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I'd heard about a flyer being sent out by the Republican National Committee that averred that liberals were going to ban the bible and allow men to marry each other. I read about it on the liberal blogs, but I wasn't sure whether or not to believe it. Well, here's an actual scan of the flyer that went out to voters in Arkansas. That's pretty nasty, I think. Especially coming from the official party office. I saw a guy on cable news defending the content, saying that the Bible actually has been banned from places like school and city halls, which of course isn't true (or, if you want to be generous, is a slightly twisted interpretation). I mean, I was assigned readings from the Bible in (public) high school, even here in a godless blue state. Probably time to dust off those "Republicans want to steal your Social Security money (and push you down the stairs)" ads from Democratic races past. (I know this is old news among the blogs, but we march to a different timer here at aC4H)

I've been waiting for someone to write this story: Flip-flopping charge unsupported by facts; Kerry always pushed global cooperation, war as last resort I think it's obnoxious when the President stumps with his little jokes about Kerry's flip flops, flashing his trademark smirk while US soldiers die in a country that he thinks is doing fine except for a "handful" of dead-enders. Not that I'd expect him to stop making the charge, of course, but I hope anyone who reads this site will at least be able to refute the charge next time they talk to a talk radio listener or Fox News watcher. And I say this as someone who disagreed with Kerry's stance. I just hate the dishonesty of the attacks we've been seeing.

I tried to watch President Bush give his acceptance speech. I tried to listen with an open mind, to put myself in the shoes (or ears) of an undecided voter. I tried. Too bad I only made it through about a third of the speech. The Red Sox were winning their ninth in a row at the same time (only two and a half back?! Not yet, Senator, not yet), and then the Daily Show came on. I wanted to listen without questioning, but the urge to argue was too powerful. Not five minutes after talking about reducing spending, Bush went on to propose all sorts of new programs with which the government will help people. As far as I could tell, he'd somehow pay for it by reducing frivilous lawsuits. What!? I almost wrote something up last night, but my laziness paid off as Steve absolutely nailed it for me. Right down to the fact that the famous W. smirk was nowhere to be seen (someone on MSNBC suggested BoTox...) I heard that the President picked it up in the second half, talking about 9/11 and terrorism, but I missed that part. The next 60 days will be awfully interesting, especially if Kerry continues swinging like he did last night.

George Pataki is the Republican Dick Gephardt, right? UPDATE: I don't know if anyone else watched him speak (I only caught a bit of it myself), but there was a part where Pataki would say "George Bush said he'd [cut taxes/reform schools/end the separation of chirch and state]. He said he'd do it. And he did." (with the crowd chanting the last line with him) There were four or five of these lines. I wish they had added one more: "George Bush said he'd bring Osama bin Laden, the man behind the worst attacks on American soil, to justice, dead or alive. George Bush said he'd do it." You can fill in the last line, but something makes me think that the delegates would have responded "And he did... get Saddam Hussein."

I posted this last week about Republicans getting the spite vote, and it's nice to see some assholery to support that hypothesis this week at the RNC Convention. On Monday, a Virginia delegate was handing out band-aids® with purple hearts on them, mocking Senator Kerry's supposedly superficial wounds from Vietnam. This led to other delegates yukking it up; "I cut myself shaving, so I wrote up a commendation and got me a Purple Heart," said one. (Sheila Lennon has more, here) Then last night Zell Miller and Dick Cheney ripped into Kerry. Zell was spewing righteous ferocity and the crowd was eating it up. The article I linked above came into sharp focus right there. I can't tell if these are geniunely mean people, or just caught up in the partisan hive-mind atmosphere, but it's harsh nonetheless. The DNC Convention had its Bush bashing, of course, but being pissed off at an incumbant's record is a different beast than the hatred and ridicule directed at the challenger. Also does anyone know where the ridiculously childish practice of calling the Democratic Party "the Democrat Party?" That's just obnoxious, and I have trouble taking anyone seriously who does this. I assume it's a case of deliberately getting someone's name wrong to show how little you respect them, but I honestly don't know. And I'm certainly not going to wade through oceans of anti-Democrat bile to find out.

I know I'm fairly partisan about such things, but damn Zell Miller and Dick Cheney were scary tonight at the Republican Convention. I wonder how many "average Americans" saw that. I thought Zell was going to come through my TV screen and rip my John Kerry button off my shirt.

Is George W. Bush really an idiot? It's debateable, of course. There's all those great Bushisms, but then I recently read that his IQ is above average. Jon Stewart has said he doesn't think Bush is dumb at all. The president went to Yale and Harvard B-school, though he rode his family's name right through the admissions process. However, it's pretty hard to shake the idea that W. isn't the sharpest tool in the shed (whether he's a tool of any kind, I'll leave that up to you). Bush's intellectual capacity was the biggest strike against him in 2000, in my book. I didn't really have anything resembling political ideology at the time, but I didn't want an idiot running the country. The idea that you'd vote for president based on "he's is a regular guy, someone I'd like to have a beer with," makes me cringe. Back in 2000, there was the argument that Bush would bolster his mental shortcomings and inexperience with a cadre of intelligent, professional advisors. You would be voting for a committee headed up by a guy who loved Jesus and didn't cheat on his wife, and that was what was important. Well, Matthew Yglesias writes today that the brains-thing is important. These are, of course, dangerous times. Moral clarity is only as good as the positive results it steers one towards. Fighting global terrorism, Islamicism [which is an ideology, not a religion], and facing state-based foreign policy issues requires an ability to understand very complicated ideas; declaring someone evil and then carpet bombing really hasn't gotten us too far (quite the contrary, I'd argue). Then there's domestic policy... Check out that article if you're so inclined. Calling the president an idiot may be shrill, but there really is a case to be made for electing a leader who can hold more than one thought in his head at a time.

