remorse . It is happening a lot sooner than I thought.

Not at all. The people who voted for him are still emphatically happy they did. You, on the other hand, never liked him so you are trying to project your view on others. Look at the projected crowds for his inauguration. No remorse there, just a large group of excited people.

[tomder55]

Andrew Sullivan of Atlantic ;a big time Obama supporter has this to say about his potential CIA selection :

We didn't work our butts off to elect Obama only to get Bush another four years at CIA. If Brennan emerges as the pick, those of us against the continuation of war crimes and the prosecution of war criminals will have to oppose him strenuously in the nomination process. We will, in fact, have to go to war with Obama before he even takes office.
And if Obama doubts our seriousness, I have three words for him. Yes we can.

The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan (November 21, 2008) - No Way. No How. No Brennan.

The LA slimes says his base is unhappy about his new and improved Iraq policy:

Antiwar groups and other liberal activists are increasingly concerned at signs that Barack Obama's national security team will be dominated by appointees who favored the Iraq invasion and hold hawkish views on other important foreign policy issues...
The activists -- key members of the coalition that propelled Obama to the White House -- fear he is drifting from the antiwar moorings of his once-longshot presidential candidacy. Obama has eased the rigid timetable he had set for withdrawing troops from Iraq, and he appears to be leaning toward the center in his candidates to fill key national security posts.

The president-elect has told some Democrats that he expects to take heat from parts of his political base but will not be deterred by it.

Antiwar groups fear Barack Obama may create hawkish Cabinet - Los Angeles Times

The Telegraph notices this trend also :

Chris Bowers of the influential OpenLeft.com blog complained: "That is, over all, a centre-right foreign policy team. I feel incredibly frustrated. Progressives are being entirely left out of Obama's major appointments so far."
Markos Moulitsas, founder of the Daily Kos site, the in-house talking shop for the anti-war Left, warned that Democrats risk sounding "tone deaf" to the views of "the American electorate that voted in overwhelming numbers for change from the discredited Bush policies."

Barack Obama accused of selling out on Iraq by picking hawks to run his foreign policy - Telegraph


Here is what some other "progressives" are saying :

And if Obama really wanted change, if he really wanted to honor progressives who backed him early on and then did the grunt work against McCain, he'd nominate Dennis Kucinich as Secretary of State.
That sure would indicate a welcome departure from empire as usual.
But at this point, progressives are getting absolutely nothing from Obama.

Obama Throws No Bones to Progressive Base
The Kossaks are beginning to notice:

So why is Obama picking the same people who were part of the problem to now create the solutions?.
Who expected such conformity out of a revolutionary candidate promising change?

Daily Kos :: Diaries

Here is a comment from a poster at DU:

Obama's cabinet is at this point filled with DLC people, very centrist, anti populist, and big business among other things. We heard "change and clean up Washington" before from the last President and we got a redux on Nixon's and Reagan's people. Now we are getting a redux of the 90's Clinton people, that doesn't spell change to me

For all the folks posting that they don't like what Obama's done or is doing - Democratic Underground

Mark Joseph at Huffpo.

Why would Obama want to tarnish his brand new administration with the Clinton soap opera of Monica, Whitewater, Vince Foster, Marc Rich and company when he could start fresh with an entirely new team? And why would he want a mortal enemy like Hillary who is probably at this very moment plotting her comeback strategy for 2012, inside his administration, leaking to the press and undermining him? I thought he put the Clintons away for good. He seems too smart to do something like this.

Mark Joseph: Secretary of State Clinton? I Just Don't Get It

Over at Empty wheel they have come to the realization that it may be their turn under the bus .

When it comes to the netroots, Barack Obama has the long arm-short arm syndrome. He has taken much from us in terms of support, voice, momentum, money, footwork and energy. Obama has given little, if anything, in return to the netroots. Unless you count disdain and scorn. And pokes in the eye with a blunt stick.

Emptywheel » Obama's Long Arm/Short Arm Stiff Of The Netroots

Etc etc etc . It is all over the left wing blogs.

[excon]

it is all over the left wing blogs.

Hello:

YAWN...

I don't know. YOU'RE the guys who thought he was a socialist, terrorist, marxist, left wing whacko, commie, and all that other stuff...

But, he turns out to be exactly what he said he'd be... Imagine that. Bwa, ha ha ha ha.

excon

[tomder55]

He said he'd be whatever you want him to be a tax cutter ,;a tax raiser ;a budget balancer ,a proponent of stimulus spending ;a dove ,a hawk and on and on.
I only went by his past performance and underlying philosophy.
I also know the past performance of the Clintoids and if I'm charitable I'll say it was uneven .

[Skell]

I somewhat agree with Tom. I think it would be very unwise of Obama to pick a cabinet with old faces. I can see your point Excon but he did spruik the line about going outside the square and changing the attitude in Washington. As far as I'm concerned old habits die hard and some of these schmucks won't change for anyone. They have their agenda and they'll stick to it.
But then again I don't know too many details on these people so maybe I'm reading too much in to what Tom is saying. I know that can be a grave mistake given Tom's opinion of Obama. Isn't that right Tom? ;)

[Skell]

And before the doodle comes along and tells me to butt out because I'm not an American and it doesn't effect me, I want to tell her that it does and why it does. These people he picks do effect me. These people have the potential to torture Australian citizens. They have the ability to torture me if they see fit. I don't want that. I want that to change. But I still trust that Obama will bring that change. I believe in the guy. Until he fails that is.

