Rachel Maddow and The Nation Expose McCain Hypocrisy

Every time we turn around, John McCain seems to contradict himself. He's against lobbyists! Wait, lobbyists run his campaign! He's against politicians that seem to skate by on celebrity. But wait! He's something of a celebrity himself, and his running mate, Sarah Palin, is being greeted with more adulation in two weeks than Barack Obama has in nineteen months!

Well, the themes of celebrity and lobbyists converge in this clip, from the newly minted Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. It seems silly at first blush; McCain on a yacht in the Adriatic with Anne Hathoway and her boyfriend? But said boyfriend is a serious con-man, has connections to Rick Davis, the former lobbyist who runs McCain's campaign, and may have received some preferential treatment after this meeting. Heard about it anywhere else? Me either, which is why I have such high hopes for Rachel's new show!

Dennis Hastert's Tenure Analyzed

Photo from Reuters.com

Earlier, I posted the news of Dennis Hastert's impending departure, but I didn't do a thorough job of explaining his abysmal performance. To rectify that, here is an outstanding dissection of Hastert's tenure. It also includes a warning to Speaker Pelosi, should she find herself with a Democratic President.

[Excerpt]

The Worst House Speaker in American History

Dennis Hastert, who served eight years as the most lamentable Speaker of the House in the chamber's history, began a slow exit from the Congress Friday. It was on that day that the former wrestling coach, who attained the speakership not on the basis of any political skills or policy expertise but because he was willing to front for the unpalatable Tom DeLay, announced his decision not to seek reelection from the Illinois district that has elected him since 1986. [snip]

Could the shambling, ineffectual and frequently inarticulate Hastert really have been a worse Speaker of the House than a crude proponent of slavery, or a crook like Jim Wright or a conniving partisan like Newt Gingrich? Absolutely. . .

Read the rest at: TheNation.com