What Stood Out This Week - 6/22-6/28

They unified in Unity. Get it? Unity! They're fucking unified, alright? Stop asking! Let's see What Stood Out This Week...

The Democrats

Oh, Unity. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both received 107 votes in the primary in Unity, New Hampshire, and so what better place for them to show their Unity? To John Kerry it may be ironic; to most of us it's a little obvious.

But hey, I guess it's necessary. I mean, it's seems pretty clear that Barack and Hillary are getting along just fine, but if they don't parade their getting-alongedness in front of the media cameras then it'll be all about how divided the party is. And naturally, the Hillary-got-screwed-we're-voting-for-McCain fringe gets a fair amount of play.

Oh, and Bill Clinton's nowhere to be found yet. He feels like he was treated unfairly throughout the the primary and continues to pout (according to one thing I read anyway). The Obama campaign is all, "Look, people, one Clinton at a time, alright?"

So Hillary and Barack donated the maximum allowed under law to each other's campaign. Nothing says, "I love you" like $4,600 per couple. It's a modern-day swingers party! Obama's helping with Hillary's debt, and Hillary's hooking Obama up with some of her monster donors.

See? Unity!

Also, taking a card out of the Clinton playbook, Obama continues his creep to the middle, stopping short of filibustering the Telecom Immunity bill and stating that he supports the states' rights to use the death penalty for child rapists. I guess Barack Obama doesn't so much have a problem with the death penalty then.

See, now this is why I've never been an Obamaniac, or whatever the hell you want to call those people who make Barack Obama feel more like a cult leader than a political leader. Those on the left are going to find themselves exceptionally disappointed in a man who's never even tried to deny that he's a pragmatist. The progressives have projected a much more progressive ideology on Obama than what he's ever professed. God knows I want him to win. Badly. But it remains to be seen if he'll disappoint my liberal hopes as much as Bill Clinton did over his two centrist terms in office.

The Republican

Apparently, some muckraking LA Times reporter discovered that John and Cindy McCain hadn't paid taxes on their California home in years. So they've now done that, but still owe the penalty for skiving. I guess John McCain also John-McCains his taxes!

Most of my information about John McCain this week came from my perennial favorite The Nation, which had a very nice article (in last week's issue - I'm always a week behind) about McCain's free ride in the media, and outlines very clearly where he's done complete 180-degree turns on quite a number of positions.

I still hear a lot from people I consider well-informed that at least John McCain is a "reasonable Republican." I keep telling them that this is not the same man who was running in 2000. If you still think that McCain's reasonable, please read this article.

This Week's Argument

McCain's chief strategist (the one with the really suspicious lobbying ties to such things as the Myanmar junta) said that another terrorist attack would really help John McCain in the general election. Let's the righteous indignation begin! McCain backed away from his remarks; the Left got offended. I guess it's a pretty stupid and insensitive thing to say. It's also honest and forthcoming, and it's all about creating controversy.

But he's also wrong. If there was another terrorist attack before the election, wouldn't that somehow demonstrate that this fucked up foreign policy that McCain has every intention of continuing isn't working? Hell, man, I even heard something this week about how the Taliban can't accommodate all of the suicide bomber wannabes. This foreign policy has created generations of people who hate us -- people who have nothing and are willing to die to defeat us.

It's time to do some global repairs, and John McCain ain't that guy.

And that's What Stood Out This Week, dear B&E readers.