[tomder55]

Skell

Ironically for CIA Obama is picking a George Tenet protégé . Tenet himself was a hold over from the Clintonoids.

You think that "torture" ;"rendition" etc is a GWB initiative ? Lol .The Bush team have nothing over Clintoon and his foreign policy staff .The CIA was granted permission to use rendition in a presidential directive signed by Clintoon in 1995.
PDD-39 U.S. Policy on Counterterrorism
Further ;we have received cooperation from many of our allies in the Western world including Australia.

My biggest critique of the current administration has been my frustration that they have not been able to reform the culture in the Federal Bureaucracy .It has become very much entrenched at almost all levels with careerists that outlast adminstrations . Their attitudes are often that adminstrations come and go ,but they remain. So at best they tolerate the White House. These are the unnamed sources that the MSM use to undermine policy.
Obama's promise to bring "change " is undermined by returning many of the Clintonoids into the leadership roles they played in the past. Obama and his supporters ,saying that he is the change ,are going to get a cold helping of reality when they realize that the static entrenched careerists in government are very much resistant to change.

[Skell]

I suppose the point you prove Tom is that no one can really instigate change. McCain certainly wasn't going to. I think myself, and most people regardless of his admin still see Obama as change. And with the way things are at the moment any change is good.

[tomder55]

"What I had to insist is that the real gamble in this election is playing the same Washington game with the same players and expecting a different result," ....... "That's the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result."

{Obama Dec 30,2007 Iowa }
Obama playing defense as Iowa campaign draws to close | ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

[twinkiedooter]

And before the doodle comes along and tells me to butt out because i'm not an American and it doesn't effect me, i want to tell her that it does and why it does. These people he picks do effect me. These people have the potential to torture Australian citizens. They have the ability to torture me if they see fit. I don't want that. I want that to change. But i still trust that Obama will bring that change. I believe in the guy. Until he fails that is.

Well the Twinkiedooter just came along...

Oddly enough years ago the world looked to America for world leadership. America was a place that most foreigners wanted to move to and live in as they had many more freedoms available in America than they did in their own countries.

Now, if anything, most foreigners are looking at America askance wondering if America is going to attack/invade their countries or, worse yet, impose harsh international trade sanctions on their countries resulting in economic chaos and/or economic collapse. Many people in overseas ports right now are literally holding their breath wondering that BO is going to do to the international trade driving up costs from everything like toilet paper to TV dinners. It will hurt the cargo ship owners, cargo ship workers, dock workers, etc.

Oddly enough, you in Australia actually get more news regarding America than the media here releases to it's populace. The media here hides a lot and would rather spoon feed us crap like Dancing with the Stars, American Idol contestants, than really tell us what's going on in our country.

You don't have to worry about America coming over to your country. We presently have an understaffed military, rag tag equipment, and poor leadership. If anything they will come to our doorsteps and confiscate our guns before going to another country. Much easier that way.

The local gun show last week end was so packed you could not get in as the lines were around the huge building. And yes, sales of guns were quite brisk here. Years ago gun shows had very few customers attend. Not so this year. It was packed wall to wall.

Sure you can come on here and butt in, but the best thing you could do would be to try and join the sensible people who are trying to resist the oncoming onslaught.

[Skell]

So doodle you admit to America's decline in recent years under a Republican government but still you expected McCain to be the man to fix it? How's that work? But then again you still think Obama isn't a legal citizen. Your probably one of these kind who actually believes he is Satan or worse yet a Muslim infiltrating America to destroy it from within? That would explain a lot.

[twinkiedooter]

So doodle you admit to America's decline in recent years under a Republican government but still you expected McCain to be the man to fix it?? Hows that work?? But then again you still think Obama isn't a legal citizen. Your probably one of these kind who actually believes he is Satan or worse yet a Muslim infiltrating America to destroy it from within? That would explain a lot.

So, Mr. Knowitall, prove to me that BO is a legal citizen eligible to be POTUS. You can't as he's just too secretive about his past and no body can prove he is or isn't a citizen. Just because he lives here in this country does not automatically make him a citizen either. It takes more than that, sorry.

And no, I am not one of those people who believe he's Satan or worse a Muslim inflitrating America. I am not impressed by his present and immediate past associations. Anyone would be if they just opened their eyes and looked around. I'm convinced he's an Uncle Tom in more ways than one. Only time will prove me right on this call, Skell.

He is presently just recycling the Clinton administration. I never said McTurd was going to fix the economy. I thought he was a better choice, that's all. I'm a Democrat and have been one for years. That does not mean I have to vote Democrat either.

[NeedKarma]

So, Mr. Knowitall, prove to me that BO is a legal citizen eligible to be POTUS.

Is McCain and his staff so ignorant that they don't know as much as you do?