He and 94 Democrats.

Of course, I'll reiterate that my support for Obama has always had little to do with the specifics of his stances and whether they've been consistent and has had almost everything to do with the fact that he has demonstrated a level of decorum which has allowed him to disagree with people without resorting to vitriol towards those he disagrees with. That has not changed and that alone continues to distinguish him from a great many of his colleagues.

He'll probably hear from me about this, not that I expect that will make much of an impact.

Though, truth be told, I'm not entirely sure I'm against the bill. On the one hand I'm not comfortable with the access the government has to the data. On the other hand, this bill doesn't do as much to change that access as people would like you to believe. Remember, the whole wire tapping flap stemmed not from the government wire tapping in ways that were not legal. They just didn't go through the correct channels to get authorization to use methods that, once authorized, would be legal. So I'm not totally convinced that altering the authorization method is quite the end-of-the-world move that it might seem on the surface.

That said, the lack of the kind of authorization method that Bush wants is NOT the massive hindrance he'd like us to believe either and voting against this bill would have been a powerful message that should have been sent. And definitely should not have been compromised for dumb pork barrel reasons.

I already ranted about it in C.P.'s FISA thread.

Not a fan of FISA (but that fight was lost 30+ years ago), but I don't really have a problem with the telecom exemption in it.

And I've yet to see Obama say that the role of fathers is the root of all black problems. In fact, if you watch more than the 8 second clips on the news he's very clear that they're not.

The America already has a Dr. Phil clip.

Okay, I'm an Obama fan. I think he has a point in this sound byte. And I'm glad he gave a good response to Gramm's comment. But he does something in it that bugs me. And it bugs me because Bushy does it so much. It's that little laugh thing while they're trying to make a point. It bugs. It makes him appear snide. But then again, it's a small gripe...

Oh, and he said "Ho". Hope that doesn't piss anyone off.
:D

I don't think I'd have even noticed it without the point out, but I think a key difference between Obama there and Bush's quirk is that Obama was actually amused by something. Bush's little chuckle is generally in the vein "oh my god, this is so obvious, I can't believe you're actually making me say it out loud."

That's true! Never thought of it that way.

That's funny because given the choice between Bush's, Obama's and McCain's post point demeanor I'd take Obama's.....I don't mind Bush's all that much either but Mcain......I hate the way he carries himself right after he's made a good point(to me, it kinda almost cancels out the point). Still going to vote for him, but if he loses the election I will take small comfort in the fact that I won't have to suffer his cheshire grin for 4+ years.

Hmmm.

This picture is going to appear on the 7/21/08 issue of The New Yorker:
(It's safe for work, but I'll spoilerize it because it's big.)

I don't know what the corresponding story has to say about the Obamas, but this picture is going to cause a stir... It made me stop in my tracks...

Damn. I might have to subscribe to the New Yorker, just so I can cancel it in protest.

Wow.

Being that I am somewhat conspiratorial, my first impulse what that this is a set up so once again Obama can play the victim and talk about how ridiculous and racist it is. Gain some sympathy.