In asking non-election-obsessed friends and family what they thought about Kerry's speech last week, one thing that came up a lot was the question of how he's going to pay for his policy proposals. The same question has come from cable news talking heads and Bush advocates. This is good, we should know where the money is going to come from, if the only tax increases will be for the top 2% income bracket. (There's also the "closing tax loopholes" on outsourcing corporations, but I'm not holding my breath; good idea, tricky to implement). Still, while everyone asks where Kerry's cash is coming from, can we get those same people to ask, for the first time, where George W.'s getting the money for the war in Iraq, or maybe the Medicare expansion? He already blew the surplus on tax cuts, so why should he get to just keep spending phantom dollars unquestioned*? Usually they just say we'll grow our way out of debt. Or overproject the bad news and laud "better than expected" numbers as validation of insane fiscal policy**. Think Kerry can get away with that? *Unquestioned by those listed above who are concerned with JK's budget. There's plenty of Democrats and fiscal conservatives who are understandably going nuts about the giant deficit. ** I project that I will be $80,000 in debt by next year. Won't it be great when it turns out I'll only be $40k in the hole?! That's progress, I say.

John Kerry, reporting for duty. I trust this man to lead us to best America possible, together. This convention actually changed my vote; I'm no longer voting against George W. Bush, I'm voting for John Kerry.

Hollywood's loony left smears and distorts the President's strong leadership once again: Stick with Bushie, this message is AWESOME

If you're not watching the Democratic National Convention, you're missing out. Last night Al Gore, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton addressed the convention (and the nation). Gore was great. He trotted out his SNL-ish one-liners on the recount, and was disarming. He wasn't breathing fire as he had been in the last few months, and all in all very good. 537 votes... Of course, Bill Clinton outshines everyone. If you're like me and didn't have a policy interest during the 90s (being more concerned about issues like trig homework and getting your drivers license), then you probably don't have the baggage to get in the way of enjoying his oratory. I particularly liked his self-deprecating humor, lumping himself in with Bush and Cheney as those who found a way out of serving in Vietnam ("During the Vietnam War, many young men—including the current president, the vice president and me—could have gone to Vietnam but didn’t. John Kerry came from a privileged background and could have avoided it too. Instead he said, send me."). I think Kerry should get the Big Dog out on the campaign trail more. Tuesday night's lineup was even better. I watched Howard Dean, whose welcome was overwhelming ("I'd hoped for this kind of reception. Though I was hoping it would be on Thursday [the nominee's night], not Tuesday"). The speech was actually kind of weak, but that didn't matter too much to me, I can't watch Gov Dean without thinking what could have been. After Dean I watched about 95% of Barack Obama's keynote address. He was flat out incredible (he's running for US Senate in Illinois). Mike IM'ed me to tell me he had trouble remaining dry-eyed during the speech, and my eyes welled up a couple times too. Edwards/Obama in 2012? Seriously, though, this man made me proud to be an American. I think that's the first time I've said that about a politician in a loooong time. Ron Reagan, the late president's son, also spoke on the issue of stem cell research. I thought he was very good, too. I think this is an important issue, and I hope a lot of Americans consider this one when deciding thier vote. I missed Theresa Heinz-Kerry, John's wife, but the clips I have seen were underwhelming. Tomorrow tune in for John Edwards, and Kerry accepts the nomination on Thursday. This is your chance to hear what the candidates want to say to you directly, you shouldn't miss it. AND MORE: You can watch Obama's speech here on the CSPAN website. Watch it. Seriously, amazing stuff.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Next Vice President of the United States, John Edwards! I have to admit, I'm a little excited. Today's announcement of John Kerry's running mate is the first time I've been anticipating something since I all but stopped caring* about the race for the White House sometime last February (hmm, what happened back then...). Not having your horse in the race is not conducive to daily tracking and poll watching (but much better for your mental health, I think), so I didn't really think much about who JK would pick. I'm glad it's Edwards, though. Other than having a vague feeling of horror that Gephardt would get the VP nod, I didn't care who was chosen. I realized I actually trusted Kerry to make a good choice! I think he did, too. Edwards was my fallback choice in the primaries, and I like his message a lot. I think he will make an excellent Vice President. Amazingly, I learned something new from Cable News today! Did you know that Dick Cheney was chosen by Gov. Bush to head up the committee to find a running mate for the 2000 election? Lo and behold, he picked himself. It's no wonder, since the VP has gained a huge amount of power and influence these past few years (I even heard a conservative commentator say the other day that Bush/Cheney is bordering on a co-presidency). With today's news, I'm going to make a bold prediction right now: Kerry/Edwards will win Rhode Island in November. You heard it here first.